Advantages: easy to use, lots of content, several email addresses, cheap! Disadvantages: can't view pictures in emails you have to download them
...stark raving bonkers? I think AOL is fantastic!
Yes, despite it’s reputation and many quips about being Assholes OnLine, in my experience it’s all I could wish for!
I have been online since Oct 1999. My first ever ISP was Currant Bun which was a pay by the minute. May average monthly phone bill? - £180!
I soon changed to Cable and Wireless’s own unmetered service and was paying £35 a month but I wasn’t happy with them so I came across the BT Surftime ... ...and at £15.99 a month AOL was looking attractive.
I must admit I was wary about it, so I emailed Trampus for her opinion and also read some ops on Ciao. Some that were all for AOL and some against to get a balanced view.
On the whole it seemed to me AOL worked ok for some but for others it caused problems, mainly crashing their computer.
I decided to go for it. I signed up online for the free trial and downloaded the software, which took ages ...
Evep 22.07.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Quality connection, good Helpdesk, good news/information content Disadvantages: Price, connection/browser software
...the best aspects of the AOL service - it's free, reasonably fast, and the staff are friendly and competent.
The other thing that's nice is the little news snippets that you get when you log on. The current affairs, the 'seasonal' news (like the Halloween special on Britain's top 10 haunted houses), and the free competitions are all nice touches (although I haven't won anything yet!)
The connection is reasonably fast and stable, and it's only failed ... ...I only use it for AOL exclusive material (which is broad-ranging and generally quite good).
They were also really nice - after the first free month, when I wasn't quite satisfied with the speed, and wanted to disconnect, they gave me another month free, some faster dial-up numbers, and asked me to try a little more. By the time the second month lapsed, I was happier with the speed, I was enjoying the content, and I'd heard of other ISPs that had ...
DDRS 25.11.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Easy to use interface, many features Disadvantages: Bad tech support, cyber idiots and occasionally bad Customer Services
...can guess I am no AOL virgin, in fact I had over 4 years of AOL under my belt before I left, working my way through such great versions as 2.5, 3.0, 4.0US, 4.0UK, 5.0, 6.0 and lastly 7.0). Why did I leave I hear you say? Well, a few reasons… I was hosting at the time on their shopping channel (Yes I was the official shopping host on AOL – UKHostSale although I am guessing you haven’t heard of me ) and due to differences I’d had enough, I wasn’t ... ...in 1997 when I joined AOL it was the best there is. The people were so friendly on there, hardly any cyber freaks (Dodgy people who don’t take no or any other profanity for an answer and just want you to have type written sex – yawns) and life was good. The facilities on there were fantastic and everyone loved Hosts and Guides and respected COS (Conditions of Service, if you do have AOL and are unsure of them, please see Keyword : COS – god some ...
Miss_BooBookitty 02.01.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: easy to use, affordable, friendly, safe and secure Disadvantages: you do have to pay a monthly fee
I've been using AOL since 1998, I wanted an affordable and reliable ISP that would give me integrated email facilities. I tried many other ISP's that were around at the time but came to the conclusion that AOL was the best one for me. I've used all versions from 3 up to 6.0 and am now using version 7.0 wich looks even better than before and is faster and easier to use. Of course all ISP's have problems from time to time and I'm not saying I've never ... ...available for me when required. AOL certainly wasn't the most affordable ISP two and a half years ago, but when they introduced the Flat rate £14.99 a month plan this changed things completely. You can now stay online 24 hours a day and only ever pay £14.99 a month, now that must sound good to everyone. I would strongly recommend it to everyone, the integrated instant message and email facilities mean you can do everything from one page without having ...
jameylidd 06.02.2002 (07.02.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Unlimited access for £14.99, feature packed. Disadvantages: Occaisional difficulties.
...I have been with AOL for about 18 months now, and generally I am more than satisfied. It is very simple to use with it's baby blue colour scheme and cute little icons. Now and again the browser will not support certain sites such as Cadburys, so I use Internet Explorer instead.
Connection and Access Numbers.. Unlike other ISPs I have used there is more than one connection number, usually four. For 99% of the time I can connect first time at the ... ...your screen name with @ aol added onto it. This can be a problem if you want to use your own name as it is quite likely to be in use already and you will have to add some numbers onto the end to personalise it. Also take care if setting this up for your children, I wouldn't recommend using their full names.
