Why does everyone down on AOL?

Just wondering since its an "internet security browser" w/ ip spoofing.
everyone says "use firefox" blah blah blah

is everyone just clueless that firefox is built off of very old AOL and Netscape code? (btw aol owns netscape)

Most people think of aol as internet but they are not an ISP, the dialup is from your local telephone provider, all they are doing is providing a security browser + anything that aol and timewarrner have hands into the members get for free such as videos from cnn news pass all the way down to extreme sports or other sites that non-members have to pay a membership for.

anyways i dont use it currently.. till this v10 beta im using is released.
my current browser i have been testing is "Avant Browser" bit buggy but not to bad.

maybe everyone here does not research what they install?
it would not be a smart move if aol were to make firefox as secure as the aol browser, thats kind of why i ask why the hate on them?

*note: in no way am i asking you to use them or that i back them 100% this is just a probing question and maybe an informative post.*

(the software tester guy)

 

Completely untrue.

Indeed, considering what I just read.

I'm sure the AOL browser is nice in its own right, but I don't use it, and choose that. To say its more secure than FF, thats funny.

AOL has no control over firefox, either. Mozilla is not owned by them, and has been around long before AOL bought Netscape.

BTW, AOL browser is not an ISP, but AOL in itself IS an internet provider.

 

http://www.mozilla.com/press/news.html search aol and netscape

i know firefox is AOL and Netscape code because it is part of my job function to over see what is donated from the tw/aol corporation

 

Ready for a history lesson?

http://ilias.ca/MozillaNetscapeRelationship.html

So, in the end, mozilla started from netscape code, and to date, in the last 6 years, Netscape has used mozilla code.

If this is your job...well I'll say no more.

 

You see, we do research what we install.

 

AOL are also an ISP, as a lot of the UK and US have their internet provided by them

 

That is what im talking about, they work hand in hand.
so the question is why do people down on one side but praise on the other since they are both in bed with eachother

 

Because they aren't.

Mozilla contributed to Netscape for the last 6 years. Netscape did not contribute to Mozilla, and AOL didn't contribute to Mozilla. Mozilla is a COMPLETE REWRITE of code. It no longer shares Netscape code.

As well, Firefox began its life in 2004, a year AFTER AOL axed Netscape development.

http://ilias.ca/MozillaNetscapeRelationship.html

http://www.mozilla.org/press/mozilla-foundation.html

I think you need to do some homework on this before arguing on it.


Your argument is fatally flawed, and the tone of your post makes it sound like you turn up your nose at us (referring to first post).

 

Rah!

Hence Mozilla had it's first birthday last September!

 

its not an argument its a general disscussion about software that has been in bed together that people frown on or love for w/e reasion.
i think aol is to large of an application and thats why i dont use it.. cost is not a factor as its free for me.

like i said.. i dont use aol or firefox as my main browser.
my pref is to use avant and IE7

 

They aren't in bed together. Period!

Thats like saying MS is in bed with Apple due to it "borrowing" some of their ideas back in the dark ages.

Anyway this isn't about who owns the software, but about the software itself. People generally don't use AOL because they either feel its bloated, don't like the interface, or in the case of their internet service, thinks its a pile of steaming poop.

 

I just wanted to add...AOL's Explorer browser is based on IE, not Mozilla.

 

thats the new v10 pretty much just w/out some extra junk like a dialer ect.
its not a bad browser and its a nice change from the fat cow v9.0

 

I used AOL for many years (from version 4 up to 9 I believe). I hated AOL because a poweruser like me could not customize it. The last time I used AOL, it was still a dial up ISP. an example of my complaints come from the parental controls. I had to set myself as a full control adult in order for any 3rd party software to access the internet. I was also required to dial in to AOL's servers using their bloated program. AOL never addressed these issues or similar ones. Instead they tried to make their program more bloated and enhanced with "features" that my computers were starting to not be able to use the AOL software. I haven't used AOL in three years since we moved and got DSL, even though my mom pays the $20 a month for the e-mail address (an AOL address is more professional than a hotmail address in her mind).

I haven't used AOL in a long time, but from the advertisements, I think they are moving in a smart business direction. The truth is that most users don't know anything about computers. I think AOL needs to move away from the ISP business model into the software protection suite business model. Right now, users (not geeks like us ), need a simple suite of software to protect them on the internet. I'm talking about firewall, spyware, antivirus, etc. By removing a bunch of the extra junk they have that is used much, they could charge a reasonable price for this service, and AOL actually might get some new subscriptions.

 

A while back, our ISP went belly-up, and we used one of those AOL free trial deals as a temporary measure while we shopped for a new one. What a load of garbage! And it took a lot of work to get it all off the computer, too. Never, never, never again!

 

I'm with greenknight32!
Similar situation.. Got rid of my old ISP, and had to wait 2 weeks for cable to be installed. Happened upon the AOL disc.
Slow to install, operate, and completely takes over the computer as far as internet goes.
Just formatted in the end, and went without internet for a couple of weeks.
Security is on thing, but the ability to use your own computer your own way is just as important imo.

 

I used AOL when I first moved and it's the pits. Had no choice but to have their browser running in order to stay connected to the net. I kept it minimized but it still ate up my resources with all their garbage running and only a reboot would recover what it was eating up. Couldn't disable any of their garbage or the connection wouldn't work. When all was said and done, I reformatted my puter to clean all the AOL trash out.

And the nightmare continued! When I finally got set up with an ISP I got SPAMMED like crazy by AOL with countless offers from "we want you back" to "special offers". I opted out, canceled & called them requesting to be removed and the emails kept coming...I finally had to abandon my hotmail account.

To take a line from CP: "Friends don't let friends use AOL."

 

I'm in with the lot of you. My family and I used AOL from version 2.5 up until version 9.0. We even found a version 1.0 floppy disk when we were cleaning! It was great when it was the only thing available, but now there are lots of alternatives and most of those are better than AOL. Nowadays, it's incredibly difficult to survive the Internet without a broadband connection. When I convinced my mom to upgrade to a broadband (my dad had had it for a while at his house, and had ditched AOL) connection, instead of Comcast or Verizon, she chose to upgrade to "AOL HighSpeed". >.<

(A note: AOL High Speed is not like other Broadband connections, in that it is not "always on". You still must open the AOL software, and sign in to your account before having access to the Internet.)

After about two years of that, I finally convinced her to get Comcast Cable Internet (we already have them as a Cable TV service, so it makes sense), and we are never going back to AOL as long as I can help it. The software takes forever to start up, even on the fastest computer. It takes up a significant amount of memory, it's browser controls are lacking, at best, it adds additional software that is difficult to remove safely, and it hooks into your network connection properties. Plus, AOL's "High Speed" package is slower than high speed packages offered by other companies that don't use their own connection software, AND it's more expensive (for AOL's you must pay the "Unlimited Usage" fee of $23.95/month plus their "High Speed Service" fee of about $30/month, that's $54/month for broadband that's slower than the cheapest DSL service!).

If these are not enough reasons for people to dislike AOL, then I don't know what is. In my personal opinion, I think that AOL is the worst ISP for anyone who understands their computer even just a little bit. AOL is fine for new (really, really new) computer users, and people who don't need broadband or don't want to worry about things like viruses, spam, and popups (like, my grandmother). The AOL software is so boggy that viruses, spam and popups just get stuck inside it!