Thoughts on AOL 9.1?

Does anyone have AOL, and if so, have you upgraded to AOL 9.1? If you did, how did it go? Any problems or issues? Due to past problems with AOL, I am VERY leary of downloading & installing anything new AOL. All things considered, everything seems to working relatively fine right now, and I don't want to mess that up.

Currently, I'm using AOL 9.0 Optimized SE with a broadband connection (DSL), on a gateway computer running XP home, SP2, 265 mb ram, 40 gb hard drive, with 16.7 gb free. I'm wondering if it would be smart to upgrade to AOL 9.1 - will that be better? Or will it be even more of a resource hog & cause more problems? I guess I should learn my lesson, and not ever trust anything from AOL ever again and just leave well enough alone, but I guess there's a part of me that always holds out hope for those things that seems beyond hope.

Besides, they are saying that this update is "mandatory". I'm wondering what they mean by "mandatory"? Do I HAVE to update? What will happen if I don't? I'm kind of hoping I can keep using 9.0 OSE indefinitely.

 

Here is what the AOL faq said about version 9.1

What's new in AOL 9.1?
AOL 9.1 is an update of our all-in-one software, which provides new features to further enrich your online experience. Key enhancements to AOL 9.1 include:
-The ability to browse the Web without signing on when you have a broadband or third-party dial-up connection
-An Inbox-style mailbox with unlimited storage
-Increased flexibility with the addition of express and customized installation options
-The ability to easily find and add RSS feeds to your Favorites while browsing
-Quick access to the latest news by clicking or hovering over the News icon in the Toolbar

In my opinion I would stop using the AOL software immediately and move to something else. If you have a third party broadband connection you shouldn't pay extra for aol's services. To me that is pure idiocracy. If your worried about email sign up for gmail, in my opinion it is much better than AOL mail, offers plenty of space and it is free. As for a browser, I'd move to Opera (my personal preference) or firefox. Heck, Internet explorer would be better then the AOL browser. Finally, their software does slow down your computer tremendously, uninstalling it will free up memory and make your computer have better performance overall.

 

Yeah, I noticed that the upgrade is just like a regular browser now. So, really what's the point of AOL then, because we already have IE7 & firefox on our computer (btw, I really like firefox!). But, hubby wants to keep AOL...he likes the feel of it (or he's used to it)...and he doesn't want to deal with the hassle of changing email addresses & moving everything over. BTW, our AOL is free, because we have the "BYOC" account. It sure would be nice to uninstall AOL & free up ram...I'll have to talk to hubby about this.

 

Won't allow it (or any AOL software) on my PC's.
It is installed on my wife's PC.
She is having no problems with it (other than multitudes of startups) and to me it looks and seems the same as all the 9.0 versions. But then I have only glanced at it.

 

When I used AOL I liked the 7.0 version of the software. I tried 8.0 and 9.0 but stopped using it before 9.1. I always went back to 7.0 I just prefered it and its customizable qualities.

I didn't use AOL by choice and never payed for the service but I was piggybacking on another persons service with their permission of course.

 

I'm usiing AOL 9.1 software using Comcast cable broadband . I have a problem logging in after the first successful login in. I can turn my PC (Window XP) on. Sign in successfully. After I sign out, it fails to let me sign in. I freeze up when the second little man shows up kind of greyed out.