5d ago

AOL will end dial-up internet service in September, 34 years after it's debut — AOL Shield Browser and AOL Dialer software will be shuttered on the same day

www.tomshardware.com

AOL will end dial-up internet service in September, 34 years after its debut — AOL Shield Browser and AOL Dialer software will be shuttered on the same day

Technology @lemmy.world

fne8w2ah @lemmy.world

4d ago

AOL will end dial-up internet service in September, 34 years after it's debut — AOL Shield Browser and AOL Dialer software will be shuttered on the same day

www.tomshardware.com /service-providers/network-providers/aol-will-end-dial-up-internet-service-in-september-34-years-after-its-debut-aol-shield-browser-and-aol-dialer-software-will-be-shuttered-on-the-same-day

Technology @beehaw.org

akosgheri @beehaw.org

4d ago

AOL will end dial-up internet service in September, 34 years after it's debut — AOL Shield Browser and AOL Dialer software will be shuttered on the same day

32 comments

It will probably still be a pain in the ass to cancel.
Old people everywhere:
"Why is there an extra $19.99 in my account every month?"
I'm 100% certain that's why AOL dialup still "existed". Just charging old people for a service that doesn't get used. And now so many people have fallen off over the years that it's no longer profitable to keep the "service" going.
- I know they used to scam people. Worled for Bell South. Had customer call needed me to setup his internet so that the 40 dollars he was paying AOL would work. After bit of probing, I figured out that Bell South was going charge him 80 a month for was the actual internet. All he was paying AOL 40 for was to use their home screen.
  I ended up convincing him that he didn't need pay AOL a dime. That we would provide the internet home screen included.
  So wouldn't surprise me at all if they were charging people for dailup they weren't using. Also this said thay were shutting down the program, not stop charging people.
  TIL dail up is still a thing fucking crazy.
- To be fair, I have rural family in areas where dial up is still their only internet option.
  
  I would think DSL/ADSL should be available there, it's the same infrastructure and doesn't hog the phone line while using internet, so you can call and browse at the same time.
  
  I think a few others still offer dialup if they need it, bit idk how it works. I guess Amy dialup provider can work as long as you have a landline.
Nooooooooo! How will I connect my Dreamcast to the internet now? 😩
- Nooooooooo! How will I connect my Dreamcast to the internet now? 😩
  I know you're being sarcastic, but I can give you an actual answer from when I was a Dreamcast owner.
  One of the wonderful things about the Dreamcast modem is that you can configure it skip dial tone detection. You can them take an old telephone line (the kind you'd plug into the wall, then to the modem), cut it in half and a couple of resistors in specific places. You take that modified cable and plug one end into your Dreamcast, then the other into a modem in PC. You then set up Dial up routing software on your PC. There's a lite version built into Windows 98 if my memory is correct (Dial up networking services Server). Initiate the Dreamcast to dial (it doesn't matter what phone number). The PC answers (you hear the dial up handshake squaking), and your Dreamcast is online! You can use the Dreamcast browser or online Dreamcast games like Timesplitters. If you did this long enough ago you could also play the MMOs like Phantasy Star Online.
  
  take an old telephone line, cut it in half and a couple of resistors in specific places. You take that modified cable...
- There was an Ethernet adapter for them
  
  The broadband modem only works on Japanese Dreamcast models tho, IIRC.
- If you're serious about it, you can try to snag a DreamPi kit from https://dreamcastlive.net/shop/
  They also organize game nights and maintain a list of playable games and game server software.
Whoever is using dialup in 2025... your tenacity is admirable.
- Their state of ruralism is undesirable I figure
- I know someone who's only way they curbed their Internet gambling addiction was by switching to dial up. They still needed internet for work email and social stuff, so going completely offline wasn't an option. He would have to drag his computer to other people's houses to do software updates because he couldn't figure out how to use a slim Linux distro either.
- With bits you can hear! 📠
America Off Line :( Hope it ‘s not an omen.
Thank you to AOL for not making me buy a floppy disk until I didn’t need them anymore.
TIL dial up is still active. Interesting.
Kinda sad in a way
My first ever ISP was AOL via dialup back around 1995
- Me too! The crackhead downstairs tried to sell us AOL CDs.
  "You guys are into computers, right!? I got this software, only $20!"
Finally. October 1, 1993 is in sight.
Wish it said how many people still used it.
RIP to the GOAT
bless 'em. i surely used a few of their welcome to the curated internet discs back in the day!
for a good while AOL Instant Messenger was the GOAT as well. I had a 3 letter AIM name for probably a decade before they decided to give paying customers priority and someone took it.
it's debut
Yes. It is.

32 comments