Just As I Thought

Saved by the .exe

Today I bought a new scanner, fed up with the buggy old one that only runs in OS 9, and then only sometimes.
In the box with the new one was an AOL 7.0 disc, touting 2 free months. I haven’t used AOL since 1992 – shortly after they opened the flood gates to PC users and the service became a black hole of inanity.
Well, I thought, I’ll get online for one night just to poke around. So, I opened the disc. It says on it: “MAC USERS: Double-click on the Install icon for AOL 5.0.” OK, well, first of all, it says AOL 7.0 on all the packaging. Is there no AOL 7.0 for Mac? Secondly, there’s no “Install icon for AOL 5.0” anywhere on this disc. Just a bunch of PC crap. EXE files and INF files. And the read me file just promotes AOL without giving any useful information – like how to install it. So much for the vaunted “easiest way to get on the Internet.” I also discovered that the latest version of AOL is 8.0 – unless you’re using a Mac. That’s stuck at 5.0. Remember, this is a service that began as Mac only. Sad.
Well, that just saved me from being pulled into AOL again. Thank goodness.

3 comments

  • I abandoned my mac after being unable to find any good software to use for my mac (compared with the PC market).

    You’re better off without AOL, believe me. I use AOL and I really don’t like it, I’m just too lazy to switch because I got a free year when I bought my PC.

  • I wonder what “good software” is? I can’t think of a single piece of good software that I can’t find for Macintosh, especially now that OS X has taken hold (Quark XPress being the exception that proves the rule).
    I have no need of AOL, and am certainly not broken up about it – just pointing out the stupidity of it. I’m certain that AOL thrives on those people who are too lazy to switch – business is built upon inertia. Much like the number of Windows users who constantly complain about it but are too stuck in their ways to use another OS.

  • Apples are cool, almost as good as linux. And who in there right mind uses AOL anyway? Stick to a decent cheaper ISP.

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