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AOL 8 Plus For Broadband, This Ain't Your Daddy's AOL! Written by: Dan Daily
Hi Gang! Long Time No See! As steady readers, you've all read my article on AOL 8. I told you it was the best AOL yet and at the time I wasn't mistaken. I also said that AOL 8 would go a long way towards keeping AOL's subscriber base and again, I was quite correct. Well gang, the best just got A LOT better! Those of you that have a broadband Internet connection such as a Cable modem, DSL, or satellite and not on AOL, should read this.
So, Let's Go! .
I don't really know where to start: Instead of doing the familiar evaluation of this software, I'm going to talk about what the Plus version of AOL 8 adds to the existing system. If you need a primer on AOL 8 in general, I refer you to my original article on it: "AOL 8, The Best AOL Ever."
The Internet is Maturing Those of us on the vanguard of the Internet, have seen quite a ride. From the days of 16k modems all the way up to 3000k high speed Internet connections, we have seen much potential in what these fast connections can give. The trouble is, no one has really exploited that potential. That is Until Now: Instead of concentrating on supplying you with a high speed connection, (which they do, do) AOL has taken a different tack. They realize that many of us buy our own connections from our cable suppliers or the phone company. To AOL, this mean BYOA, or "Bring Your Own Access." For folks that have their own connections, AOL doesn't charge you for the dial up fee you won't use. So, AOL costs 14.95 instead of the 24 dollars a month so many of you are familiar with. (keyword: billing)
Why Go High Speed? It's really quite simple: Click and you're there. Just like that! As computers and the Internet become more and more integrated into our lives, high speed is a no brainer. I don't know about you folks, but I couldn't live without my computer. I pay almost ALL my bills with it. Concert tickets, hotel reservations, research on products, buying products not locally available, entertainment, learning, all my news and the list goes on ad nausea! Just yesterday my Dad wanted the blue book price on a motor home he's thinking of buying. Poof! He had it. This is how the net infiltrates your life. You don't even realize it... Usually, the first sign of this takes the form of a second phone line for the computer. But, that phone line is just that, only a phone line. By the time you pay for installation and the monthly bills, a broadband connection is either even money, or cheaper! In my case, about 20 dollars cheaper and it's NOT a 56k connection, it's a 3000k connection!!!
AOL 8 for Broadband Though many people have written off AOL many times, AOL refuses to go away. Their new broadband initiative has re-lighted the fire that made them what they are. AOL OWNS the Internet, this is undisputable and they will continue to. Not content to see their business go away, AOL instead, has concentrated on it's strengths and is now using them. The merger with Time Warner is finally starting to pay off. This new version of AOL isn't just a souped up copy of AOL 8, it's an entirely new world! One of broadband's inherent strengths is it's ability to run streaming video. AOL 8 Plus has video all over the place! Imagine watching your news on TV, just watching the stories you're interested in, with NO commercials. That's what this is! "AOL Radio" was covered in my previous article, but this AOL Radio is CD quality! Want to see a Rock Concert? A music video? Just click on it. Like I said, it's a whole new world!
The AOL 8 Plus Welcome Screen (1024x768 resolution) From the moment your turn it on, you know this AOL is different. The welcome screen fills your screen entirely! On 8, you get three pictures of the latest news revolving. On Plus, it's over twice the size and has video links next to the pictures. You can read the story or watch it on TV; all totally seamless. There is also a "News to Watch" titler with video links to those. A Very Nice Job. You can also change your background wallpaper, in preferences, to a whole host of pictures and categories for each screen name. There has never been a more customizable experience offered by anyone! They even have a Google search box on the welcome screen and much more! Interesting note: If you use the standard cloud background without changing it, in the morning, the clouds sit in a bright morning sky. At night, it's a dark sky! LOL Obviously, some clowns in the programming department. Yes guys, I noticed! Go AOL!!! ROFL
New Television Listings There is a TV listings button. You click on it and give it your zip code one time. From then on, you click on it and it gives you your local television listings. All Of Them! You can punch in a time and poof, it moves to that time section. Or punch in a different date. Very nice and much easier to use then the newspaper. And, you can search the TV listings for anything you want, or any subject you're interested in. You CAN'T do that with a newspaper. It's great...