E-mail.... This is very simple to use, you can block unwanted e-mail, attachments, hyperlinks etc, which is very useful for a childs account. ...
DaisyDuck 15.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Reliable, quick and easy to use Disadvantages: A bit expensive if your going to be picky!
AOL is the biggest ISP in the world, but is their status justified? Well, after several disaster stories with other ISP’s that won’t remain nameless if you carry on reading, I simply wanted a good quality ISP with free 24/7 access for one monthly fee. Now, the choice at the moment for 24/7 ISPs is pretty large – AOL, Freeserve, BT, NTL, and many more, far too many to mention here. So why did I choose AOL. Well to be quite honest, I don’t know if ... ...and at £14.99 a month, AOL is one of the most expensive of the non-Broadband ISPs, though its not much more expensive than the like of BT and Freeserve. But of course, there are no bills to worry about after your monthly fee, and to be honest even if I don’t get my moneys worth from the service, I happy knowing that I’m unrestricted when I surf the internet.
Unrestricted? That’s right! AOL is very relaxed in how long you stay connected to the service. ...
aljones 11.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Well...it IS convenient. Disadvantages: It has a price. Oh dear God, it has a price. How many times has AOL taken out my ENTIRE hard drive? Three, four...FIVE! *sighs*
...other deals with corporate giants, AOL has spread much like the fungus that starts in the boy’s locker room and eventually spreads to those itchy, damp crevices between your toes. Oh yes, America Online is almost as bad as the Black Death.
For the sake of clarity, allow me to remind my dear readers that I am writing about the way America Online does things here in the States – because, of course, I have no idea of what they’re ... ...Wal-Mart, do not fear! AOL will, at some point, drop one into the mail for you, addressed to “Occupant.” Unless, of course, you have inadvertently found your way onto their massive marketing list: In this case, you will get one personally addressed to you. Doesn’t that make you feel special? No? I didn’t think so.
Or, if you’re very desperate, you can call AOL and they will mail you a disk free of charge. If you’ve ...
Sarah_B 20.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Unlimited 24/7 access, fast, no cut off period. Disadvantages: Runs in it's own browser.
...would recommend is AOL.
AOL is very different to your average ISP, due to the fact that it runs everything under it’s own browser, this means that you can receive and send mail, chat and lots more without having to open any other programme if you wish.
There are many excellent features available in the latest version AOL 7.0, some of which I will tell you about in this review.
INSTALLATION
¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤
Nearly everyone will at some point ... ...name will also be your Aol email address.
The free trial lasts 1 month, although it does say that you will receive 100 hours free, this is not the case in fact Aol will not now charge you a penny for a whole month even if you use 1000 hours, this means that you can stay online 24/7 if your that keen!.
After a month you will then be charged £14.99 this again is for totally unlimited use, with no hidden charges whatsoever.
FEATURES
¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~
...
Broksababie 14.03.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Very User Friendly Disadvantages: Have to use AOL's own software
...suddenly occured to me that AOL had `0800` access numbers. Aha I thought, but will it work?? I just so happened to have a disc with AOL version 6.0 which had been posted through my letterbox the week before. Popping it into my PC, I was guided through a very easy set-up and the PC then dialed an 0800 number to set up my account online. After entering my details + a credit card number my account was finalised.
AOL have a flat rate plan and for £14.99 ... ...to 7 email addresses
AOL also have other pricing plans for lighter internet users.
On signing up to AOL, I was given the first month absolutely free and having just checked the AOL website, there is an offer on with version 7.0 in which you get 1000 hrs free for 45days and you don`t even need a credit card to join! Incase you aren`t already aware, AOL use their own software. This means that to connect to the internet via AOL you have to use the ...
jackie-b 06.11.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Flat rate, reliable, good all round service Disadvantages: Help line difficult to get hold of
...get that in spades with AOL – for a single monthly payment of just £14.99, I get unlimited access to the wonders of the net, and thos enice people even throw in a completely free 99 hour trial in the first month. That’s exactly what I’m looking for and I have absolutely no hesitation in putting AOL forward as a highly recommended offering.
Their portal gives you quite good content whn you first sign in and it’s well laid ... ...on, so even if the AOL homepage was a dog, it wouldn’t bother me. It isn’t, however, an dthat’s a bonus.
