AOL.... WHY? Why? Why?

[Jennie@ifish]

Why do people use AOL?

WHY?

YUCK!

Jen

[TheRogue]

Three words....

Marketing

MARKETING

MARKETING!!!

[WheresMyBobber]

A lmost

O n

L ine

I think some people may get so used to the comfy-cozy feeling AOL tries to create that they don't understand it's really just an barrier to the "real" internet . My opinion only..... :grin:

[Miss B Haven]

Always
toO
Lazy

To change. About time to get a new Puter (my PII 450 and Win98 is getting a little dated). I'm going to switch when I get a new system. What the recomendations out there for both Broadband and Modem.
Can't be just complaining unless you got some advice! :smile:

[1pump]

AOL? What's AOL? :grin:

[fishisabonus]

I have had AOL for 8 or 9 years and I am just too lazy to change. I never get bumped off either. I am not that crazy about it, I don't think it is that great or anything. I am patiently waiting someone to bring DSL to my area.

I had AOL for 6 years and finally got fed up with it! The onslaught of spam in my email was tiresome and the fact that the access numbers did'nt work very good. Earthlink is not all that great but no spam at least.

[Busy]

I personally don't like using AOL because when you install it, the software installs files all over the place on your computer. Whe you try to uninstall it you get a mess and either have to spend lots of time manually cleaning it up or just reformatting your hard drive. Yuck!!

AOL looks 'comfy' compared to some of the others but has a nasty kick. Don't worry, someday it will be just a thing of the past.

[Kilgore]

Miss B,

AT&T Broadband is rock solid. They did have some connection problems several months ago, but seems like its all been ironed out now. Even their customer service is much better than before, although some customers are irked about having to change their e-mail addresses, again, now that Comcast bought them out.

If you are on the Internet more than a couple of hours a day, I'd say it's a pretty good investment on time, as it'll probably save you many minutes a day, just from fast connections. At $45 per month, it is a bit stiff, especially now that you don't get the $10 discount for owning your own cable modem. Instead, you get a measley $3 per month discount. Had I known that a year ago, I would never have bought my own $140 modem.

I understand that there are more and more DSL providers in the Portland area, so I am hoping for a pretty good competition that will eventually lower the monthly ISP cost. Satellite is another option, but with the weather we have up here in the NW, I don't know how it affects the data transmission. Does anyone have satellite or DSL in PDX area?

[Pete]

Miss B, AT&T cable is fast and solid, but not perfect. First, it has to be available in your area - you're probably OK there. You can't have your own domain name - I doubt that's an issue for you. Third, there's a security concern, but not unassailable. With AT&T cable you essentially have a static IP address, which makes hacking easier. The solution is part of their package; firewall software.

Oh, and one other thing. AT&T cable was recently purchased by Comcast. There is going to be a transition which includes a change of domain name. You might want to wait until after the transition to make a change if you choose the cable route.

[RogueFishr]

I signed up for AOL when I was working out of town once in 98', with one of their 1000 hours free promotion. I lasted 2 days. In that time, I had to deny 87 credit card applications, deal with slooooooow email (USPS was actually faster), and hard to connect access numbers. My 48 hour nightmare with AOL was 47.5 hours too long. Its not even worth it if its free. In fact, I wouldn't use it if they sent ME a check.

RF

[Miss B Haven]

Interesting. I get almost no junk mail from AOL. ( I do get it from everywhere else). AOL pop ups used to bother me on log in, but with recent versions you can deactivate them. No problem since.
Cost is probably going to be a wash for me if I switch over to DSL. We've got a dedicated phone line now for the puter because of bus. use and call waiting on the main line. Thats about 30 bucks a month. Add the 21 for ISP and I'm at what DSL cost. Can you use a computer with DSL as a FAX number? I currently use my puter line as a fax number. Works all the time unless I'm online (then the fax line is "busy"). Not sure what happens trying to run a phone, DSL and a fax on the same line. :whazzup:

[ultralight]

Has anyone tried MSN 8? They're currently offering 2 to 3 months free intro special. I was thinking that it would be an alternative to the AOL. Any subscribers?

[HeavyMetal BankFisherman]

Miss B.

You should definately think about switching to DSL if it is available in your area. DSL runs over your existing phone line and does not interfere with your fax or phone. However, if you use the same line for your phone and fax then your fax will be busy if you are talking on the phone and your phone will be busy if you are sending/receiving a fax. Your internet connection will not be affected by phone calls.

The benefits of DSL are many. Most notably a significant increase in speed. The always on feature is nice as well. No more dialing up.

I am one of the first individuals to have DSL in the State of Oregon. I live right smack dab in the middle of downtown Portland. I was on the waiting list to get DSL before it was even available. Downtown Portland was the first place that it was available. I have had it for many years and I can't imagine a 56K dial-up account.

If you get DSL you can kill that extra line and spend that money towards DSL. It may be a wash but with DSL you get to SURF the net with much more speed.

[Chukrchaser]

I have been on MSN DSL for about a year -- MSN 8 has a few bugs in it but once you get the spam filter cranked up to the right level it works very well. The "junk Mail" filter is also nice --

Cost about the same as cable -- 'cept I have a dish -- the speed is awesome --

Chuck

[lost_sailor]

A-O-HELL

[Kaptn Ken]

If you don't go to the expense of cable or DSL, for WHATEVER reason, try the service at:

www.millenicom.com

They are a full service ISP and there are NO ads, NO POPUPS, and a support team that REALLY helps if it ever comes to that...Which it doesn't very often!

I'm just sayin'

PL Ken

[fishing is life]

i use net zero at home for free. 10 hrs a month free. otherwise they charge 9.95 per month. cheaper than aol. and that will save you 144 per year over aol.

[Fish_N_Russ]

Let me tell you folks about my ISP experiences.........

When I first got online in 97 I was with Teleport out of Portland...pretty good ISP, no complaints.

Then OneMain bought Teleport, then Earthlink bought OneMain (or maybe it was the other way around), either way it sucked after that. Lost connections, lots of spam, slow downloads......besides the fact that you didnt know what exact name the company was since they had bought a bunch of local ISPs about that time.

About 3 months ago I cut ties with Earthlink (see below) and tried MSN. MSN was a little cheaper since I had a 2nd line. I called them up, gave them my info and they sent out the CD to install. NOW when I looked at my credit card bill last month I had been charged when I had originally called MSN.......THEN I was also charged when I set up my account info while installing the CD. In other words, they started charging me for 2 separate accounts...same name same email addy etc etc......I let them hear an earful about it and they refunded all charges, but they also said this was a common problem..makes you wonder.

ANYWAY, now I am with WVI...willamette valley internet from Stayton. They serve the mid willamette valley and are pretty good imo. No complaints so far.

Btw, got a letter from Circuit Court in Portland last week....seems a few folks that had bad experiences like me with Earthlink/OneMain filed a class action suit against them, hah! there is justice in the world!

Russ

oh and I have tried the latest AOL and it isnt that bad really......aside from the annoying files they put on your computer

[husker]

get dsl.....costs to much but it always works....click netscape and go......no dial up crap......