RSSAfter Four Years, AOL 9.1 Enters Beta
By Nate Mook | Published July 10, 2007, 6:43 PM
After a four year hiatus, AOL has restarted development of its client software, seemingly to appease those customers who have moved onto broadband, but are comfortable with the AOL interface. AOL 9.1 entered beta testing Tuesday, and is available for download.
Although it's only a notch above AOL 9.0, which was released in July 2003, the update brings a number of major changes to the company's software that once dominated an industry. The majority relate to AOL's shift from Internet service provider to Web portal and its newfound reliance on advertising.
Most notably, the AOL client no longer requires a login for broadband users (dial-up subscribers will still need an account to connect). Instead, the software simply functions as a window to AOL's growing number of Web properties. AOL has also attempted to reduce bloat by introducing a "Customized" and "Express" option.
E-mail in AOL 9.1 has also been revamped in order to match current industry standards, AOL says. For example, the company has introduced the "Inbox" and unlimited message storage. Previously, AOL simply had tabs for "New" and "Old" mail. RSS feed support has additionally been added.
Although AOL has let its 9.0 client age for so long, the company has made minor updates over the years. In November 2004, AOL released 9.0 "Security Edition" which bundled a firewall, antivirus software and a pop-up blocker. AOL 9.0 was also updated for Windows Vista earlier this year.
Now, with its transition away from the dial-up business complete and the AOL.com portal its central focus, AOL will likely use version 9.1 to retain those older customers who have become accustomed to the company's offerings. And in turn, AOL can spend its development resources on a single area, rather than continuing to update the client interface as well.
Whether or not customers will bite remains to be seen, however; Microsoft took a similar approach with MSN Explorer, which was largely phased out as customers migrated to newer Web browsers. But the alternative -- dropping AOL client users altogether -- wouldn't prove helpful to AOL's bottom line either.
AOL 9.1 runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista. A final release date has not been set, but the beta is available for download now from beta.aol.com.
Funny, you laugh at the very company that helped introduce Firefox to the masses, with Time Warner's Netscape connections, Firefox may not have been as successful. Of course, no one cares about that, It's always the flagship product, but I bet a few of you, use Mapquest, and if you don't that matters not, Yahoo could get bought up by TimeWarner, and merge with AOL, what about that. lol. You guys are nuts
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|darkzero63 I have XP home and I had the same problem as you I couldnt install AOL 9.1.
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|People are still using this Analretentive Orangutan Lark? Oh my...
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|Yawnnnnnnnnnn............
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|Am I missing something here? I tried downloading AOL 9.1 and all I got was AOL 9.0 VR... I am assuming its because Im on Vista.
EDIT: Never mind. Its still the same crappy aol client as before.. .sigh.
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|I remember AOL 1.6 for dos was 1 floppy disk and I was so much better than Prodigy (if anyone still remembers that ).
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|AOL? That's that coaster making company who used to give away millions of coasters with "AOL 4.0" written all over them, right? They're still around?
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|If only somebody could make those coasters edible and we might be able to put a dent in hunger in the third world
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|AOL has always stood for Aimlessly Out of Luck. Their investors (anybody home?) ought to get a huge bandage and wrap their wounds - it ain't gonna fly...really never has and never will.
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|"Comfortable" with the AOL interface? I guess a straitjacket could be comfortable if you got used to it.
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|For example, the company has introduced the "Inbox"
*laughs*
Inbox? Never heard of it. Sounds like an alien conspiracy to me...
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Ah yes, Tool. It figures.
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|Welcome back!
Always nice to have folks around who are so enamored of their fanatic obsession that they are forced to take a simple joke as a personal insult.
Lighten up, man. It's AOL. We all love 'em. If not for their world-class service and products, at least for their entertainment value. ;)
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|"Welcome back!
Always nice to have folks around who are so enamored of their fanatic obsession that they are forced to take a simple joke as a personal insult.
Lighten up, man. It's AOL. We all love 'em. If not for their world-class service and products, at least for their entertainment value. ;)"
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Thanks, Tool. I actually enjoy having you think you're yanking my chain. Truth be told though, you help advertise a product I enjoy testing and using.
Oh, by the way, I do enjoy your "simple joke" and I don't take it as a personal insult. Wouldn't think of it.
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|Truth be told though, you help advertise a product I enjoy testing and using.
Ya know, I would never have known you thought that if it hadn't been for the other 14 times or so you've stated that very same thing.
It's amusing, really; Anyone thinking that "AOL sucks" makes others want to try it. Quite the colorful world you must live in.
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|Well this inbox will always be filled ( with junk email :).
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|For example, the company has introduced the "Inbox"
*laughs*
Inbox? Never heard of it. Sounds like an alien conspiracy to me...
/sarcasm
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|I hope AOL don't fancy it up too much as my Luddite Parents sure don't want to learn anything new. They like AOL.
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|I guess this proves that the more things change the more they remain the same....
Open Ride was an eyesore and a complete disaster.
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|Don't blame AOL, they tried to discontinue it. Blame the mouth breathers that have spent four years asking for a new version because they are "comfortable with it".
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|Ditto, but Personally I liked the AOL Suite or AOL's OpenRide better then this Prehistoric annoying interface. BLEH
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|Oh great an other AOL release. Why don't they do us all a favor if they are going to ship out millions of their worthless software on to our house and in every magazine at least make them rewritable. It be nice to be able use them for something other then taking up landfil space.
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|...yyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnn....
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|Meh...I tend to avoid anything that has AOL written on it. Or as some accurately describe it: AOhelL
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|Actually, broadband users will still need an AOL account to do much of anything useful beside just browse the Web (and presumably dialup users could even do the same if they had another ISP). If you're not signed on (with an AOL account--AIM will not work), pretty much all the toolbar icons are disabled except for the Web-browsing-related sections.
Well, except for the Settings icon, which isn't a lot of fun. And even there, many things require that you sign on. (And even though the Write Mail icon is enabled, all you'll be able to do is play around if you don't have an account.)
So, I guess what it comes down to is that, if you want, you can use it as a really crummy Web browser. :)
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|Only in the USA...
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