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AOL Widely Expected to Go Free

By Ed Oswald, BetaNews

July 27, 2006, 12:59 PM

Time Warner is widely expected to announce in a news conference next Wednesday that it will drop charges for its AOL online service, a plan first disclosed in the Wall Street Journal early this month. While AOL would still charge for dial-up access, it will be free for those with broadband.

The move is expected to be a topic of discussion at a Time Warner board meeting Thursday in New York City. AOL has lost 30 percent of its user base in the last four years, and executives are hoping that a free service would lure lost users back and provide a boost in advertising revenue.

AOL has already torn down its so-called "walled garden" for a number of its services, and repositioned its AOL.com portal as a leading Web destination with e-mail and video features. The company also recently rolled out a new Netscape.com site that is driven by user submissions like the popular Digg.com.

The merger between AOL and Time Warner is widely regarded as one of the biggest blunders in tech, and even AOL founder Steve Case has expressed regret over pushing for the two companies to join forces. "Yes, I'm sorry I did it," he said on the Charlie Rose Show on PBS last Friday.

Case did say he still thought the concept behind the merger would have worked. "I think it was a good idea," he argued. "I'm disappointed and frustrated that it hasn't developed in the way that that we all hoped at the time it could." Since the merger, AOL Time Warner has lost some $200 million in share value.

Analysts say what AOL has to say August 2 means a lot to Time Warner's future stock price, now near a two-year low. Investors are looking for reasons to believe the company is serious about turning the lagging Internet service around. However, some say that the media conglomerate has waited too long.

"They should have done what they contemplated two years ago to aggressively develop AOL as a Web service," Morris Mark of Mark Asset Management told Reuters on Thursday.

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By pjs3805

edited Aug 1, 2006 - 11:38 AM

Well, it appears the Giant has met it's David. We in the computer world have been waiting for the collaspe of AOL. They have played so many games in retaining customers that really didn't want their lousy service. (Slow connect speed, huge programming that robs computers of it's resources) and services that don't work well with other services. They now must scramble to survive. What a treat to see the Giant stumble over the finish line. If AOL is Smart they will invest in BOP (Broadband over Powerlines). It will reach those customers that have depended on them for so many years and they won't be losing anything since becoming an AOL customer. Actually, according to reports it will most likely save AOL and some of the other dial up companies. This is a no brainer in rual areas because DSL and Cable cannot reach or service those customers as well as BOP. Check it out.

Score: 0

By Natrunner

posted Jul 30, 2006 - 3:01 AM

AOL made millions off of dial-up, but it's time has come. Just as the horse and buggy was bumped off by the automobile.

Score: 0

By sophist_dreams

posted Jul 29, 2006 - 8:59 AM

I wont even put their free AIM on my computer. Last time I did it took me a month to find and remove the hidden files they poured on to my hard drive. Why would I want this crap?

Score: 0

By fedupofpc

edited Jul 28, 2006 - 1:30 PM

I for one will leave aol if they insist on charging me for internet service being a dial up customer, I do not see why I should be penalised for not having broadband

Score: 0

By Paul Skinner

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 6:14 PM

Even if the information you seem to have read into this article WAS true, wouldn't you just 'upgrade' to AOL broadband for 'free'?

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 2:16 PM

Come again?

They aren't providing connections for free, just their software.

Even broadband customers have to pay for their connection. They're just paying someone else - not AOL.

Score: 0

By fleshpresser

edited Jul 27, 2006 - 9:08 PM

I'm one of those poor unfortunate souls who keeps AOL around simply for the e-mail account. I know there are ZILLIONS of places ot get free e-mail, but while I've made over a dozen physical, geographic moves in the last ten years, I've always had the same AOL e-mail, so people can always find me.

Too bad there wasn't a way to roll over your e-mail account to a different location like you can with cell phone numbers.

At least I won't pay for it now.

Score: 0

By Intrusive_Rogue

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 8:43 AM

Forward any mail recieved to a new account. Or POP it and reply with a new address, let your friends know the change.

