AOL cutting off newsgroups service. Now what?

nancree said:

AOL has just notified us that it is cutting off newsgroup service,
thus:
"Please note: The AOL Newsgroup service, will be discontinued in early
2005. For members using AOL over a dial-up connection, you will no
longer be able to access Newsgroups. If you have a separate high-speed
connection, you can contct your broadband provider to see if they offer
Newsgroups. Newsgroup sservices can often be accesed through a third
party reader, such as Mozilla Thunderbird.
Alternatively, you can access Newsgroups via Google, etc."

I have a high-speed connection, but I have been using it only to get to
AOL, which, in spite of comments from others here, I have always liked
a lot. It gives exceptional service in many areas. E-mail in all of
its areas, excellent spyware for free, excellent Pop-up blocking, good
spam blocking, fast service, and REAL Customer Service where you can
actually talk to a human being. I started using it in Edition 3, and
it has improved steadily to the present 9.0 Edition.

The problem is, I don't like Yahoo, which is the broadband provider I
signed up for in order to get high speed AOL . And
http://groups.google.com can be slow (today the postings are 7 hours
late, and still waiting. ) Even when "groups.google" is working
faster, it isn't the same back-and-forth communication that you can get
presently . I checked Mozilla Thunderbird, and it seems unwieldy.
Any suggestions? PENMART--what do you suggest? I know you like AOL
too.
Nancree

Try news.individual.net

You'll need a news reader like Forte Agent and you'll need to email
them to set up an account. But it's free and works well.

modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Michael Odom said:

nancree said:

AOL has just notified us that it is cutting off newsgroup service,
thus:
"Please note: The AOL Newsgroup service, will be discontinued in early
2005. For members using AOL over a dial-up connection, you will no
longer be able to access Newsgroups. If you have a separate high-speed
connection, you can contct your broadband provider to see if they offer
Newsgroups. Newsgroup sservices can often be accesed through a third
party reader, such as Mozilla Thunderbird.
Alternatively, you can access Newsgroups via Google, etc."

I have a high-speed connection, but I have been using it only to get to
AOL, which, in spite of comments from others here, I have always liked
a lot. It gives exceptional service in many areas. E-mail in all of
its areas, excellent spyware for free, excellent Pop-up blocking, good
spam blocking, fast service, and REAL Customer Service where you can
actually talk to a human being. I started using it in Edition 3, and
it has improved steadily to the present 9.0 Edition.

The problem is, I don't like Yahoo, which is the broadband provider I
signed up for in order to get high speed AOL . And
http://groups.google.com can be slow (today the postings are 7 hours
late, and still waiting. ) Even when "groups.google" is working
faster, it isn't the same back-and-forth communication that you can get
presently . I checked Mozilla Thunderbird, and it seems unwieldy.
Any suggestions? PENMART--what do you suggest? I know you like AOL
too.
Nancree

Try news.individual.net

You'll need a news reader like Forte Agent and you'll need to email
them to set up an account. But it's free and works well.

modom

"Dallas is a rich man with a death wish in his eyes."
-- Jimmie Dale Gilmore

I've been using news.individual.net for quite a while. It works well but
doesn't support binary groups.

As for AOL, if you like it that's great but everything that you said
with the exception of high-speed access is free anyhow. They're giving
you nothing special.

--
Steve

Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little
bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards...

nancree said:

AOL has just notified us that it is cutting off newsgroup service,
thus:
"Please note: The AOL Newsgroup service, will be discontinued in early
2005. For members using AOL over a dial-up connection, you will no
longer be able to access Newsgroups. If you have a separate high-speed
connection, you can contct your broadband provider to see if they offer
Newsgroups. Newsgroup sservices can often be accesed through a third
party reader, such as Mozilla Thunderbird.
Alternatively, you can access Newsgroups via Google, etc."

I have a high-speed connection, but I have been using it only to get to
AOL, which, in spite of comments from others here, I have always liked
a lot. It gives exceptional service in many areas. E-mail in all of
its areas, excellent spyware for free, excellent Pop-up blocking, good
spam blocking, fast service, and REAL Customer Service where you can
actually talk to a human being. I started using it in Edition 3, and
it has improved steadily to the present 9.0 Edition.

The problem is, I don't like Yahoo, which is the broadband provider I
signed up for in order to get high speed AOL . And
http://groups.google.com can be slow (today the postings are 7 hours
late, and still waiting. ) Even when "groups.google" is working
faster, it isn't the same back-and-forth communication that you can get
presently . I checked Mozilla Thunderbird, and it seems unwieldy.
Any suggestions? PENMART--what do you suggest? I know you like AOL
too.
Nancree

You do know you can use Firefox/Thunderbird & Spybot (for free) and have
no need at all for aol?

