AOL Goes Free
Confirming rumors that it itself spread, America Online formally announced plans to give away email and other previously subscriber-only service for free at AOL.com.
A splash page for the refurb says, "In the beginning AOL was where you went for your Internet connection. But the online world has continued to evolve quickly -- so we are reinventing ourselves. Say hello to the new AOL."
The company will still offer $26 a month dial-up accounts, but will no longer market them. Or presumably, try very hard to stop you from from cancelling them.
Nail, meet coffin.
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Comments:
It's too late. Anyone who has an email address @AOL.com is looked at as a complete lame-o. It means that they stayed on the internet's training wheels for too long. The @AOL.com is no longer a symbol of belonging, of prestige. Good luck, AOL. Suckers.
seriously, whenever i see an email with @aol.com the first thing i think is what a lame-o douche face, or hello grandma.
good friggin' riddance
Oh noes. With what will we pack our landfills if every person in North America isn't receiving 38 AOL signup discs each week?
THINK OF THE SANITATION WORKERS, MAN
THESE ARE PEOPLE WITH MORTGAGES
On the other hand, now that a US company is no longer spending 1.68% of our GDP on useless CD-ROMs, we can watch the optical media industry plunge into darkness, to be superceded by sweet, sweet flash storage everywhere.
Anybody have an idea of a company to use as backup (dialup) in case the cable goes out? I write a syndicated column, and I transmit via e-mail. If e-mail is out, I'm screwed, as I usually send at the last possible second.
So when are they supposed to stop marketing themselves? Because just this week I received one of those stupid discs in a shiny black tin. It went straight in the trash, still shrink-wrapped.
Mauvaise: September.
.....@Amy. My DSL provider (Bellsouth) has a backup dialup module in their install disk. If you're on a flavor of DSL, your phone company might also. Best backup email plan is redundant Gmail, Hotmail, etc. accounts, and wi-fi. If your neighborhood's anything like mine, (and I live in a low-education, low-income state) walk about a half block with your laptop on and there will probably be unsecured wifi access detected. Pipe off that story via one of those accounts.
.....As to the story, I'm still worried. I'm figuring AOL won't stop charging me till I call and endure retention specialist... According to what's posted on their service today:
Does This Mean I Can Stop Paying for AOL?
That depends. You can choose the free AOL option and stop paying for Internet access and customer support from AOL if you have another way to get online. Once you're online, you can continue to use AOL's software, email and security features at no charge. We will, however, continue to offer dial-up and high-speed (cable or DSL) plans for those who need a connection to the Internet and customer support.
.....What's interesting here is that apparently, I could use their software to continue to access my account without paying $14.95 a month. Of course, with "no customer support," I'd guess my options would be limited, though, if my screename got hosed up. Their Indian rep, who handled my call after my wife's screename password got hacked, fixed the problem very competantly.
.....I like having an AOL email address. Being underestimated haas its advantages, biggest of which is not having to deal with webmail or Outlook.
Victory screech!!