The e-mail account and the facility to set up seven different addresses, all with the high class @aol.com suffix is a neat touch. You control all of this via your screen name facility and I’ve found the e-mail service to be second to none, and much better than the Outlook Express POP messaging, which I’ve found quite ...
jackie27 09.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: Simple to use, ideal for a no fuss internet Disadvantages: Its popularity means busy phone lines
...UK have seen the annoying aol adverts. Connie, a computer generated woman by the looks of things, tries her best to convince you aol is the ISP ( internet servive provider ) of choice. Should you listen though? Should you hand over your hard earned money to connie?
You can't talk about aol without talking about the company itself, after their merger time warner. Aol have grown into one of the biggest companies in the world and are branching out ... ...the public. I've used aol for a few years and for the most part I've been satisfied with my account. Aol offer various accounts, each suited to a different type of user. The account I use is the aol unlimited. This means for £15 a month I can use the internet as often as I like for however long I like without having to pay call charges or anything else on top of the £15. This is perfect for people who regularly check e-mails or just like surfing ...
monk13i 07.03.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: All in one Browser, great concept Disadvantages: hmmmm lets see
AOL is a superb concept in ISP browser interfacing!
Unlike other ISP’s, who provide you with nothing more than the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, (usually with their logo plastered all over the browser window, and the annoyance of not being able to change your home page from theirs!!), AOL provides a completely new browser programme for your computer.
Similarly set up to your standard Internet browsers (IE or Netscape) with ... ..., excellent server service from AOL !!! Faster downloads than I seen from any other ISP
Is this all too good to be true I hear you ask!?!?!?!?
well.................
Yes!!!!!!!!
Im afraid behind AOLs superb concepts has got to be the worst programming team in the history of the universe!!!!! The fact is that the browser software AOL supply you doesn’t seem to do much for your systems stability!!! I have recently have had friends order and ...
GMoney 09.08.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: It covers everything, it's unlikely to go bust and the customer service is good. Disadvantages: it is absolutely huge
...it's quite 'full'. AOL has an annoying habit of improving itself rather often, and lovely though this is - I've yet to find a way of stopping it from reinstalling its mammoth self automatically as and when this happens. Nine times out of 10 - I haven't got enough space so end up deleting things I really shouldn't until it can finish the process! I recently (pre-'ciao') erradicated 120 opinions on everything you need to know for buying 120 useful ... ...small uncontrollable force that is AOL (Lord of the computer),it has done me many a favour. I have used the helpline a few times and although you're on hold for the best part of a week, it's a free call and the lovely Irish people are so friendly, you'll want to invite them round for tea. I tried to cancel my account a few times when I wasn't going to be using the internet for a while - but they simply gave me another free month and loads of free ...
moonbailey 03.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
Advantages: No huge phone bills, easy access Disadvantages: security
...to be very happy with AOL but I am only able to put this on site today because I happen also to have NTLworld. I am writing this as a warning to those of you who use AOL. There seems to be a fundamental flaw in their security procedures. I have come across the same problem twice in three months and felt compelled to share it with you, lest you find yourself in a similar position. This afternoon I went to log on to the Internet. AOL wouldn’t let me ... ...my house) hacked into my AOL e-mails and forwarded some highly personal ones to members of my family. They also changed the password and locked me out of my Hotmail account. I am not sure why, there wasn’t much of interest in there! Hotmail were excellent and returned my account to its normal status within 24 hours. AOL were not so helpful. I took legal advice and was told that both a civil and legal offence had been committed. I phoned AOL and reported ...
water-witch 18.11.2001 (24.11.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
...is based in Dulles, Virginia.
AOL founder Stephen Case grew interested in online computer services in the early 1980s while working as an executive for Pizza Hut. In 1983 he left the company to join an online gaming service named Control Video. In 1985 Case helped reorganize the financially ailing company as Quantum Computer Services Inc. The new company launched Q-Link, an online service for users of Commodore computers. Soon Quantum expanded its ... ...CompuServe Corporation and Prodigy Inc., AOL helped transform online computing from a domain of the technically savvy to a tool for the masses. AOL played a key role in this shift because its graphical environment appealed to a large audience. Membership grew from 500,000 in December 1993 to one million in August 1994. In August 1995 AOL became the world's largest online service, with more than three million members.
The growing popularity of the ...
thegr8one 12.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of AOL
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