Steve Calvin said:

As for AOL, if you like it that's great but everything that you said
with the exception of high-speed access is free anyhow. They're giving
you nothing special.

This is so true. AOL used to provide a nice,
somewhat closed (safer) environment that was
particularly easy for new computer users. Now, it
offers very directly little from AOL itself and is
even opening up the previously member only message
boards (some what moderated, now not) to anyone
with an internet connection. What they're possibly
thinking, I can't imagine? Less control, greater
non-member access and getting rid of some
particularly handy services. How long can they
imagine they're going to be competitive and
attractive to paying members at the rate they're
going?
Goomba

Goomba38 said:

Steve Calvin said:

As for AOL, if you like it that's great but everything that you said
with the exception of high-speed access is free anyhow. They're giving
you nothing special.

This is so true. AOL used to provide a nice, somewhat closed (safer)
environment that was particularly easy for new computer users. Now, it
offers very directly little from AOL itself and is even opening up the
previously member only message boards (some what moderated, now not) to
anyone with an internet connection. What they're possibly thinking, I
can't imagine? Less control, greater non-member access and getting rid
of some particularly handy services. How long can they imagine they're
going to be competitive and attractive to paying members at the rate
they're going?
Goomba

People remain because of inertia. aol carpet bombed the US with floppies
and later CDs and people started using it and became comfortable with it.

A friend just got a cable modem because the cable co upgraded the system
where he lives. I stopped by the other night to set it up. He is an aol
user. He had to run out and when he came back I was using firefox to
browse some sites. He asked me "how can you be on the Internet without
using aol?". I asked him what he usually does when on line and showed
him the equivalent non aol method. It took about 15 minutes before he
picked up the phone and cancelled aol.

George said:

A friend just got a cable modem because the cable co upgraded the system
where he lives. I stopped by the other night to set it up. He is an aol
user. He had to run out and when he came back I was using firefox to
browse some sites. He asked me "how can you be on the Internet without
using aol?". I asked him what he usually does when on line and showed
him the equivalent non aol method. It took about 15 minutes before he
picked up the phone and cancelled aol.

But that ignores the fact that AOL used to provide
come nice exclusive content. Message boards with
moderation was good for kids and people not quite
ready for USENET; easy to join moderated chats
(not the same as the "pick up chat rooms",LOL) and
the like. They now offer nothing that one can't
find elsewhere. It didn't used to be that way.
Goomba

I've used AOL for years but am beginning to see I'm wasting my money.

I use a dial-up--what is my best option to replace AOL - cheap?????

Pat

PatETC said:

I've used AOL for years but am beginning to see I'm wasting my money.

I use a dial-up--what is my best option to replace AOL - cheap?????

Pat

Talk to people in your area and see what service that they're using for
dial-up, assuming you can find folks using it. (not a "shot", but it's
becoming increasingly rare)

I've never used AOL but if you can, try downloading Firefox (net
browser/surfer) and Thunderbird (mail and newsgroups) and get familiar
with them. They're really very easy to get going with the basics.
http://www.mozilla.org

Then download SpyBot Search and destroy from:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

As well as Ad-Aware from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Update the definitions and run them weekly. Updating them is simple.
There's a button on the startup menus that will say something like
"check for updates" or a similar phrase.

Do you have a antivirus program?(again, I'm not familiar with AOL) If
not, you definitely want to get one and set it up to start upon booting
the system so that it is constantly active. (Again, not a difficult
task) Norton Antivirus (now Symantec AntiVirus) is pretty decent.

I run a host of other things but I think that this is a pretty good
start and I'm sure that others will chime in.

--
Steve

Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little
bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards...

On 24 Jan 2005 15:00:20 -0800, "nancree" <[email hidden]>
scribbled some thoughts:

Quoted message said:

I have a high-speed connection, but I have been using it only to get to
AOL, which, in spite of comments from others here, I have always liked
a lot. It gives exceptional service in many areas. E-mail in all of
its areas, excellent spyware for free, excellent Pop-up blocking, good
spam blocking, fast service, and REAL Customer Service where you can
actually talk to a human being. I started using it in Edition 3, and
it has improved steadily to the present 9.0 Edition.

Excellent Spyware?!? I can talk to a real person by calling
BellSouth, or when I was with Earthlink, had a real person
then. Once you get to know your comp and to tweak it's
settings, like I have, I've found no need to call tech
support for about 2 years now. The only issue I had with
BellSouth was when I had my phone reconnected and web
service reestablished, I was being double-billed, but that
is straightened out.

BTW, I just checked my German server: news.individual.de and
it carries this group, so if you want to access it via a
newsreader, then get thy browser over to

http://news.individual.net/

The service is free, but since all requests are approved by
humans, it may take a couple of days. The retention times
are shorter than most. They don't do binaries.

