Nickname: person

Review: To the above poster, if you don't know if you have broadband, then I would say no. What AOL is doing is providing you dial-up service for free for six months. Once over, you either 1) pay aol for dialup, or 2) hookup with a DSL or cable company to get your Internet access. You may still use the AOL software along with your new broadband service and pay nothing to AOL for it. Hope this helps.

Date reviewed: Aug 16, 2006 10:13 PM

Nickname: Tamsco

Review: This is an interesting story that is hard to predict. On the one hand Jeff is right; AOL has 17 million users based on name recognition and now that it has dropped the charge it will reclaim many more. As a result MSN and Yahoo should be afraid. On the other hand they are not innovating and thus not attracting new customers. Unless they either start innovating or teaming up with another major player (Apple?) I believe any growth they see will be temporary. The real question is how many people will come back? Has AOL been out of the ring too long to sway back its old customers?

Date reviewed: Aug 11, 2006 8:38 PM

Nickname: EarlP

Review: This is a very good move for AOL. They still have a very good customer base and they will attract some former users back - not a lot but some. But over time, if they don't merge, they will start to regain market share from Yahoo and Google by offering the free service because AOL is still friendlier to use to most people with more recognizable services with joint ventures from solid brand names (this means a lot to the "average Joe" and first-time Internet users, which there's still a huge market.

Date reviewed: Aug 7, 2006 7:49 PM

Nickname: Jef

Review: After years of sitting on a rock in the ocean, AOL is about to start swimming again. The fact that 17,000,000 subscribers are still sitting on that same rock proves that people, as long as they are being fed & are comfortable it is hard to motivate them to move elsewhere. If I was Google I would start think of gobbling up AOL.

Date reviewed: Aug 6, 2006 1:42 AM

Nickname: jeff1

Review: As usual AOL is misleading everyone (possibly even themselves). I've been a member since '94 (not proudly, I just want to keep my e-mail the same). I'm currently on an unlimited $17.95/month unlimited plan I agreed to for a year. They won't let me switch to a $9.95 plan that offers the same benefits of my current plan. Basically, if you're currently a "loyal" member, it appears that you're stuck paying!

Date reviewed: Aug 5, 2006 2:43 AM

Nickname: The Rob

Review: So that's why Netscape turned to such junk, it's owned by AOL.

Date reviewed: Aug 3, 2006 10:57 PM

Nickname: cholahan

Review: AOL's content and software is free. You still need to pay to connect to the Internet via a broadband connection. (Although perhaps AOL's dial-up connection is free for a time with your new computer). Once on the Internet, you can use AOL's services for free. AOL is still providing dial-up access and premium services for $9.95 and $25.90, respectively. Time Warner, Verizon, and Earthlink all sell high-speed access connections.

Date reviewed: Aug 3, 2006 2:54 PM

Nickname: warlance

Review: AOL should be disbanded. The way they have the arrogance to convince people that they can't get around, the net, without AOL. The way AOL treats elderly customers, when the customers want to quit AOL. The intimidation they get sucks - Down with AOL.

Date reviewed: Aug 3, 2006 2:16 PM

Nickname: Alpha1

Review: There are a number of reasons for the AOL exodus. The AOL software is cluttered with so much junk that it slows down computers. They have automatic annoying downloads. Their software can't clean up after itself. You can end up with multiple versions of their software on your computer. The proprietary little AOL island is unattractive to those who like to share their Internet experiences with friends. Have you ever tried to quit AOL? My God, it's like they're arm twisting to keep you. It takes about 45 minutes on the phone to quit! Who wants to go back to that, even for free?

Date reviewed: Aug 3, 2006 10:23 AM

Nickname: sdeet

Review: I just received my new Dell computer and I have six months of free AOL. How do I know if I have broadband access? Will my future service be free? How do I get broadband, and what does it cost?

Date reviewed: Aug 3, 2006 4:56 AM