>> AOL is more of a GUI (graphical user interface) that presents what they wish to
>offer to their subscribers in whatever manner they choose. They also have the
>authority to exclude any content that they chose not to offer, perhaps things like
>mature text or images, or, as the ongoing lawsuits and allegations report, they will
>not allow advertising that promotes or sells
competitors' products.>>
This is the very thing I always hear... not a real service, wont let you access info
from the outside, yada yada yada...
I have found not one instance where this is true. It is true that they do not allow
advertising "inside their walls" from competitors... does Microsoft run ads for Apple?
Epson for HP? Prodigy for MSN? NBC for FOX? etc.
What really amazes me is that noone seems to be willing to acknowledge that AOL is
based on MSIE instead of Netscape (which AOL owns) Hmmmm.
>>A stand alone ISP is more like a gateway to the internet; sort of like handing you
>the keys to a car and letting you travel wherever you wish; to view and read whatever
>content you wish including mature text and images as well as shop or visit any vendor
>you choose.>>
I have listened to streaming audio with real player, accessed unlimited usenet
newsgroups (I believe I show around 60,000 groups), I have used telnet to access
remote BBS, searched thru information with Gopher... shall I go on?
I don't mean to sound bitter here, but I'm hearing the same things I always hear. I
wish someone could give me an URL to try or a program that has a "standard protocol"
that I cannot use or access thru my non-compliant service with AOL.
I've read many, many articles about AOL, read thru ALL of several anti-AOL websites.
I'm starting to get the feeling that AOL's largest shortcoming, like Microsoft, is the
fact that they are the "big boy on the block" which only guarantees their seat as the
most targeted by hackers and nay-sayers.
Sterling
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