I never thought I’d see the day…
The former monopolistic dial-up provider has finally realized the benefits of free services. The comapny also announced that it would offer 5GB of free web space starting in September. “Hey, if 99.9% of websites offer free content, maybe we should?”
It took them long enough, but I still don’t think they will be very successful. AOL will forever be associated with slow-loading pages, modem failures, and an annoying but familiar voice that reminds you when you have mail.
In my opinion, the only real contribution AOL has made to the web’s health is Instant Messenger. I don’t know what students would do without it. Granted, every new version that comes out is too complicated, but they are doing a fine job keeping MSN messenger at bay. I’ll check out AOL’s new free services, but I will always remember my first free gift from them… a daily coaster in the mail claiming to give me 1000 free hours of dialup.
