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Ernie Smith
@ernie@writing.exchange  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

So apparently we are within the last 60 days of dial-up AOL being a thing.

https://help.aol.com/articles/dial-up-internet-to-be-discontinued

ht @mattl

Dial-up Internet to be discontinued

AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued.

This change will not affect any other benefits in your AOL plan, which you can access any time on your AOL plan dashboard. To manage or cancel your account, visit MyAccount.
Dial-up Internet to be discontinued AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued. This change will not affect any other benefits in your AOL plan, which you can access any time on your AOL plan dashboard. To manage or cancel your account, visit MyAccount.
Dial-up Internet to be discontinued AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued. This change will not affect any other benefits in your AOL plan, which you can access any time on your AOL plan dashboard. To manage or cancel your account, visit MyAccount.
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The Animal and the Machine
@taatm@mathstodon.xyz replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl @VioletPixel
I’m shocked!

I didn’t know it still was a thing!

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Luc
@stroobl@mastodon-belgium.be replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @vosje62 time to discard those CD-ROMs.
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Seasons of Jason 🎒
@killyourfm@layer8.space replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl It's still a thing RIGHT NOW? That's incredible.
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samiamsam
@samiamsam@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl

i talked to someone yesterday who will uses dial-up

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Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
@rysiek@mstdn.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl oblig. Monkey Dust scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqEIp2YmtE
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Mike P
@FenTiger@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl That's OK. You can get the Internet on a CD these days.
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1000millimeter
@1000millimeter@chaos.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl #HistorischeFernmeldetechnik#TelefonGeschichte
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Claudia
@claudi@darmstadt.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie Wait, does that mean the CDs are all going to be useless coasters?
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Angie 🇨🇦🇲🇽🇪🇺🇵🇸🇺🇦
@angiebaby@mas.to replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl

It's been primarily a web portal for boomers for a while now.

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Sir Toootenstein
@sir_toootenstein@det.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl so you say my collection of at least 100 AOL CD-ROMs is getting useless this year?
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Oliver :europe:
@oliver@metalized.net replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl Wait, there is still… AOL 😱 ?
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Lioh
@Lioh@social.anoxinon.de replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie oh noo,wie kommt denn Bobbele dann ins Internet?
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Minzemitzimt
@minzemitzimt@nerdculture.de replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl

Do we have to send back all the millions of AOL CDs now?

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VulcanTourist
@VulcanTourist@autistics.life replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl

First, they came for Gopher, and I did nothing. Next they came for BBSes, and I did nothing. Then they came for USENET, and I hesitated but did nothing. Now they come for dial-up, and....

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De_Minimis
@De_Minimis@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl
NetZero still has us covered.

https://www.netzero.net/start/www.do?action=/dialup/&action=/dialup/&&sep=common

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Pxl Phile
@ppxl@social.tchncs.de replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl oh no, did somebody told @foone ? #AOLDialUp
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Kenny♐️
@SwordArtStreamer@dragonscave.space replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@lexipic @mattl @ernie dial-up is still a thing?
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xnite
@xnite@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl So we are within the last 60 days of the credit card expiration date for the last customer still using AOL dial up? Is the customer aware of this change or have they already passed on half a decade or more ago?
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Ernie Smith
@ernie@writing.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@xnite @mattl They offer other services that make it OK to keep that credit card—email and online privacy/security offerings. The email is still pretty widely used.
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adison verlice
@adisonverlice@tweesecake.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl we are going to dialdown dialup
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Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
@rysiek@mstdn.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@adisonverlice I came here to make this joke but of course somebody was already dialed-in on that one

@ernie @mattl

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adison verlice
@adisonverlice@tweesecake.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@rysiek @ernie @mattl you say we're dialed in, but you didn't ssay we're using, dialin. also hahaha, take that. moihahahahahahaha! late to the party, my friend
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Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
@rysiek@mstdn.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@adisonverlice that got dialed-up real fast.

@ernie @mattl

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adison verlice
@adisonverlice@tweesecake.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@rysiek @ernie @mattl bahahahahahahahahahaha.
better, dial up, my friend, because you'll need to dial it down soon. jujst turn the dial on your radio
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Faraiwe
@faraiwe@mstdn.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl wild
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Cassander
@drsbaitso@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie Is there nothing 2025 will not rip from our hands?
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Very Human Robot
@StompyRobot@mastodon.gamedev.place replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl but I have a disc promising 2000 free hours! How will they deliver this?
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stony kark
@aapis@mastodon.world replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie oh no, my many disks are now worthless ☹️
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Furbland's Very Cool Mastodon™
@GroupNebula563@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl the end of an era. (might I add that the AOL shield browser is only about a year old, if I’m not mistaken)
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Lea de Groot 🇦🇺
@leadegroot@bne.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl @Meyerweb we had an outage of our internet connection some ago and remembered that our isp still had a dialup point, so we dug the old modem out storage and fired it up.
We couldn’t actually do anything with it 😞 nothing would load, it was too slow. I was quite shocked!
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bstow
@bstow@beige.party replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl What the hell am I supposed to do with this US Robotics 14.4k modem?
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Hot Dog Water Moccasin
@GGMcBG@mstdn.plus replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie

So I can get rid of the CD-ROMs in all the closets?
And the magazines and mailers they came in?
But maybe not?

