8 ON YOUR SIDE: AOL ending dial-up internet service
FILE – In this May 28, 2009 file photo, an AOL home page is displayed on a user’s computer in Palo Alto, Calif. AOL is shaking loose from Time Warner Inc. and heading into the next decade the way it began this one, as an independent company. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
8 ON YOUR SIDE: AOL’s dial-up internet is finally taking its last bow.
Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around. But AOL says it’s officially pulling the plug for its service on Sept. 30, with AOL noting in a brief update that it “routinely evaluates” its offerings and had decided to discontinue dial-up on AOL plans and associated software.
AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the internet for the first time when it launched dial-up just decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s and early 2000s.
The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone used to connect your computer online. Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings rose to dominance.
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