AOL (fwd)
gatt
June R Goff wrote:
> Feel free to post this response but don't feel compelled to.
>
>
> >They are not an internet service.
>
> Not true.
They are not an internet service. It's probably more correct to say
that they're not a direct internet provider. They are an "online
service." You can connect through them indirectly to the internet. You
can use their internet services, but that's not the same service that
everybody is having trouble with.
> >They do not release their mail or news server information, forcing
> >you to use their software alone for these services. You have to use
> >their software.
>
> Not true. It is non-trivial, but news and email can be read by other
> programs.
Contact AOL's technical support and ask them what their DNS, SMTP, POP3
and NNTP server addresses are. Without these, you cannot use Netscape,
EWAN, Mosaic, Eudora or other mail or news clients unless you are
subscribed to a different news or mail service.
> Of course they will charge more for the same thing. The are providing
> some sort of ease of use.
Heh. This is debatable. If you're computer savvy, they're easy to use.
They give away Netscape and then tell you you need the winsock.dll. Not
THEIR winsock.dll, just "the winsock.dll." Win95 has its own built in,
which doesn't work with AOL. So does NT, Trumpet, Chameleon, Shiva and
so forth. That's like saying "read the readme.txt on your system."
The interface for AOL is impressive, but watch a new user try to run a
Netcom account with IE or Netscape. If you know what you are doing, you
can sort it out. By then, though, you're probably not using AOL anyway.
> >Furthermore, their technical support is ignorant and their price
> >schedule is deceiving at worst, confusing at best.
>
> True, but they just changed it.
HALLELUJAH! Today I answered no less then 15 AOL-related questions.
Typical day. Their tech support still doesn't know what a winsock is.
Today: "AOL told me I couldn't use Netscape with AOL. They gave me a
copy when I signed up. What do I do?" AOL is designed for you to use
it and only it. They're good at that if you can afford it. And I must
say they've changed a lot over the last year. (In December they finally
released a tcp/ip dialer for Win95 and the Macintosh. Before that,
internet applications couldn't be used on these operating systems and an
AOL account.)
> >Their service is slow and their claims are largely false.
> >Real AOL ad: "My son said I should try America Online. I said
> >'Why? I already have a computer."
>
I like to think that
> people who care about the cost will use AOL for a while then get some
> buddy to switch them over to an ISP.
Yeah, AOL is a good start if you're a new user. I know some longtime
AOL users who don't think they use it enough to warrant an ISP account
(at $5/month.) Also, there are a great deal of equally-confusing or
purely evil major ISPs. On top of that, the major computer
manufacturers did a lot to ensure that people steered way clear of the
internet (packaging a 32-bit-only browser with a 16-bit dialer, then
charging users $35 to explain to them why it doesn't work.)
Somebody once quipped that AOL was a schoolbus load of
maniacally-screaming ebola victims swerving wildly down the road
throwing rancid meat at the other traffic on the information
superhighway. I try not to generalize AOL users, but I about cracked a
rib reading that.
> Agreed, but isn't AOL's new pricing 19.95/month unlimited? I am >paying $30/month but my ISP privides web space, full news, and multiple >mail drops for that price.
That would be far more reasonable if AOL kept that price. Probably make
it worthwhile for the average, moderate online user. $30 seems a bit
high (I pay $20 for the same, but the quality of service is diminishing
as more people sign up.)
> Why? If I don't need to know what it is why does the support person I
> talk to need to know? Someone there needs to know, but not the person
> I talk to. If the normal, low-wage support person can't help me then
(I'll keep going because I assume nobody else on the list has bothered
to read this far. Hee!)
You don't need to know the compression stats on your car engine, but
your mechanic should have a rough idea. You don't need to know how your
liver works, but your doctor should have a rough idea. Reverse DNS is a
pretty basic concept. If the tech doesn't know, that's understandable,
but they ought to be able to have the means to find out. Ever tried to
download the 128-bit version of Navigator? If your server doesn't have
it, you can't. If you call Netscape, they say "ask your provider if
they have reverse-DNS addressing setup." If they respond "uh..." and
can't find an answer, that means that the low-wage-earning techie and NS
knows something about your ISP servers that your ISP techie isn't
willing to find out. What you're checking for is the communication flow
from the experts to the frontline folks who will help you. Hint:
certain really big software companies (ahem) have really POOR
communication between the gurus and the new guys.
