You are the youthsnassnappers there, withdraw a chair and let me tell you about more innocent time. Before you can connect to the internet from thin air, you had to use the so -called phone call connection. A box called the modem has been connected to your computer, and use a phone line to connect to a service provider that gives you access to the BBS (BBS; Think of BBS as an early form of Reddit). It took a few years before BBS gave the way to the web.
There were many telecommunications service providers, but there was one governing them: America via the Internet, which became widely known as AOL. However, the AOL days as the telephone service provider has ended now. According to the AOL support document, the company (now is part of Yahoo, owned by Apollo Global Management) that the telephone service will end on September 30.
Now, the AOL story is an example of itself, and you will find many stories that are looking for in its history and analysis. But part of AOL’s history is its relationships with Apple. (You are still sitting, you young people?
Apple cooperated with quantum computing services to create a consumer version of the program, Applink Personal Edition, in 1988, which offered an abstract version of Applelink to allow users to “do things like stock quote, check the flight dates, and stone with electronic discussions with other operators.” High price ($ 15 per hour during peak times and $ 6 per hour outside, with an annual subscription of $ 35) and the differences between Apple and Quantum in the end to failure.
In the late eighties of the last century, the two companies were divided, with quantum retaining the rights of Applelink. The American Online service was renamed, although it remained exclusive to Apple II and Macintosh. In 1991, the first AOL agent of MS-DOS arrived, as well as the rest is the date. Soon after, everything I bought with a flexible tablet came, which you can The purchase is still on EBay If you have money to burn nostalgia.
It should be noted that the first message from space was made up of Apple Macintosh Portable and was sent via the Applelink network: “Helo Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 crew. This is the first applelink app from space. After a fun time, I hope you are here, … Send Cryo and RCS! Hasta la Vista, Baby, … …
Applelink was a BBS used by Apple and retailers to obtain online support.
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Old fogs like me initially interact with a small feeling-definitely, there is a need to connect the phone request, right? Well, not really. In 2023, a survey conducted by the American Statistical Office found that 163,401 American families used the internet call. This is about 0.2 percent of American families. It may be safe to assume that many of these families use AOL, but it is not enough to justify the cost of maintaining the service, especially when this number decreases every year.
AOL plans to continue its other services, such as AOL MAIL. (Yes, some people still use an email address. Like my foals. Sighted from the comfort that I just heard.
So, one of the ways to look at the end of the AOL telephone service is the end of a service with Apple roots. It joins the world with other historical Apple products – from Apple IIE to the touch tape – which has a peak but time running out with technology continuously forward.