Oh wow!.
http://www.computing.co.uk/News/1131245
Superb news for AOL-haters, not so good news for those like me, who think AOL have performed an admirable task in bringing the many and varied benefits of the internet to the masses. Time Warner don't sound happy!
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![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Only joking, I can't see that happening for a while yet... they're so damn huge...
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Yes, Teaching the majority of internet users that theres just no world outside of AOL woman, buddy lists and how to cut your bills by 66%... Why do you need to expand your knowledge of it when thats all there is..?
"You spent 6 years becoming a computer programer?" "HAH. I learned how to use one in less than 2 weeks man!, All you need is AOL."
Or as i like to call it "ROL" (Retards online)
Heretic = New favourite word. Must spread message.
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The internet is the way it is today because the number of people using it has increased at a rate which makes online shopping, instant messaging and email communication become the norm. You can argue with me until your face is blue as to whether this is a "good thing" or not, but this much is true - if it weren't for the number of people online, these things would never have developed as quickly and as 'excitingly' as they have.
The internet population could NOT have developed at such a rate were it not for AOL, or a service like them, but in our reality, AOL is it. AOL makes using the internet easy. AOL hides the complexity from the average user. Could you imagine how the TV would have developed if you had to read complex instruction manuals and attend night classes to even get it to receive a picture? AOL have done the same thing as TV manufacturers have - press a button and you're connected, you might not know the details, but you sure can use the service.
Now, we move onto "You spent 6 years becoming a computer programer?" "HAH. I learned how to use one in less than 2 weeks man!, All you need is AOL."
I don't see your point here. I spent 3 years at uni so that I could become a programmer. AOL users (as a collective) have no such desire. My aim in a programming role is to make programs so that people like AOL users can use a computer and not have to worry about the things I spent so long learning about.
Now I move onto monopolies, which you didn't raise, but should have :) AOL has a monopoly (well, technically not, but it has a stranglehold on a LARGE portion of the market), this is a bad thing. AOL controls a large portion, and as the rcent news stories about AOL dumping IE for Netscape shows, can have a great impact on the way the net works. But do you think that a series of smaller companies would have had the capital, technical knowledge and ability to create the structure that AOL has, for millions of internet users?
Enough of a rant for now, I think. As far as I am concerned, AOL have done a good thing. It might not be a popular view with "old-skool" net users who had to endure the unleashing of millions of newbies on them, or even now, when even 12yr olds can use the net and annoy thousands of people with a click of a mouse - but look to the future, and to what a net aware youth can build upon.