> they should have Mr. Network-Guru call me back (or I should get >compensated for the long distance of time in some way - free hours?). >It sounds like a waste of resources to me to have Network savvy people >answering questions like 'How do I install AOL on my PC? The disk >doesn't fit in my drive.'
HAHA! Sounds like you've done tech support! If you go to the dentist,
the hygenist can clean your teeth, but you better have access to the
dentist when you want a tooth pulled, no?
Frankly, most tech support folks DO go onto better jobs. That's why
most tech support sucks. I happen to be doing it because I'm in a good
place, but I'm oughtta here within a few months after 18 months with the
company. Just doesn't pay enough. The whole industry is screwed,
though. At an HP interview once put a stack of documentation for a
printer on the table in front of the interviewer and said that if the
let the engineers engineer and the writers write, you wouldn't have six
books for a printer with five buttons. Turns out he was an engineer.
And I'm a tech writer doing technical support because the programmers
write the online help files. Hell, WE can't even understand half of
'em! I get paid to write documents that clarify theirs, rather than
getting paid to write the original stuff in the first place.
> I had trouble in Slidell (near New Orleans). Every request I made was
> considered unreasonable, the cost was high $40/month),
I just reread an article I wrote for a computer magazine here a couple
of years ago when the going rate for unlimited service was $120/month.
No competition. Blew me away because I'd forgotten all about that.
Louisiana aside, the deep south doesn't have much of an internet
presence. (or they're godlike, because we don't hear from anybody down
there except for the freaky retired people in Florida.) I think you're
right there. My site charges $5 for extra mail boxes, but that's it
until you start getting some high number of hits to your site each day.
I wouldn't recommend my provider to people who weren't a bit computer
savvy either, BTW. Furthermore, I don't necessarily endorse the product
I work for. Heh. I still think it's better than the alien from
Seattle's, but the margin is narrowing. Long live Pine!
> It is like buying car insurance.
Totally true. BTW, we often refer people to http://thelist.iworld.com.
They list over 400 of 'em nationally. They used to allow users to rate
them, but IDT spammed the page with great ratings about themselves. Of
course, that's just rumor. ;) We also refer people to local computer
stores and, of course, the phone book. Doesn't help if there simply
isn't a local provider in your area. Fortunately, New Orleaneans have a
few choices. Up here there are dozens.
Take care!
-Chris
--
|Fidonet: ga...@thetics.europa.com
|Internet: noml_...@nopc.org
|
| Standard disclaimer: The views of this user are strictly his own.
Rita M. Pease
>
>(I'll keep going because I assume nobody else on the list has bothered
>to read this far. Hee!)
>-Chris
>
I read every word and found your discussions fascinating and helpful. I
have decided to stay with my Mountan View provider as a result of this
thread. My service for the year that I have been on it has been excellent.
Since Prodigy seems to be going the way of AOL I shall probably drop it in
the not too distant future. I thank you two gentlemen.
Rita on the Left Coast
--
|Fidonet: rkp...@best.com
Ki...@aol.com
In a message dated 1/23/97 8:40:54 PM, you wrote:
<< Every request I made was
considered unreasonable, the cost was high $40/month), and they charged
extra for web pages. >>
I signed up with bellsouth.net online for $19.95 but I do not have web page
services. I downloaded FreePPP at no charge, Eudora Lite at no charge and
Microsoft Explorer at no charge.
The only problem I had was that listed bellsouth.net as the server on FreePPP
when it should have been just bellsouth. The tech did not know what was
happening, and it took me a couple of hours of trial and error to make it
work.
Since then I have had no problems and I access AOL through it.
I also like the significant internal resources at AOL.
--
|Fidonet: Ki...@aol.com