Wow this is one of those instances where I’m simultaneously surprised something still exists and also find it to make a lot of sense that it still exists.
Well, sounds like this is the end, guys. It was good getting to know you. I knew those 30-day free trials would run out eventually.
AOL used to setup kiosk systems at computer stores so customers could experience AOL in the store, and each store was given a login account. Long after the kiosks went down, these accounts remained active, providing those employees “in the know” with free AOL all throughout its pay-by-the-hour years.
But I only needed three more 30 day trials to finish downloading cd2 of the phantom menace cam that I started in 1999…
I worked there from 2002-2005. Was 2 cubicles down from the guy responsible for sending out the “free trial!” CDs. Fun times
I still have one, still in the cellophane. I use it as a coaster.
You got more use out of it than most
Do you remember what you guys were using to burn millions of CDs at the time? Genuinely curious how it was done at that scale, as I think it was one of the biggest CD campaigns.
At that scale discs are stamped, not individually burned. Same as how music CDs and DVDs were made.
No idea. He clicked a button, they went out. I’m sure there was a big factory in China. Anytime new registrations were down for the month, send out another batch.
Imagine the shear amount of waste that guy helped put on the planet! A few spots away from a real life villain!
Oh yeah that dude made a LOT of trash. But we were working the elevator on the Death Star, man. It wasn’t his idea to do it, just his job to execute it. I suppose he could have refused to do it on principle, but they’d have another person hired within an hour. Ethics and values rarely put a roof over your head, though. AOL was the biggest employer in the area and their executive suite was ruthless. Blame them, not the guy clicking the button.
GET OFF THE INTERNET! I NEED TO MAKE A CALL!
Ok, mum! Let me just upload my geocities site.
POV: Be a software developer. It’s 2025. You’re maintaining dialer software for an ISP. The software is written in Delphi or Visual Basic. It’s all you’ve done since 1995. You’ve got 5 years to retirement. Corporate announces end of life for dial up services.
Not too bad really, considering that software developer has milked that cow for way longer than anyone would’ve thought. Those last 5 years will be challenging though, but maybe the software developer can sprinkle some AI over their resume and magically land some weird role that nobody can explain why we need it in the first place.
… In the U.S., for instance, the latest government census data indicates approximately a quarter of a million remaining dial-up holdouts.
One of the natural successors for internet connectivity in hard-to-reach places is satellite, with around eight million subscribers in the U.S. …
…and a similar disparity in cost.
Rip my pcmcia modem card 😭
Telephony still exists! It’s still good, it’s still good!
YOU’VE GOT MAIL!
Your mailbox is full!
That’s not what I wanted, hew-man!
I thought we all had a collective and unsaid agreement not to talk about this one
Statute of limitations ran out.
Fitting that it’s ending in (eternal) September.
Deep cut appreciated and approved of.
Goodbye!
TIL AOL still exists.
Me too!
(obscure reference time)
Wow. I didn’t know that dial up was still a thing in the US
Capitalism milked that shit D R Y.
AOL… America Offline
AOL was dead to me the day they dropped support for Neverwinter Nights.
Wow 34 Years of Dialup. Who still uses dial up? I guess that naive of me and is coming from a place of privelege.
But still dial up??!
If you live in a rural area, it seems plausible
Even simple pages are now at least 1-2MB big. News pages without an ad blocker and Autoplay videos can easily try to download 10 or more MB per page load. On 56kbits dial up, 10MB will take about 25 mins in the best case.
25 minutes later
Cookie popup
*clicks button*
Updating your preferences…
Yea I guess so. Man that must be difficult.
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Up until probably about a decade ago I would occasionally go into small shops that used dial up to process credit card payments. There may still be some places doing that but I haven’t noticed it in a while.
