What version of AOL is best?

vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
edited April 2005 in Science & Tech
Using XP-Home (home computer)

I am using AOL as my ISP (no, I do not have access to high speed, it is not available, it is not that I am too cheap to buy it). I recently changed my AOL account (with kids going off to college and me changing jobs, I have bought several new computers in the past two years, and keep getting free subscriptions to AOL). Anyway, to install my new AOL account, I installed AOL 9.0. I found that it sucked. It was slow to load (I have 512 RAM, P4), and crashed often. But the good news was that once I was connected, it stayed connected. Due to the constant crashes, I removed AOL 9.0 and installed AOL 6.0. AOL 6.0 seems to load faster and connect faster, but it won't stay connected. Seems to disconnect about every 15 minutes. I did not have this problem with 8.0.

I know my phone connection is not the best (I only get a 26400 connection at best, and usually 24000).

So my question is for those who might have some insight, what version of AOL is the best for pure connectivity? I do not use any of the AOL features, but instead use Firefox as my browser. I use AOL only as my ISP.

One of my favorite pasttimes is playing online poker, so I cannot stand disconnects every 15 minutes.

Several months ago, I asked AOL (several times) to send me an AOL 7.0 disc, but they never sent it. Even downloading a newer version is problematic, as I have only AOL as my ISP, so I cannot "remove" my current version and then download a different version. A new download takes several hours (and will be a royal PITA if my 6.0 disconnects every 15 minutes as it has been).

Any helpful suggestions?

(I tried changing access numbers, with no difference)

Comments

  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    why not try to switch to another ISP?? AOL can not be the only ISP in your area.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    No version of AOL is better. I would rather have termites chewing at my house and Giardia in my drinking water than have AOHell.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited April 2005
    If you can't download it, your options are rather limited. You might try a local small computer repair shop; they usually keep older versions of software around for repair/restore use.

    A few years back, one of my sisters asked me to help clean junk off her (nearly full) HD. When I went into her AOL folder I found every version from 4.0 to 6.0 - when she upgraded it left the old versions intact and merely added new shortcuts and deleted the old ones. You might hunt around your HD and see what you find.

    You might ask around at work, etc, too. Lots of people save every disc they've ever owned, just in case...

    Good luck, vanagon. :):thumbsup::fold:
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited April 2005
    Try the following ISP's:

    Netscape Internet Service - http://www.getnetscape.com/ - $9.95 a month with built in pop-up blocker
    PeoplePC - http://www.peoplepc.com/ - Just $10.95, or $15.95 a month with the "accelerator", and has 8,831 numbers in their database, twice that of AOL. So obviously, there will be numbers in your area.
    NetZero - http://www.netzero.com/ - $9.95 or NetZero HiSpeed - $14.95

    Any ISP is better than AOL, don't be a sheep and stay with AOL, be different and go to something better.
  • ron-mattron-matt
    edited April 2005
    I had AOL for a year. Worse year of my life. AOL and IE kept Ad Aware and Spybot busy. Have you considered satellite? Or you may have to do what I did. I'm in a small foothill community. We're lucky to have wires period. But I prayed to every God available and offered up my first born. Then one day I got a notice from Comcast. My prayers were answered. Unfortunately my first born was returned.
  • rc1974rc1974 Grand Junction, CO
    edited April 2005
    :aol: Any ISP is better than AOL. Before I got broadband, I used one of the local ISPs in my town. Check out what's right in town locally.

    BTW- when I had dialup, the best I could get was 26,400 as well, basically good for nothing. :grumble:
    I also used to live just a mile or so away from where I do now and was getting 48,000.
  • ronboronbo Connecticut
    edited April 2005
    "AOL"...you poor soul...my heart goes out to you....he he he :D:D
  • Lord_NightLord_Night Piqua Ohio
    edited April 2005
    AoHell

    thats all I have to say..

    Thank You ;D
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    I'm not aware of any difference in connection ability. My family has been using it since I was in the 8th grade... we only had connection problems back in the day when AOL didn't have enough phone lines to support the traffic. 5.0 was the last version that wasn't so ridiculously bulky that it acted like a giant blob of jello in the system.

    You may just have to do trial and error. Check out this PC World article about choosing older installations from the AOL disc:

    http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,115631,00.asp
  • JustinJustin Atlanta
    edited April 2005
    Seriously, get rid of AOL and get any of the above mentioned services. THey are better and cheaper. AOL=IE < Anything Else=FireFox , THat is all that needs to be said.
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    I don't think the connection issues are related to AOL. If you can only connect at 26400, your phone line needs an upgrade. Not that 56k is going to be a tremendous improvement over 26k really, but I'm just saying that it's an indicator. The best advice we're all giving you is to ditch AOL. You're paying $24/month to play poker. Go with one of the cheaper alternatives (but stay away from Netzero, my dad had it, they suck) and take the extra $10-$15 you're saving to play poker with :D Then tell me where you play so I can take your money :D
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    Perhaps he has other reasons that he needs to maintain his aol account, like an address that he uses for business purposes or something. One solution isn't right for everybody, guys :D

    There is a need for AOL for certain people, and it's not just "newbies" :rolleyes:
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    By the way, I was just looking at trying a game online and just read this
    America Online uses a system that will automatically disconnect users after a set time of browser inactivity. Please consult your ISP's documentation on how to deactivate this feature.

    That may be your problem since you said you're only playing poker.
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    primesuspect wrote:
    Perhaps he has other reasons that he needs to maintain his aol account, like an address that he uses for business purposes or something. One solution isn't right for everybody, guys :D

    There is a need for AOL for certain people, and it's not just "newbies" :rolleyes:

    First you got a Mac. Now you're endorsing AOL. What's next, you're going to have a change of heart and tell everyone you really like the Bush administration?
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    kanezfan wrote:
    First you got a Mac. Now you're endorsing AOL. What's next, you're going to have a change of heart and tell everyone you really like the Bush administration?