Video @ AOL If that's not enough, there's a button called "Video@AOL." When you click on this baby, you may never come back! Upon clicking, it sub-divides into 9 categories that you can cruise. Want your weather? Click on it and "The Weather Channel" pops up; click your city and it gives you your local forecast just like if you were watching it on TV. Only this is on demand, no waiting! Want to see a music video or concert? Just click on the music tab. In any category you can imagine! All in full motion video and CD quality sound. Want to check out new cars? Click on the Auto tab and watch to your hearts content. How about sports? Just click on it. And, these aren't tiny pictures either. They're quite large and well produced. Folks, this is just unbelievable! There is so much here I can't possibly review it all. AOL has truly blown me away with this. This is What Broadband Should Be!
Broadband Potential Realized As more and more people get broadband, a new wave is happening. AOL, partnered with it's Time Warner companies, is making it a tidal wave! This is what the merger was supposed to be all about. In fact, you may never visit the Internet again! You really don't have to ever leave AOL at all. This must have the other ISP's shuddering in their offices big time. Know how I know? NO ONE is talking about AOL plus. If it wasn't for Me, You wouldn't even know about it. Think Microsoft is a monopoly? When this gets out, it'll give a whole new meaning to the word! And, AOL Plus gives you all this content for free! Anywhere else, you would have to buy subscriptions. Something like 60 dollars a month worth! AOL bashers like to say, "You can get AOL's content anywhere on the Internet." Oh yeah? Where?
All Your Screen Names Online at Once? Oh yeah, I almost forgot; if you have a home network with kids, you can all be online at the same time with all seven of your screen names!
New Spam Controls They might actually listen to me: In my last article I gave a wish list for spam control. It's now all here. You can highlight whole blocks of spam and send them in all at once. This is GREAT!!!
Neato Features "Broadband Hot Picks" At the bottom of the welcome screen is a video bar called hot picks. Two are shown. Click on the arrow and it expands across the bottom of the screen. Very nice. There's "Yellow Pages," "Stock quotes," "TV Listings," "Shopping" and "Maps and Directions" buttons at the bottom of the welcome screen also. Right where you need them, when you need them.
Potential Problems With all good things, there are also problems that can pop up. The only thing I see is the same problem I had with 8 in general. Sometimes when exiting or changing screen names, she wants to stick. Hitting Cntl/Alt/Del shows a hang. Clicking on cancel clears it up. I don't know why it does this and it doesn't all the time. But, don't click "end task" as that could crash the computer. Clicking on cancel seems to reset it. I originally mistook this for 8 using too many resources. It isn't that. Perhaps it's a glitch in my cable modem/router connection I don't know. Not a biggie though.
My Biggest Bitch Back to the Screen Resolution problem: As I mentioned before, I have a 19 inch monitor that is set at 1024 x 768. This causes all the main line AOL screens to be squished and some things are plain not there. But, the new broadband content fits fine and 1024 x 768 is required for the new welcome screen! AOL! It's time to fix this!!! And Buffalo news? There isn't any! I've brought this up before. AOL? Why don't you hire me for cripes sakes!!! I'll do it. There is local news in Buffalo!!! Sheesh... Note: Since this original writing, the AOL News screen has just changed to a 1024 x 768 format. Now everything fits. They are working on this problem.
Conclusion Although I had mentioned that AOL has matured. I was wrong: This new AOL 8 plus puts everything else to shame. Just when I think I've seen it all, this comes along and I realize I didn't even know the questions, let alone the answers. It's that good gang. The first time you use and explore it, prepare to have your breath taken away. Really... While some people ridicule and laugh at AOL, this software makes you realize just how clueless they all really are. AOL content has always been top notch and this begs a whole new description! Some people think AOL IS the Internet. Now they REALLY will!!! LOL It's very nice to see the AOL folks get their heads together and get serious about broadband. Since the merger, the tools have all been there and it's a real kick to see them use it. The Internet just got a whole lot smaller gang, and AOL IS IT!!! Try it, you'll really like it. If you're on AOL and on broadband, go to keyword: upgrade and get it. If you'd like to see what it's all about: Click Here I've been with AOL since AOL2. I've stuck with them through thick and thin. Guess What? They haven't disappointed me. AOL 8 Plus? "You are the Apple of my Eye!" I Highly Recommend It!
I hope this helps you on your road. Your Road? Yes, Your Road To Computer Sanity Danny Note of Interest: Due to my original article on AOL 8, I've been accused of pushing AOL. I respond to this in today's "Reader Mail: Dear Danny, why do you push AOL? Any ratings on other ISP's?" Click Here
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