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solitarywalker
@solitarywalker@writing.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl So dialup outlived AIM? That's crazy.
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Salem's Lot
@SalemsLot@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl I remember this being my first provider in Germany. Starting with Dialup and a Zyxel USB Modem, later by ISDN (and when nobody needed the phone, bundling the channels). Squeaky Duck like software that behaved in weird ways, but the Internet was raw and open then. Reminiscing about online friends that I never met and lost contact. Also, truckloads of installer-CDs, they were everywhere, a pest.... Good times, but today nobody in their right mind would use AOL.
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Jakob Fel :spinningdisc:
@JakobFel@retro-gaiden.com replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl End of an era! But it's also pretty shocking this was even still a thing lol
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Vanni Di Ponzano ⁂🚴 ❤️ ☕ 🍎
@bici@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl
gosh ...who knew #AOL as still a thing?!
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Adam
@adam4h@mastodon.online replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl You've got mail... for now.
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日本語まあまあ
@nihongomaamaa@mastodon.ie replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCq0P509UL4
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Amy Maybe
@APBBlue@thepit.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl I just heard the dial-up screechy sound in my head
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Comrade elronxenu
@elronxenu@mastodon.cloud replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl I don't have a modem and I don't have a phone line, so I couldn't use dialup even if I wanted.
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Blacksmith
@Blacksmithoz@aus.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl what's a dial?
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Gnome Tsunami
@gnometsunami@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl a lot of people are going to get tech support calls from gradma next month.
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Patrick
@ppb1701@ppb.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl wait AOL still exists currently?
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Carolyn
@CStamp@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl I did not know AOL was still a thing.
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tarrenvane
@tarrenvane@autistics.life replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl @darth_hideout And here I thought dial-up AOL died years ago!
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Chris White
@stoneymonster@stoney.monster replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl Eternal September ends in September. Fitting.
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Dread Pirate John Scab🚫
@janwwbosch@mastodon.ie replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl

*Screams in binary* at 28kbps

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Ian Douglas Scott
@ids1024@mathstodon.xyz replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl Luckily the acronym also works for America OffLine. So they won't need a rebrand.
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avatastic :enby_rebel:
@avatastic@avatastic.uk replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl If you're holding on to those floppies and CDs, time to send them back!
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USB Type-Steve :verified:
@USBTypeSteve@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl despite not having used dialup for nearly 20 years, I’m still sad about this and don’t know why.
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nak
@Nak@infosec.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl @jrenken September being an appropriate month for this
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Ernie Smith
@ernie@writing.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@Nak @mattl @jrenken goddamn right
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Hugs4friends ♾🇺🇦 🇵🇸😷
@Tooden@aus.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie Are there still places where landlines, and dial-up are the only way to access the net? @mattl
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George Liquor, American
@liquor_american@universeodon.com replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie @mattl I used to use the BBS that sold the name America Online to Steve Case. How time flies
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Ernie Smith
@ernie@writing.exchange replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

Who's still rolling on POTS?

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TrimTab 🇺🇦
@TrimTab@mastodon.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie
POTS internet = People living in remote sparse regions, who are morally opposed to Musk. It is an admittedly small demographic but not zero.
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Jeri Dansky
@jeridansky@sfba.social replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie I've kept my POTS telephone line in case of emergencies. I'm not using POTS for internet access.
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Serenus
@Serenus@mas.to replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie Me, though just for actual phone service and not for internet.
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Dr. Matt Lee is at hireme.fyi
@mattl@social.coop replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie I have one. Can’t remember the number and I keep the hamburger phone unplugged but it costs me $1 a month.
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Lauren Weinstein
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie In fact, on my upcoming usual Monday network radio tech segment, I'll probably be slamming AT&T for their behavior in respect to landlines here in California.
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ThomasAPowell
@thomasapowell@fosstodon.org replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@lauren @ernie not surprising they suck. Also in CA so I’ll share my fun story that ~ 8 years ago I attempted to put a pots line back in my rebuilt house as a backup. AT&T simply couldn’t figure out how to do it. I had the wires to the house, they couldn’t place the order & didn’t have people who know even what to do. Yet most of my elderly neighbors have working lines. Post Pacbell the system rots like a Dharma Initiative station from Lost still working somehow but mostly abandoned.
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Lauren Weinstein
@lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
@ernie Multiple lines.
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