Well, as a computer guy, I can honestly say the BEST part of AOL is that you can recover from a completely hosed computer. All your info is kept on their servers - mail, favorites, buddies, etc - so when your average schmuck blows up thier computer with spyware, porn, and virii - you can just reinstall the OS & AOL and you are back up and rocking. If they know their user name and password, they are set.
You seem to already know the drawbacks. Inefficient use of bandwidth, inflexability, and price. Downloading all those ads, info and stuff does drag on the bandwidth - where as just an ISP connection with Outlook Express for mail and Netscape for web browsing is pretty efficient. You also can’t easily transport e-mail contacts, e-mail, favorites, etc to a competitors solution.
Another nice feature is it updates itself, has parental controls, and allows multiple screen names. All that seems pretty obvious but a lot of it was revolutionary/novel when it first was implemented.
I’ve never subscribed to AOL, but have been forced to support installations since it was first offered. The thing is - users who need AOL need AOL. I can’t explain it better (ok, I can, but that sounds nice.)
AOL should give no problems at all if you just want to use it to establish a dial up connection, then minimizing it and using whatever browser you want.
Yes - it is the case. While you can launch another browser while running AOL, you can’t use any other E-Mail program to recieve AOL mail via POP or IMAP. So, your contacts/addresses/etc are kept on their servers. On one hand, they back them up and maintain them, on the other, they stay there. :dubious:
This is no longer the case. AOL opened its email system to access by both pop and IMAP a couple of months ago. There are detailed explanations of how to set it up at AOL’s online help. So it is no problem to use Outlook or Apple mail to access your AOL email.
You should also be able to access another ISP’s pop or IMAP mail while connected through AOL. In fact, there’s a standalone AOL mail application called communicator which allows to to do AOL and other mail simultaneously from inside the same interface.
One thing AOL does not do very well (if at all) is let you VPN into another system.
It’s in the nature of the beast. AOL is born not as an ISP, but as a commercial OLS – an On-Line Service. The point was to subscribe to AOL and do all your on-lining within AOL’s network (and buy the products featured on AOL); access to other networks was not available at first, then only available via AOL’s own proxies. During the 1990s they added an actual web browser (that by now must be powered by Netscape, who they also bought out) and compatibility with POP/SMTP e-mail, but they are still in the business of keeping you doing business with AOL.
(Here in PR they do run a “bare” ISP – CONNEXIS – in apparent response to weak demand for the full-featured service)
I keep my account because I signed up REALLY early and have several really good short screen names that are used on all of my various internet dealings.
The PITA factor (Pain in the A**) is greater than the non-inertia factor to switch, but I get as pissed as the next user when they punk out.
This sounds great! Can you send me some pointers on how to do this on my G5 mac running OS X?
I’m not exactly happy or proud that I’m using AOL. It’s been really easy and the switch would be a few miles of bad pavement. I’m sure it will happen in the near future.
Perhaps I’m wrong here… or maybe in the entirely wrong age.(I’m thinking around 90-91? I used to log on to a local BBS (a version of Spitfire if I remember correctly) and could I think send mail and even download a few pictures and whatnot. In fact, I remember when we used to get all kinds of porn shown in some horrible graphics. Of course, I was 13 at the time and probably would have been turned on by a beautifull dog, but nonetheless, it was there.
The site just had to go down for 30 min every night to hook up to the “node” and get the updated info. So if you mailed someone, it took two to three days for them to get it, and mail back… but it was still fast!
That’s why my dad uses it. I’ve told him over and over that he could be spending less, but it sounds like trouble to tell people his new address, and he has AOL sending him every news story it finds containing words like “MIT” and “Venus” or “meteor”. I’ve told him that Google News will do that, but he’s stuck in his rut.
IMO, still the fastest and safest Email system around.
Can have all my stuff on the road with laptop from motels and I don’t got $$$$ so I can’t stay in fancy places with WIFI - broadband…
Was on a fast DSL until I moved out in the woods. Most 40th and Plum ISP’s max out about 28.8 to 33.6 has been what I have actually seen. AOHell has been running 50.666 day in and day out. Got Irefox, Opra, and IE all on my box. Can use all 4 browsers, some sites are faster with different ones.
Know bunches of people who drive me nuts cause they don’t want to learn more about the computer. Just get their email and chat a bit and search Google some.
They don’t call it EarthBlink for nothing. Applies to all ISP’s IMO.
Aren’t you glad we got a choice in ISP’s in this country?
There is still 1 benefit from AOL that no one seems to have mentioned.
It can be accessed from most parts of the USA with a local phone call.
We signed up with AOL close to 10 years ago, when there weren’t a whole lot of other choices. As other options developed (and as we learned more) we switched to local ISPs, but kept the AOL in addition. While travelling in the States, there are very few places where I can’t connect the laptop up to a phone line, search for a new local dialup number, and connect to AOL. As more and more hotels start offering wireless connections as part of the room fee, this will become less important, but it’s still a nice feature for now.
Actually, it was years ago. When I opened my earthlink account in 1996, I kept my AOL around for a year or so before finally cancelling it. I was able to use Claris Emailer (for Mac) to send and receive mail from my AOL account via dialup.
I have a friend who’s been on AOL since 1994 or so and still is. She particpates in many of the online communities there, and has her email so entrenched in everything that it’s more of a hassle to switch than it would be for the average user.
I was on AOL for a few years after compuserve because CS wasn’t offering actual access to websites and AOL was. (CS was still just a standalone bulletin board). Plus, my compuserve name was something like 254065406540645.534065406540.611654@compuserve.com