    That's it, I'm officially campaigning for SM Byte posting ability! ;D
  • GrayFoxGrayFox /dev/urandom Member
    edited April 2005
    vanagon40 wrote:
    Using XP-Home (home computer)

    I am using AOL as my ISP (no, I do not have access to high speed, it is not available, it is not that I am too cheap to buy it). I recently changed my AOL account (with kids going off to college and me changing jobs, I have bought several new computers in the past two years, and keep getting free subscriptions to AOL). Anyway, to install my new AOL account, I installed AOL 9.0. I found that it sucked. It was slow to load (I have 512 RAM, P4), and crashed often. But the good news was that once I was connected, it stayed connected. Due to the constant crashes, I removed AOL 9.0 and installed AOL 6.0. AOL 6.0 seems to load faster and connect faster, but it won't stay connected. Seems to disconnect about every 15 minutes. I did not have this problem with 8.0.

    I know my phone connection is not the best (I only get a 26400 connection at best, and usually 24000).

    So my question is for those who might have some insight, what version of AOL is the best for pure connectivity? I do not use any of the AOL features, but instead use Firefox as my browser. I use AOL only as my ISP.

    One of my favorite pasttimes is playing online poker, so I cannot stand disconnects every 15 minutes.

    Several months ago, I asked AOL (several times) to send me an AOL 7.0 disc, but they never sent it. Even downloading a newer version is problematic, as I have only AOL as my ISP, so I cannot "remove" my current version and then download a different version. A new download takes several hours (and will be a royal PITA if my 6.0 disconnects every 15 minutes as it has been).

    Any helpful suggestions?

    (I tried changing access numbers, with no difference)



    Get off ao hell problem solved.
  • redchiefredchief Santa Barbara Member
    edited April 2005
    the best version of AOL is the uninstalled one.
    any close neighbors have wireless?
    Good luck!
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    Ok guys its plain and simple 99% of the answers he wasnt looking for. He didnt want to be bashed because of aol he just wanted to know what version is the best. Maybe thats why he hasnt posted back??? Just a thought... ( Oh and best version is the latest, I deal with AOL all day at work and if kept updated its not horrible )
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    That was the point I was trying to get at, Gnome... Thanks :)
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    As mentioned before your connection speed is limited by your phone line. Nearly all modern phone systems use trunking lines (multiple signals over a single line) between the neighborhood switchbox and the telephone company so the bandwidth available is less than it used to be. 26400bps is the best you'll get on a trunking line.

    As far as AOL being lousy, I don't know if it's changed but last time I checked all AOL connections nationwide are routed through their main offices in Virginia before hopping to the Internet. It's slow all around because they don't have the capacity at their Virginia site to route over a million simultaneous connections. AOL also has a bad history of terrible security. http://www.aolwatch.org has a fairly comprehensive history of the exploits, hacks, customer service, etc. of AOL that is worth a read. Check the newsletter link to read their archived mailings. Don't expect to find anything flattering.

    My family used AOL until my parents discovered that other ISPs exist, then we dumped AOL like last week's trash. Check your yellow pages for local ISPs; dial-up accounts with a mailbox are pretty cheap these days.

    -drasnor :fold:
  • rc1974rc1974 Grand Junction, CO
    edited April 2005
    Justin wrote:
    Seriously, get rid of AOL and get any of the above mentioned services. THey are better and cheaper. AOL=IE < Anything Else=FireFox , THat is all that needs to be said.

    AOL is not IE. AOL is AOL. Plain and simple. :rolleyes2 Since this isn't an IE/Firefox/Alternative Browser thread I will say nothing else.
  • danball1976danball1976 Wichita Falls, TX
    edited April 2005
    He was trying to say that AOL uses Internet Explorer as the internal browser, that's all.
  • leishi85leishi85 Grand Rapids, MI Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    and to gnome and prime,

    i know what he was asking for, but i was just suggesting a better alternative than finding the best version of AOL, he did not say if he HAS to use AOL( only ISP avilable), he only said he couldn't get broadband.

    People aren't just here to bash AOL.
  • rc1974rc1974 Grand Junction, CO
    edited April 2005
    danball1976 wrote:
    He was trying to say that AOL uses Internet Explorer as the internal browser, that's all.

    oops :doh: I did not get that from the post. The reference to "Firefox=Everything Else" may have confused me a bit. It also could be that Microsoft (re: Internet Explorer) and AOL are spawns of Satan in many peoples' minds.
  • vanagon40vanagon40 Indiana Member
    edited April 2005
    Don't mean to revive a dead thread, and I apologize for not responding (although as one poster commented, the responses were not very responsive).

    I have AOL because a computer purchase came with a free subscription. Yes, I am too cheap to pay $12.00 per month for an alternative ISP when AOL is free. I am not an AOL fan, and use none of the features. I use the firefox browser.

    As far as the phone line, I am in a rural area, and our phone lines are out of date. As previously stated, I have no access to high-speed, other than to install a dish.

    At any rate, I reloaded 9.0, but declined to upgrade to the latest version. Everything seems to be working fine now.

    Again, no response is necessary.

    Vanagon40
  • ronboronbo Connecticut
    edited April 2005
    kanezfan wrote:
    First you got a Mac. Now you're endorsing AOL. What's next, you're going to have a change of heart and tell everyone you really like the Bush administration?
    My God, Kane. I like that. Can I use it sometimes?
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited April 2005
    ronbo wrote:
    My God, Kane. I like that. Can I use it sometimes?

    anytime :D
Sign In or Register to comment.