09/27/2007, 6:30pm, EDT

Thursday, September 27th

New AOL Desktop adds Leopard support

AOL has released its first public beta of the new AOL Desktop for Mac. The new release is Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)-ready, and represents the first major release of the software for the Mac in more than more than five years. Among the major enhancements, aside from Leopard support, is a faster load time -- the company claims the new release "launches within seconds and enables users to begin browsing immediately, without signing in." Also included is a tabbed browser for content as well as instant messaging windows. New email options allow users to send and receive messages using multiple email accounts, including Apple Mac addresses, Gmail, and others from within a single inbox. AOL instant messaging is also now built in to the software, and there is a customizable toolbar providing access to favorites and other functionality. I

n addition to releasing the beta, AOL has also launched the new Mac@AOL blog to provide an "open forum to discuss, debate and ask questions about AOL software designed specifically for the Mac."

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l008com

Does it still...

09/27, 7:10pm, EDT

Does it still lose everything you are doing when it decides to lose your connection to the internet? And does it still crash your whole computer randomly for no reason. And do you still get the equivalent of a beach ball every time you do... ANYTHING?

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sailin74

Too Little Too Late

09/27, 8:36pm, EDT

Now that AOL is on their way out, they want to support Macs... Brilliant. AOL really needs to figure out a business plan. 5 Years? You've got to be kidding me.

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fritzair

History of AOL

09/27, 9:26pm, EDT

The way I remember it, AOL was only for Macs way back when. The interface was Mac like and getting connected was simple. Mac folks used it in huge numbers. As soon as windows came out they stopped caring about the Mac audience and concentrated on PCs. Another lesson learned?

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bonaccij

Not Actually

09/28, 5:49am, EDT

Unfortunately, I still have a lot of users that use this software. From a support standpoint, I am glad they are updating it, because the current client is a bit dodgy.

I have been testing Leopard, and it doesn't really work. According to the AOL Beta boards, a lot of people who are testing Leopard are having the same issue I am, in that it simply opens, you log in and it immediately crashes out. I think it is a bit early for AOL to be claiming that this software is "Leopard Ready".

On another note. I installed it on a computer using Tiger. It works fine there. It is still, however, a very early beta. There are TONS of options that are still greyed out. Definitely not ready for production.

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nat

credit

09/28, 9:20am, EDT

Yes, AOL has lost it over the years but there was a time when it was good (anyone remember Prodigy, the only other option at the time?). Before broadband it was the cat's meow if you wanted to get online with any kind of snappiness and actually go places, talk with people, etc.

At least that was my experience.

It was so good that MSN started as pretty much a clone of it (not surprising there!).

I give it credit for being innovative and take it away for staying too long in a locked system.

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Tofino

no credit from me!

09/29, 4:45pm, EDT

i seem to recall that at the time prodigy and aol were around, the only real service that was useful was compuserve. i used to send emails from compuserve via the INTERNET (they always capitalised it) to telex machines in europe in 87. it all came to a screeching halt when aol went on a feeding frenzy and bought them out. after that they ran them in parallel but it was clear that all efforts went into aol. i never understood why apple let aol run their sadly doomed eWorld service, when it was compuserve that was started by apple II users. my memory could be a little fuzzy though...

i'll always remember aol for single handedly being responsible for giving archeologists of the future to puzzle over a layer of crushed cd's in the landfills of the planet.

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