AOL

Okay, sometimes I get a little grumpy about some products, like Vista and any fee-based security product (like Norton, McAfee, Trend Micro, etc.).

Now I have to admit that I have just about had it with AOL. I do not understand why anyone would still be using it. I'm not just talking about the AOL 9.1 client, but even AOL Webmail.

I recommend giving it up. Get yourself a Google e-mail account and put all the fuss and muss about AOL behind you. Go ahead and write that note you have been putting off writing informing your friends and family that you have a new e-mail address, wait a month or two, and never use AOL again.

In the past week I have had to reinstall AOL 9.1 on a customer's machine because the current copy had somehow gotten corrupted. The reinstall eliminated the problem.

I have had a customer on satellite who was unable to access her AOL e-mail in any way, could not even access a plain aol.com home page, whether AOL Desktop or webmail. Checking online blogs we found several other AOL users, also on satellite, who had the same problem. This had been going on for about 3 days starting around July 20. I don't know if the problem is fixed yet, but come on, why satellite users only AOL? She could access her e-mail on another computer not satellite-linked. Weird!

A customer who switched from using the desktop client AOL 9.1 to AOL Webmail discovered that on Webmail she could not (and AOL confirmed this on the phone) access her saved e-mail that was saved on her own PC! Yes, any e-mail saved on AOL could be accessed on webmail. Go figure!

And, hard to believe, but some people are still paying for the privilege of using this bloated, problem-prone, program. It turns out that unless you are a paying customer, you can't call for help!

So who needs it? Bite the bullet! Cut the cord and experience freedom from AOL!