--

Sincerely, | NOTE: Best viewed in a fixed pitch font
| (©) (©)
Andrew H. Carter | ------ooo--(_)--ooo------
d(-_-)b | /// \\\

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 17:47:01 -0600, Michael Odom
<[email hidden]> scribbled some thoughts:

Quoted message said:

Try news.individual.net

You'll need a news reader like Forte Agent and you'll need to email
them to set up an account. But it's free and works well.

Should have read ahead, I suggested the same thing as far as
the server, though I included the link.

http://news.individual.net/
--

Sincerely, | NOTE: Best viewed in a fixed pitch font
| (©) (©)
Andrew H. Carter | ------ooo--(_)--ooo------
d(-_-)b | /// \\\

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 21:46:44 -0500, George
<[email hidden]> scribbled some thoughts:

Quoted message said:

A friend just got a cable modem because the cable co upgraded the system
where he lives. I stopped by the other night to set it up. He is an aol
user. He had to run out and when he came back I was using firefox to
browse some sites. He asked me "how can you be on the Internet without
using aol?". I asked him what he usually does when on line and showed
him the equivalent non aol method. It took about 15 minutes before he
picked up the phone and cancelled aol.

I love it. Once you knbow how to tweak your system and if
your ISP allows you to use your DUN, you can save HDD by not
installing their software.

--

Sincerely, | NOTE: Best viewed in a fixed pitch font
| (©) (©)
Andrew H. Carter | ------ooo--(_)--ooo------
d(-_-)b | /// \\\

On Mon, 24 Jan 2005 21:51:19 -0500, Goomba38
<[email hidden]> scribbled some thoughts:

Quoted message said:

George said:

A friend just got a cable modem because the cable co upgraded the system
where he lives. I stopped by the other night to set it up. He is an aol
user. He had to run out and when he came back I was using firefox to
browse some sites. He asked me "how can you be on the Internet without
using aol?". I asked him what he usually does when on line and showed
him the equivalent non aol method. It took about 15 minutes before he
picked up the phone and cancelled aol.

But that ignores the fact that AOL used to provide
come nice exclusive content. Message boards with
moderation was good for kids and people not quite
ready for USENET; easy to join moderated chats
(not the same as the "pick up chat rooms",LOL) and
the like. They now offer nothing that one can't
find elsewhere. It didn't used to be that way.
Goomba

Lifeway Online, filtered DSL
http://signup.integrity.com/dsl/home.asp?siteid=73296

--

Sincerely, | NOTE: Best viewed in a fixed pitch font
| (©) (©)
Andrew H. Carter | ------ooo--(_)--ooo------
d(-_-)b | /// \\\

Goomba38 said:

But that ignores the fact that AOL used to provide
come nice exclusive content. Message boards with
moderation was good for kids and people not quite
ready for USENET; easy to join moderated chats
(not the same as the "pick up chat rooms",LOL) and
the like. They now offer nothing that one can't
find elsewhere. It didn't used to be that way.
Goomba

Before AOL became AOL they were QuantumLink, which was a network for
Commodore64 users. They had PeopleConnection then, too. I was using QL in
the late 1980s, and I met my husband in PeopleConnection. 🙂 He was living
on Long Island, I was living in Alaska. He moved up and we fell in love and
have been together ever since December 5, 1988 (got officially married two
years later but we were emotionally married immediately). 🙂

I have a lot of fond memories of the Red Dragon Inn from that time, but I
went in there a few years ago... man has it changed. 🙂

--
Siobhan Perricone
Humans wrote the bible,
God wrote the rocks
-- Word of God by Kathy Mar

Steve Calvin said:

Quoted message said:

I've used AOL for years but am beginning to see I'm wasting my money.

I use a dial-up--what is my best option to replace AOL - cheap?????

Pat

Talk to people in your area and see what service that they're using for
dial-up, assuming you can find folks using it. (not a "shot", but it's
becoming increasingly rare)

I've never used AOL but if you can, try downloading Firefox (net
browser/surfer) and Thunderbird (mail and newsgroups) and get familiar
with them. They're really very easy to get going with the basics.
http://www.mozilla.org

Then download SpyBot Search and destroy from:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

As well as Ad-Aware from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Update the definitions and run them weekly. Updating them is simple.
There's a button on the startup menus that will say something like "check
for updates" or a similar phrase.

Steve

I've had both of those programs installed for some time. A couple of
months ago I downloaded for free a program called SpyBlaster, at
www.spyblaster.com . This program gets rid of the spyware before it
reaches the computer. I've checked it against AdAware and SpyBot and
hardly any spyware gets through.

Dora

limey said:

Steve Calvin said:

Quoted message said:

I've used AOL for years but am beginning to see I'm wasting my money.

