RSSAOL Preps Image Makeover on AOL.com
By David Worthington and Nate Mook | Published June 21, 2005, 11:30 AM
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My AOL begins as a "blank slate" that can be populated with content from RSS feeds in an attempt to bring order to "the chaos of the Web." To this end, AOL has partnered up with Feedster, a search engine for RSS feeds, to create an RSS aggregator that is topic driven. Users can initially select "RSS samplers" that contain a number of different content sources.
Microsoft has dabbled in building its own RSS aggregator for MSN, but the service never got out of the experimental phase.
In the fall, AOL Instant Messenger presence will be layered into My AOL so that users can share RSS content and other interests, making those connections in what AOL refers to as a "community-like" atmosphere.
The AOL.com homepage, which is fully compatible with alternate browsers including Firefox and Safari, will also feature unique content to attract a new broadband-enabled audience. Over 15,000 videos, 150 radio channels, as well as live concerts from Sessions@AOL will be streamed via the site. AOL is developing an HTML-based media player to embed video playback directly within AOL.com.
To make all of its multimedia content straightforward and discoverable, AOL is preparing a new video search facility that will be available as a beta within the coming weeks. The video search engine also foreshadows an upcoming push into the living room with television enabled PCs.
"It's really going to help people cut through everything that's out there on the Web and get to really high-quality, interesting and cool video products," explained Parkins.
Despite making its content and services available to all, AOL maintains that it still has a value proposition for its dial-up subscribers. Parkins told BetaNews that AOL members value features like roaming access, 24/7 customer service, antivirus and antispyware protection, firewall solutions, and parental controls.
Parkins said AOL will continue "developing software and services for our AOL members," but declined to say if and when AOL 10 will arrive.
Nonetheless, it's clear that AOL's future will revolve around growing its Web audience. "The subscriber base is declining and as a company we need to find alternate ways of gaining revenue. So, we are moving into this Web strategy," said Parkins.
all i can say is aol is the best and maybe aol 10 shuld happen as aol 9 seems to have been around for a good few years now
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|Okay, the web site will be viewable from any OS, but the client software (browser, radio, everything but Instant Messenger) is being developed exclusively for Windows. So as far as I know a lot of this great new content will be Windows-only.
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|Why would you need images when you can access the real thing... Bravo BetaNews *yawn*
http://startpage.aol.com/beta.adp
For information on what's new and what to expect: http://channelevents.aol...hattoexpect/aolcom.html
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|Originally, the beta site wasn't live.
Don't be a hater, it's unnecessary.
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|Good lord, abother remake? Of course it only works correctly in IE. AOL's is freaking bed with Microsoft. Their AOL client software is a shell for IE. The AOL Browser is also a shell and lets not forget Netscape Browser. I feel sorry for that pore firefox that's been made to coexist with IE in one shell.
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|Where do people like YOU get your facts?
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|Well, THAT is a little uncalled for, especially since YOU fail to explain how his facts are wrong and/or why he is a loser. Although his facts may not be entirely accurate, that does not automatically make him a loser, and there is no evidence here to support that he is anything more than only slightly misinformed.
That being said, let's set the facts straight...
AOL is not in bed with Microsoft, quite the opposite really... I think they HATE Microsoft, which is why their software is always breaking Windows configurations, which in turn ticks people off and convinces them that it's Windows that's at fault.
AOL Client software is NOT a shell for anything... it's a bloated honk of manure that bundles the "AOL Browser" (an IE Shell). Netscape 7.2 and earlier were NOT shells for IE in any way shape or form, however, 8.0 is both a shell for IE *and* Firefox as well as a huge honk of bloat leftover from 7.x.
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|Ok, so I may have been a little misinformed about the AOL client. I guess I do need to clerify myself on the netscape side. I did know that prior to Netscape 8.0, Netscape was in no way a shell. Now I'm gonna try not to be as immature and rude as the first person that responded to me. I'm willing to admit my misinformed opinion and I apologize for anything I said that wasn't exactly accurate.
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|Hmm...I don't think I've seen a single positive comment from KSzostek yet. Mainly just "LOSER! MORON!" comments... usually aimed at me :/
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|Well if you're getting your facts straight, the AOL Client does not bundle the AOL Browser, which is available as an independent beta test and is not designed for AOL Client users.
Netscape 8 is also not based on version 7. It was a rewritten UI based on Firefox. Bloated for power users, maybe, but it doesn't have a "honk of bloat" leftover.
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|Don't take it so personal KRAMY most of your comments are just bashes. You like to bash, just to bash! I hope this is more positive!
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|My Point exactly "Crashoverride" misinformed but needing to say something even when your comments are wrong. Get the facts straight before looking silly, like right now. Case closed!
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|Sometimes the only way to get your facts straight or to learn anything is to first make yourself look silly. Surely you're not suggesting that you always knew everything you know about AOL. That's simply not possible. That one be like saying you knew everything you know about a computer before ever using one.
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|I see...
Edit: Hey cool, you went back to old articles and wrote the exact same thing for several people(that will never bother going to old articles, btw). :P
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|AOL Client has indeed always bundled an AOL Browser which has always been a customized, limited shell/skin for IE. This has been true since AOL 3.0 when it was first introduced.
The stand-alone AOL Explorer Browser is just a new effort to bring it out of the main client. Actually, it makes me wonder... what's with including AOL Explorer along with AIM... don't they already have a browser-client/instant-message program now called "AOL 9.0" ?
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|Crash, please ignore the trolls... it's not his fault, afterall... I'm sure all of his problems with people are their(our) fault, lol.
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|I just don't make stupid comments when I'm not sure.
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|I'm not even sure the second-coming of Christ, Himself, could save the soul and repair the image of AOL... although, actually learning to write good software would be a good effort at trying...
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|LOL, for the second time this week we agree on something. ;-)
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|Heh.. Yeah, something tells me it ain't that far off, concerniong the second-coming. All these pigs flying around, reports of a glacier forming in Lucifer's backyard, Mac switching to iNtel...
MSAOL wouldn't surprise me in the least right about now.
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|nothin suprisin at all.. even worse than yayahoohoo
"rich" contents dun support browsers other than IE..
EDIT: i mean on windows & *nix
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|Works fine in Firefox, and on a Mac.
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|Nate,
try click on those CNN, MTV video clips.. My firefox (Windows XP) is not supported also..
it even wrongly identifies my Fedora Core 4 / Konqueror 3.4.1+ as Macintosh... though Apple's Safari browser is actually based on KDE Konqueror browser ("WebCore" rendering engine is based on "KHTML" rendering engine used by Konqueror)
[screenshot]
http://r1cky.com/aol.jpg
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|Well Linux support is a stretch, you can't even view QuickTime videos on Linux anyway. But that same exact clip worked fine for me on Mac OS X.
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|BTW, the only reason i install Linux / KDE is to use a KHTML browser :p
if someone releases a Windows port of Konqueror, or even Apple releases Safari for Windows, I will stick with my Windows XP before my next PC, probably a Mac
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|uh...isnt the site a beta?
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|These idiots can't comprehend the word BETA.
Look what they are using on their machines.
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|That's not entirely accurate. You can't view Quicktime with Quicktime for Linux because there isn't one, however all the major players will use the quicktime codec to play quicktime video on Linux.
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|File this story under "Who cares!".
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|New front cover, same crappy content.
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|CNN, Time Warner, Time Magazine, music videos, live concerts including Live8, Warner Bros., HBO, Moviefone, CityGuide, MapQuest, etc.
Yeah, definitely crappy content. /sarcasm
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