Simple enough

Score: 0

By crashoverride

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 6:01 PM

Back before I got rid of these shmucks years ago I got 6 free months out of em. Every time I called to cancel they would give me a free month and tell me to call back if i hadn't change my mind by then. After I finally got rid of them I have always said that they couldn't give me their garbage.

Score: 0

By Sexbarril

edited Jul 27, 2006 - 6:00 PM

Does this mean that AOL will now be mailing out CDs ( or possibly soon HD-DVD / Blu-Ray ) with 8760000000 free hours for you to use?

Or will they just now use ALOT more stupid advertisement to promote themselves?

Perhaps something along the lines of "You no longer have to pay us to mess up your computer, we now do it FREE!"

Latz, SB

Score: 0

By Intrusive_Rogue

edited Jul 27, 2006 - 4:47 PM

Article should be titled...

"AOL Widely Expected to Still Suck."

Score: 0

By PC Rat

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 4:17 PM

...

Will a "free" AOL still refuse to honor
service cancelation requests ?

...

The Computer Rodent

...

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 10:51 AM

lol...

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 4:35 PM

ROFLMAO!

That was great!

Score: 0

By Das mod

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 2:42 PM

this is the type of services i wouldnt use even if it were free ....
yes AOL, thank you but.... NO

Score: 0

By gawd21

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 1:47 PM

AOL is what caused the blood loss in the the first place. The only workable way for TW to recover is to 100% sever it's ties with AOL and to do a mass marketing advertisement letting everyone know that they did that, and they MIGHT recover.

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 3:15 PM

Or....

Shut.

It.

Down.

Simply close the doors. Launch a new service 3 months later, under a new name, advertise the hell out of it, and hope to God the AOL stigma doesn't hang around.

Score: 0

By speedmeister

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 6:52 PM

Time Warner would be better off selling AOL to some schmuck that thinks they can turn AOL around. Time Warner would get a bunch of cash to invest in new ventures and they wouldn't have to deal with losing money on AOL.

Score: 0

By VikingBlade

edited Jul 27, 2006 - 1:42 PM

Well no surprise. They have been letting everyone who cancels keep their AOL e-mails. Which is one of the main reasons people still use it.

Score: 0

By Hellcat_M

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 1:26 PM

This would be good because I know a few people who have AOL and then went to broadband but don't want to get rid of AOL because everyone knows their email address and their affraid to make a complete swith. As much as I tell them and help I still can't seem to pry them away. Most I can switch and talk them into leaving but still a few want to stay. This way the ones that want to stay can and they're not getting ripped off by paying AOL and their broadband provider. I personally still don't like AOL, and they should have done this years ago, but at least their doing something now.

Score: 0

By fibreiv

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 1:23 PM

"free service would lure lost users back and provide a boost in advertising revenue."

So they are hoping to get people to come back by giving away free adware? They should re-evaluate their business module.

Theres my two cents.

Score: 0

By siryak

posted Jul 27, 2006 - 1:14 PM

Whenever they start paying me to use it is when I will use it.

Score: 0

By gchenry

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 7:29 AM

AOL mail has been free for months..

2 Gig for web accounts
unlimitted for subscriers

Score: 0

By NULLedge

posted Aug 1, 2006 - 11:44 PM

no thats AIM mail. AOL mail is actually subjected to the limits AOL imposes on its paying customers...

those limits:

it deletes your mail even if you havent read it to make space presumably
you cant export your contacts or mass mail them
you cant export your mail
it wont let you autoarchive your mail thus protecting it from their garbage collector

i had it and ditched it by changing my credit card number. eff their service line. They shafted their paying customers for years with ads and bloat and the AIM users get a free ride? screw them.

Score: 0

By bassrck4

posted Jul 28, 2006 - 4:05 PM

I'm still waiting for the $25.90 they charged me for a 90 day "FREE" trial!!

Score: 0

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