Master the basics of AOL (Free!)

blade · Post by **blade** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 6:07 pm

Received another aol cd in the mail, this one in a tin case and inside was the usual bs about how aol is the best and then a coupon saying you get a great free gift, "Master the basics of AOL in only 10 minutes a day!"

<i>"Learn quick tips
Make the most of email, instant messaging and chat!
Discover smart ways to explore aol and the net!"</i>

A $9.95 Value!
*allow 4-6 weeks for delivery

aaaaahhhhhhhhahahhaa

They're killin' me I tell ya. :jester

Do people actually fall for that baloney bs? I guess noobs do.

UberNeuman · Post by **UberNeuman** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 6:12 pm

Better save it for e-bay - at the rate AOL is going, you may well have a collectors item...

DocSilly · Post by **DocSilly** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 6:28 pm

No, send it to No more AOL CDs , they still need many more to go to 1 million CDs to be delivered back to AOHell Headquarters

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:11 pm

i kept one of those metal cases for screws - I also saw them giving them out at the post office

instead of social security retirement, we'll all get AOL accounts

ilike2bbarefoot · Post by **ilike2bbarefoot** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:33 pm

/throws caution to the wind and jumps into the flamebath

Ya know, I agree that the AOL CDs can be annoying if you have broadband and wouldn't touch a 56K modem with a 10-foot pole. But for some of us who don't have the luxury of broadband (or money), like me, these free AOL CDs are actually really cool.

First of all, AOL is the only ISP that I know of that gives you a free trial like this. I calculated at the beginning of my trial that in order to use up all 1025 hours in the 45 days, I would have to spend more than 22 hours a day online. Fat chance. Second, AOL is actually quite eager to give you even more free time. I had a free trial a few years ago, and when I called to cancel at the end of the month, they said to wait, because I somehow had a second free month coming. And this time around, when I called to cancel, I mentioned that I was having some peculiarities, and after talking to an extremely nice guy (I know, that's rare at AOL), he gave me another two free months. Mindblowing. Third, at least for me, AOL is the fastest dialup around. It blows the pants off of that stupid NetZero crap, which is bloated, buggy, and slow as molasses. I always connect at at least 50.6, sometimes 52. And I rarely get kicked off.

Perhaps I am an oddity. (Well, beyond this, I know I'm odd

) But I just have to stand up and say, hey, stop rippin' on my ISP so much. It is great for me, and besides, my uncle is the VP of Search Operations

: I am still trying to get in touch with him 'bout a job....

.........................

That felt good. Now I get to sit back and watch as all the flamethrowers start hosing down my post

Post by **sbp** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:59 pm

Guess Who Has the Worst ISP Service? AOL again

http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/dow ... 39/isp.pdf

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:59 pm

Only thing you need to know to master AOL is how to disable the pop-ups. I include that in my system tune-up during service calls.

I don't knock AOL - some people need their hand held when they browse the Internet (no one on this forum, but not everyone is a power user). However it's absurd to pay $24 a month for the "privilege" of being bombarded with advertising.

blade · Post by **blade** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:59 pm

Reminds me of that oldie song..

<i>"Why's everybody always pickin' on me"</i>

Because it's fun to pick on AOL.

We get that name everytime we turn on the TV, open a newspaper, at various web sites, in our mail and that dad gum "You got mail" keeps echoing in our virgin ears!

My brother took advantage of a free aol trial for his laptop and when he travels, That was last year and he's still getting it free. Everytime he calls to cancel they always say try it another 1-2 more months. So heck, why not.

I don't think they are a real bad company, just annoying as heck.

That and the fact it seemeed they were always trying to buy up smaller companies.

*Oh yeah, earthlink, AT&T and Bellsouth have free trials last I saw. I used a free month trial from the first 2 recently.

jasper · Post by **jasper** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 8:08 pm

Put the CD in the microwave for 3 seconds

You get to see a really pretty show. Kind of like the Northern Lights ... only on a smaller scale

Smells a little bad thou

mile

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Jul 24, 2002 9:09 pm

The problem I have with AOL is that their software is WAYYY too intrusive. It's a little spooky how much they alter your Windows installation.

Someone documented how many registry changes are made when you install AOL 7. Ready for this? over 300!

None of them are removed or restored when you uninstall AOL. No one has been able to document them all reliably.

Moreover, AOL installs it's own network device driver which is almost insidious. It's been know to trash the networking on a Windows installation so badly that you have to wipe the drive and re-install Windows.

AOL violates Microsoft's guidelines for uninstallation. AOL leaves a LOT of itself behind after an uninstall (uninstall usually does NOT remove the network driver or any of the registry entries).

I will NOT install AOL 7 on any client's system - I've been burned too many times. 1 out of 10 times the installation will go VERY badly, so badly that you have wipe the drive and install from scratch.

I will only install AOL 5 (which works just fine thank you) on a client's system. I warn them to install AOL 7 at their own risk and if it f@cks up, they can pay me to fix it.

Absolut Talent · Post by **Absolut Talent** » Thu Jul 25, 2002 4:54 pm

yeah aol sucks

Slugbait · Post by **Slugbait** » Thu Jul 25, 2002 11:46 pm

"Master the basics of AOL in only 10 minutes a day!"

Small print: May take up to 16 years, two months and twenty-three days to complete course at only 10 minutes a day. Your results may vary...

Seriously, I had a neighbor who wanted to use AOL. I begged him not to. Told him why. He did it anyway, and lost his modem. AOL couldn't help him fix it. Required a full rebuild.

HellRaiser&BeerD · Post by **HellRaiser&BeerD** » Sun Jul 28, 2002 6:39 pm

Phjorg · Post by **Phjorg** » Tue Jul 30, 2002 1:20 pm

I remember when I used to work for HP I would always get calls from customers who were told by AOL that they couldn't connect cause the "modem was defective" sigh.. 95% of the time the modem was jsut fine, as a simple dial up to an AT&T mail server through hyperterminal proved...

As i recall, there is actually a way to log onto AOL through your windows dial up software so you don't have to install all the aol crap (and yup, 6 & 7 both install all kinds of stuff that trashed many a system that i had to deal with) but hell if i can remember what it is... sigh any help here?

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Tue Jul 30, 2002 7:44 pm

No way I know of - AOL takes great pains to avoid that. When you're on AOL and accessing the internet, you're basically using AOL as a proxy server, and that's why their Internet access sucks.