Word: aol
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...hardware hegemony, but the market proved a far better Big Blue buster than the feds. And two years ago, the irresistible force in online services was supposed to be the Microsoft Network, which, like this year's Explorer, came bundled into every last Windows machine. Instead, MSN floundered and AOL cleaned its clock. Microsoft may yet get its comeuppance (Java, anyone?), but digital history suggests it will come not from Washington but from some hitherto obscure geek who--just like young Bill, once upon a time--shatters the old mold with a better idea...
...hemorrhaged money--according to one analyst, up to $250 million as of last year. By last week rumors were flying through Wall Street that Gates was ready to put his online flagship on the block. A Web journal, TheStreet.com even posted a suggested retail price--$1 billion, about what AOL paid for CompuServe--and quoted an unnamed Microsoft executive to the effect that the sell-off was set to go within six months...
...struggled since the day it was born. It was conceived as a proprietary online service, a la AOL, then hastily recast just before launch as a Web service much of whose programming was available only to subscribers for a fee. Since then, the tight-knit community of Internet content developers--on whom MSN is dependent for its programming--has been retailing stories of editorial confusion, marketing failures and internal reorganizations...
...remember "the mess over busy signals" as if it no longer exists. As a current AOL subscriber, I can attest that in many areas access is still a problem. Case and AOL management are as out of touch with their customers' desires as anyone can be. From its failure to have enough technical-support representatives to its censorship policies, AOL demonstrates that it cares about its stockholders more than its customers. And let's not forget AOL's unrelenting sales tactics. If aliens ever find the Voyager probe, their first question will be, "What does '50 free hours of AOL...
Nothing has changed at AOL from the time it commenced unlimited service at a fixed rate to the present. It is still next to impossible to sign on during prime time. AOL's E-mail is unreliable. As a subscriber, I have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, but I'm not holding my breath. JOHN GUYANT Indianapolis...