AOL = heaven! (AOL Flat Rate)

Member Name: SimonFinnigan

Product:	AOL Flat Rate
Date:	19/06/02 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fixed monthly fee, Fast efficient connection

Disadvantages: Bad reputation, No SMTP server, Slow Pings

I have been using the internet for about 7 years now, and have always avoided AOL because of it`s aweful reputation. One day I got drunk, got fed up of my old ISP always kicking me off after 2 hours and signed up with AOL.

I am SO glad I did. I now pay £15 a month for unlimited use of the internet. There is no 2 hour kick-off, no limit to the amount you use it - all very different from most other ISP`s offering flat rate products.

I don`t use the AOL content, so I can`t say anything about it in my opinion. All I know is that it is there. When I connect to the internet I just minimise the AOL window and run my normal internet software.

I almost always connect first time, and when I do the connection is incredibly stable. I`ve been connected for 72 hour long periods without a break before today. It is also nice and fast - not as fast a broadband but still one of the fastest dial-up connections I`ve ever used. The only part of the connection that isn`t fast is the ping - this can be very high, making AOL useless for online gaming.

There is only one other problem with AOL - the lack of SMTP servers. This means that you can`t easily send emails using Outlook Express, or whatever email program you use. Hotmail and other web based email accounts are fine however. If you really want to stick to using your normal email program you need to download a little program called Postcast Server, that acts as a SMTP server (SMTP = Simple Mail Transfer Protocol by the way). Now when you click on send your emails are sent for you. It works exactly like a normal ISP once you have done this.

I`m sure you`ll hear lots of bad things about AOL, but they are untrue. AOL is the best ISP I have ever used in my 7 years online. I am planning on sticking with them for a long time yet - you should give them a try as well!

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