Author Topic: AOL's 6th Sense - "I Bill Dead People" (Read 1048 times)

mietla · « **Reply #15 on:** August 09, 2006, 10:34:33 AM »

What is the value that AOL provides? How is it better than just any local ISP?

GtoRA2 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 09, 2006, 10:41:55 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by Halo
In the interest of providing a spectrum of opinion, I've been an AOLer from its beginning and have always enjoyed it as the most user friendly portal on the internet.

AOL certainly has had its ups and downs, but it also still has around 15 million subscribers. Evolving to FREE is a bold move that would have been even more impressive a couple years ago, but better late than never.

AOL declined mostly because while it dominated telephone access providers, it never repeated that dominance in cable access. Yet AOL was still appealing enough with its bring your own provider option that I stayed with it after I got Comcast.

Take another look at AOL. Won't cost you a cent.

Halo · « **Reply #17 on:** August 09, 2006, 02:01:13 PM »

Go ahead, guffaw, O ye of little faith. You can bet AOL has been doing lots of things right for a long time or it wouldn't still be the largest on-line community.

And now it's free.

Go take a look.

Won't hurt.

Honest.

Furball · « **Reply #18 on:** August 09, 2006, 02:07:27 PM »

you should have a little competition...

who can build the highest AOL free trial CD tower.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #19 on:** August 09, 2006, 02:42:34 PM »

Please do not try them. It will hurt. Thier software is the nastiest thing that ever happened to a computer. They replace the Windows TCP stack with thier own. They plant all manner of background carp processes. Thier software can mangle a computer faster than cheezwiz can cause constipation.

The only reason AOL has been successful is due to the ignorance of computer users and a very large advertising/marketing budget.

Technically, they have accomplished a feat. Thier network is the largest in the world. Not something so trivial to accomplish. Aside from that, they are a plague upon mankind driven to control your computer more than you or Bill Gates wants to do.

I have enough support problems with th emess Comcast has created here of late. I really do not need a bunch of our players heading over to AOL. It would be too much for me to bear.

Elfie · « **Reply #20 on:** August 09, 2006, 02:57:57 PM »

I'm using Comcast Skuzzy.......what problems has Comcast created?

Rooster · « **Reply #21 on:** August 09, 2006, 03:00:16 PM »

^ yes, especially curious as Time-Warner has consumed Comcast in the Plano-Frisco area also.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #22 on:** August 09, 2006, 03:10:49 PM »

Comcast's network has been experiencing high levels of packet loss, bad to poor routing and a melee of other anomalies. The Time Warner buyout of certain areas of thier network is causing more route fluctuations as Time Warner transitions old Comcast users to thier network.

Comcast aint looking so good these days. Not much of a surprise to me. It's only a matter of time before all the cable ISP's fold up, unless they raise thier prices or decrease available bandwidth to users.

Mustaine · « **Reply #23 on:** August 09, 2006, 03:20:12 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Comcast aint looking so good these days. Not much of a surprise to me. It's only a matter of time before all the cable ISP's fold up, unless they raise thier prices or decrease available bandwidth to users.

is it becomming un-profitable for them?

what is our alternative?

for me, I'm about to re-sign up for cable internet, and it was always excelent for me... neighbor had DSL a while back and nowhere near the speed I had. (he didn't online game so i don't know about packet loss for him but it was was really more than 3 times slower than my cable)

some of you guys talk about fiber optic, and other stuff going into your houses, I guess Milwaukee is in the stone ages, because not a single mention of anything like that in the area here. heck 2 miles from me (affluent suburab of Milwaukee) you still can't get cable OR DSL internet, satellite or dial up- thats it.

Eagler · « **Reply #24 on:** August 09, 2006, 03:32:50 PM »

Skuzzy has a hard on for the cable co, something about a cable line sticking up in his backyard for ages...

high speed road runner is the best highspeed connection for the dollar bar none
if it is available in your area - get it
the last thing you want is a telephone company running your internet, phone and television - that is where it is headed if we let it

aol has it's place too. for old folks and newbies to the internet, it is a great place to start. my guess is that over half the ppl on this board started there many moons ago ..

Skuzzy · « **Reply #25 on:** August 09, 2006, 03:52:03 PM »

Hehe Eagler, you are referring to the TV side. The only issue I have with cable Internet is the cost cannot possibly cover the bandwidth they claim to make available to customers.

It never has made economical sense and more than one cable ISP has gone belly up trying to make it work at that cost scale. And with more and more higher data demand options/features being available over the Internet the cost to user data demand ratios get worse. Where the user is moving more data than the business plan allowed for.

It is always a matter of time for these things. Cable companies pay for thier bandwidth and the cost of that bandwidth is based on average use. As the average use increases, so does thier cost.

Horn · « **Reply #26 on:** August 09, 2006, 04:05:01 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Halo
Go ahead, guffaw, O ye of little faith. You can bet AOL has been doing lots of things right for a long time or it wouldn't still be the largest on-line community.

And now it's free.

Go take a look.

Won't hurt.

Honest.

I didn't want to be insulting and I don't think Skuzzy did either but here is the answer is to your question. You should run, not walk, from the hideous trainwreck that is AOL.

Quote

Orignally posted by SkuzzyTheir software is the nastiest thing that ever happened to a computer. They replace the Windows TCP stack with thier own. They plant all manner of background carp processes. Thier software can mangle a computer faster than cheezwiz can cause constipation.

The only reason AOL has been successful is due to the ignorance of computer users and a very large advertising/marketing budget.

Elfie · « **Reply #27 on:** August 09, 2006, 04:42:06 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Comcast's network has been experiencing high levels of packet loss, bad to poor routing and a melee of other anomalies. The Time Warner buyout of certain areas of thier network is causing more route fluctuations as Time Warner transitions old Comcast users to thier network.

Comcast aint looking so good these days. Not much of a surprise to me. It's only a matter of time before all the cable ISP's fold up, unless they raise thier prices or decrease available bandwidth to users.

Hmm, that could explain why sometimes when I click on links or bookmarks the page doesnt open and I get an error message, but when I click on it again the page magically opens.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #28 on:** August 09, 2006, 04:52:26 PM »

That is it right there Elfie. It appears Comcast is trying to sell off thier high usage areas to other ISP's. Getting rid of the DF/W area should help them a little, but the burden on Time Warner users is going to be felt.

Elfie · « **Reply #29 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:05:22 PM »

So what can Comcast do to fix this? Other than selling off parts of their customer base.