AOL Dial-Up Internet Service to End After 34 Years

[theluggage]

That is an very large number of people to leave out there hanging!

AOL isn't the only dialup operator still going, and setting up a dialup service for areas that genuinely need it is something that local entrepreneurs ought to be able to provide.

The current fun here in the UK is that the whole freaking PTSN is due to be shut down in favour of broadband and voice-over-IP (or people just not bothering with landlines). So there won't be anywhere to plug that modem!
Supposed to be mostly complete in 2027, although I suspect "mostly" is doing a lot of work in that sentence...

 

[cdsapplefan]

Some are. I have a lot of relatives that in rural areas, but many of them live in heavily wooded areas and can't get a reliable signal. It doesn't work if you have virtually no view of the open sky.

Well cut down those trees 🌳 🌲 🪵 🪓 for some line of site 🛰️📡

 

[furbzv1]

You've Got Mail! The nostalgia.

But also.. didn't know this still existed.
Whos next to come out of nowhere? Netzero? Netscape?

Im really showing my age here lol

 

[STOCK411]

You've Got Mail! The nostalgia.

But also.. didn't know this still existed.
Whos next to come out of nowhere? Netzero? Netscape?

Im really showing my age here lol

Nah, I love watching old tech relics

 

[coolkid93]

“Like” if you didn’t know this still existed? Lol

 

[Boeingfan]

That iconic sound, when, on a good night, I might get 5.2kb/s downloads! 😄

 

[Boeingfan]

Nah, I love watching old tech relics

What a great ad 😄

 

[JohnC1959]

oh great. I guess I may as well also get rid of my old style landline that fits into my acoustic coupler modem.

 

[STOCK411]

oh great. I guess I may as well also get rid of my old style landline that fits into my acoustic coupler modem.

I still have my rotary phone somewhere in my parents' house...

 

[lazyrighteye]

“You got stale.”



🤪

 

[JohnC1959]

Ah the old days of "the Source", Compuserve, Prodigy and AOL. When anything seemed possible if you had a lot of patience.

 

[STOCK411]

Ah the old days of "the Source", Compuserve, Prodigy and AOL. When anything seemed possible if you had a lot of patience.

That was also the time when there was a CompUSA, Circuit City, Best Buy, Fry's and a Good Guys all LESS than a mile from where I lived..

As of today, all thats left its the best buy

 

[psac]

Still using my AOL email account from 1993. Glad that’s not going away (yet)

Same.

 

[Vaga8ond]

Those AOL chatrooms were legendary.
--------------AOL CHATROOM Horny Nerds-------------
ASL

 

[laptech]

With AOL going I guarantee you there will be some techie out there that will create an app so people can constantly relive that 'AOL experience' because once it's gone, it's gone forever.

 

[laptech]

AOL brought me the experience of newsgroups, mIRC and ICQ Those two programs was always on the AOL CD's that were attached to the front of computer magazines.

 

[goobot]

Don’t a bunch of people in Alaska rely on dial up due to lack of infrastructure? Wonder what’s going to happen to them

 

[JohnC1959]

Don’t a bunch of people in Alaska rely on dial up due to lack of infrastructure? Wonder what’s going to happen to them

Satellite. After all, even dialup needs infrastructure

 

[zarmanto]

If you ask me--and I love being able to do everything on the internet--the world would probably be a better place if internet access had never advanced past hourly-billed AOL dial-up.

Without a justification for your position, this is a largely meaningless suggestion. Without that context, your comment makes about as much sense as postulating that the world would be a better place if movie viewing had never advanced to television and beyond the drive-in theater, or that it would be better if TV/Movies had never advanced to streaming and beyond the living room television, or that it would be better if cell phones had never been adapted to display those video streams...

And all of these statements might even be defensible, from a certain point of view... if you can justify that position.

 

[ignatius345]

Ah. So that's why my calls aren't going through.

 

[MNWildFan]

Seems like AOL aka Yahoo are winding down their email service full stop

Which wouldn't surprise me

Honestly, who even uses them for email anymore?

I certainly don't

If anything, I think the thing that's going to keep them going is their fantasy sports stuff (of which I have used for years now)

 

[MNWildFan]

Still using my AOL email account from 1993. Glad that’s not going away (yet)

It probably will at some point

Then again, with AOL being owned by Yahoo, don't be surprised if they start to dissolve a lot of their things

I think the one thing that's keeping them going for as long as they have is their fantasy sports stuff

 

[MNWildFan]

Don’t a bunch of people in Alaska rely on dial up due to lack of infrastructure? Wonder what’s going to happen to them

Unless you're there in an area that is one with heavy tree cover, then satellite or DSL is likely the way you'd go there or in any other highly rural areas

 

[knuta]

Probably really old people in really rural areas is my guess.

A lot of really rural areas are still on broadband DSL or even dial-up, but 600MHz long-range 5G has made all this less necessary.

but who makes these computers and hardware/software up until now?! even my white macbook from 06 is totally useless by now with the web browser for os x totally outdated

 

[gbc204]

Without a justification for your position, this is a largely meaningless suggestion. Without that context, your comment makes about as much sense as postulating that the world would be a better place if movie viewing had never advanced to television and beyond the drive-in theater, or that it would be better if TV/Movies had never advanced to streaming and beyond the living room television, or that it would be better if cell phones had never been adapted to display those video streams...

And all of these statements might even be defensible, from a certain point of view... if you can justify that position.

Well, for starters, if people had to pay for internet by the hour, they might spend less time commenting on internet forums arguing with strangers and do something else with their day.