I use a dial-up--what is my best option to replace AOL - cheap?????

Pat

Talk to people in your area and see what service that they're using for
dial-up, assuming you can find folks using it. (not a "shot", but it's
becoming increasingly rare)

I've never used AOL but if you can, try downloading Firefox (net
browser/surfer) and Thunderbird (mail and newsgroups) and get familiar
with them. They're really very easy to get going with the basics.
http://www.mozilla.org

Then download SpyBot Search and destroy from:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

As well as Ad-Aware from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Update the definitions and run them weekly. Updating them is simple.
There's a button on the startup menus that will say something like "check
for updates" or a similar phrase.

Steve

I've had both of those programs installed for some time. A couple of
months ago I downloaded for free a program called SpyBlaster, at
www.spyblaster.com . This program gets rid of the spyware before it
reaches the computer. I've checked it against AdAware and SpyBot and
hardly any spyware gets through.

Dora

hm. thanks' Dora. I haven't heard of it but I'll certainly check it out!

--
Steve

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it.
Autograph your work with excellence.

Goomba38 said:

Steve Calvin said:

As for AOL, if you like it that's great but everything that you

said

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with the exception of high-speed access is free anyhow. They're

giving

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you nothing special.

This is so true. AOL used to provide a nice,
somewhat closed (safer) environment that was
particularly easy for new computer users. Now, it
offers very directly little from AOL itself and is
even opening up the previously member only message
boards (some what moderated, now not) to anyone
with an internet connection. What they're possibly
thinking, I can't imagine? Less control, greater
non-member access and getting rid of some
particularly handy services. How long can they
imagine they're going to be competitive and
attractive to paying members at the rate they're
going?
Goomba

Yahoo recently carried an AP or Reuters article about AOL. As their
customer base shrinks, their business plan is to make more money by
selling more advertising.

-bwg

limey said:

Quoted message said:

I've had both of those programs installed for some time. A couple of
months ago I downloaded for free a program called SpyBlaster, at
www.spyblaster.com . This program gets rid of the spyware before it
reaches the computer. I've checked it against AdAware and SpyBot and
hardly any spyware gets through.

Dora

hm. thanks' Dora. I haven't heard of it but I'll certainly check it out!

--
Steve

Hmmm. I gave you the wrong URL, which I got from Google. It must be
outdated - I tested it and it took me to what looks like a rival site.

I've taken this from the SpyBlaster program itself:

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com .

Sorry, Steve.

Dora

"Steve Calvin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

limey said:

Steve Calvin said:

>I've used AOL for years but am beginning to see I'm wasting my money.
>
>I use a dial-up--what is my best option to replace AOL - cheap?????
>
>Pat
>

Talk to people in your area and see what service that they're using for
dial-up, assuming you can find folks using it. (not a "shot", but it's
becoming increasingly rare)

I've never used AOL but if you can, try downloading Firefox (net
browser/surfer) and Thunderbird (mail and newsgroups) and get familiar
with them. They're really very easy to get going with the basics.
http://www.mozilla.org

Then download SpyBot Search and destroy from:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

As well as Ad-Aware from:
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/

Update the definitions and run them weekly. Updating them is simple.
There's a button on the startup menus that will say something like "check
for updates" or a similar phrase.

Steve

I've had both of those programs installed for some time. A couple of
months ago I downloaded for free a program called SpyBlaster, at
www.spyblaster.com . This program gets rid of the spyware before it
reaches the computer. I've checked it against AdAware and SpyBot and
hardly any spyware gets through.

Dora

hm. thanks' Dora. I haven't heard of it but I'll certainly check it out!

--
Steve

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it.
Autograph your work with excellence.

Currently Microsoft has available for download a beta of an anti-spyware
program. It works much the same as an anti virus program, in that it checks
for stuff before it gets in your computer. It does an automatic check of
the entire system at a specified time of day and also has automatic updates.
It appears to be very well laid out I've also got Spybot and AdAware.
It's only a matter of time before anti-spyware programs are available
through the major anti-virus software companies.
Janet

Sheldon, I don't have AOL but have had trouble getting e-mail through
to a
friend of mine using AOL. She didn't get the messages and had never
had
any problems before. I believe AOL has recently touted that it now
has a
"spam blocker" - so perhaps you and I were victims of that. Just a
thought.

Dora

Nah, it's an AOL Parental Controls" issue... blocked email between
AOLers generates an immediate and specific response; "The recipient is
not accepting email from you at this time." I'd not be at all
surprised if Nancree also has my posts plonked too... and yet has the
unmitigated gall to invoke a response from me... Nancree is a total
waste of protoplasm, and has contributed nothing of any redeeming value
whatsoever to this Newsgroup, not ever, not even once.

Sheldon