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Posted on 08/11/2025 5:55:24 AM PDT by Red Badger
In the hazy impressions of memory, some may even recall it fondly: The AOL dial-up internet service that those of a certain age associate with the World Wide Web is coming to a close.
The company, also known by its “You’ve got mail” greeting and the CD trial discs — so many CDs — made the announcement on its website.
“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans,” the web provider said.
Absent the wireless signals of the modern day, dial-up connected to the internet using a conventional telephone line, emitting a distinctive, high-pitched chirping sound in the process.
AOL, now part of Yahoo, said the dial-up service, along with the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, will be discontinued on Sept. 30.
America Online was famous for its free trial discs, which seemed to be everywhere in the 1990s when the internet was gaining steam in households across the United States and beyond.
It changed its name to just AOL in 2006. Verizon sold AOL and Yahoo to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion in 2021.
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Say it ain’t so! LOL. It is all my Dad could ever use with those new fangled computer thangs. Unfortunately, he died in the early 2000’s, which is when dial up should have died.
The Tymnet, Telenet, and PC Pursuit numbers around here were the same as the AOL numbers, that was back in the mid-80s and up into the coming of broadband. :^)
Ahh yes the joys of dialing, getting a busy signal, finally getting in, then getting disconnected after ten minutes.
Or someone calling, and knocking you off the Internet.
The WWW, world wide wait
Never used AOL, I started with Prodigy
To me, this is like seeing an obit about some movie star that you were shocked to find out had still been alive.
I’m surprised they still had that.
It seems appropriate that the real life name behind the iconic “You’ve Got Mail” is named Elwood.
Elwood Edwards is his full name. A local radio station actually managed to have Elwood Edwards as a guest. It was an hilarious half hour. People would call in, and he would introduce each caller with “You’ve Got (Jenny, Paul, etc).
😂😂
My rural phone cooperative blocked all those free internwt services saying they werent paying for the phone service.
So my options were dial-up throught the co-op or really expensive satellite
I did avoid the usual $69.95 connection software by using a $3 clearance internet CD fron Johnnys Toys.
We had a few local ISPs that all used dial-up as well. They are all either gone, merged, or switched to cable, or fiber optics............
Prodigy!........Now there’s a blast from teh past!................
The last gasp that I recall was a company that used a new, proprietary compression to greatly increase the throughput if its modems were used on both ends of the connection. It didn't catch on. The fact is, the switch from dialup to broadband was analogous to the switch from crank starts and stick shifts (Model T) to the self-starters and automatics (and multiple colors).
When a young relative started college years ago, the dorm rooms had already been wired. We picked up an ethernet cable, plugged in her PC, did very little configuring, then she logged on to AOL and the connection pop-up dialogs just flew by and she was online. I remember thinking, I've got to get me some of this. :^)
LOL, I wasn’t aware that anyone still had dial up internet - what a PIA that was back in the day - slow, clunky, tied up the phone line, but it was all we had.
I think my husband disconnected our land line service in around - 2010, maybe earlier - when we no longer had to use the land line to get internet service. He didn’t want to pay the bill and by then everyone was getting cell phones. We never looked back.
What’s amazing is it took them that long to put a simple cupholder in a car as standard. I remember buying the ones that hung off your window for many years in the 70’s and 80’s.
My dad made a Christmas tree to put out in the yard with them.
I had friend’s in the country that used them for target skeet.
The European cars were always 10 years ahead of the American cars in cool features, like folding rear seats, etc.
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