Home

AOL impacts my life in some way on a daily basis. Mostly it’s just the never ending flood of commercials telling you how “easy” AOL is and that there’s “never been a better time to join”. That probably has something to do with the fact that (AOL) Time-Warner is the cable provider in my area. Aside from the lousy commercials- AOL is just horrible software and consequently causes all sorts of computer problems. In a way this is a benefit to me- I get paid to fix these issues! The problem is I just hate seeing 34.6 million folks using yucky ol’ AOL. So here’s the case against AOL:

Cost – at $23.90/month AOL is more expensive than other dial up services.

Content – AOL uses a pitiful excuse for a browser. AOL subscribers are simply missing out on a lot of the media rich content the internet has to offer. There are countless web sites dedicated to addressing AOL browser-specific issues. Here’s a chart that shows some of what AOL users are missing out on. And what I find particularly annoying is the AOL browser’s insistence on not using the all of the available screen space. Also, AOL compresses graphics which often makes images blurry or distorted!

Email – AOL uses a proprietary email format and once again AOL users can’t enjoy a lot of the content available to others.

Spam – Spam is a problem for everyone, but AOL subscribers are at the top of the list for spammers! AOL members are particularly-heavily targeted for two reasons. First, the community aspects of AOL have a serious side effect: it's very easy to harvest lots of AOL email addresses. When you chat, you're announcing your email address to the world. When you post to a message board or newsgroup, you're doing the same. AOL's system makes it easier for unscrupulous people to find out your address. And there isn't much AOL can do to stop this. Second, many AOL members don't know better than to refuse to do business with bulk email marketers. They assume it is an ethical way to do business, and buy the merchandise or services offered. A marketer will always prey more heavily on those more likely to do business with them.

Speed – AOL is usually slower than other dial up services because there is more traffic on their network. High speed access (DSL / cable modem) doesn’t cost much more than AOL and is up to 50 times faster! AOL has been slow to hop on the highspeed bandwagon, but maybe this is a good thing for netizens…

Hackers – “It’s so easy no wonder it’s number one” – the number one target for hackers that is! The vast expanse of the AOL herd and the utter lack of computer savvy of many of its members just make AOL members prime targets.

Advertising – AOL users are drowned in a deluge of ads by AOL every time they sign on. Thankfully these can be turned off. AOL is an advertising juggernaut rolling over its subscribers from the initial “Welcome” to the awful “Goodbye” when they get disconnected.

Proprietary interface – This is the crummy software AOL uses to connect you to their network (and the internet). Other ISPs use either dial-up networking and/or TCP/IP, both of which are part of the (Windows) operating system. Not AOL! Oh noooo- AOL insists on uber-buggy software! And every version is ripe with new bugs! Using the operating system’s networking components is the fastest, most stable way to connect to the internet and you connect directly to the internet whereas AOL users are actually only connecting to AOL’s network from which the internet may be accessed. AOL’s software is crash prone. The fewer programs you have running while online the more stable to computer will be (less stuff to go wrong). ALL you need for dial up networking is the ISP phone number, your username and password and you’re all set!

ahhhhhh... I feel better now.  AOL is expensive, slow, buggy and media deficient. Really folks, if you're using AOL still do yourself a favor and find another (real) Internet Service Provider.

Home