AOL for Mac?

Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
First of all, I'm very technical and I think that AOL internet is garbage. The reason I'm asking this question is because I'm giving my old iMac to my girlfriend's sister and she's a devoted AOL internet user who's very non-technical. I'm quite certain that all my rational arguments against AOL will fall on deaf ears and be met with eye rolling.



Since by giving her and her family my iMac, I will probably be in some sort of unofficial tech support role. That said, I definitely do not want them running Windows from Boot Camp, despite them being totally new to Mac. I'll probably set up Windows within a VM so they can run their essential Windows-only software.



The only way I can make this happen is if they can use their existing AOL *curses under his breath* account on the OS X partition.



So does AOL internet fully support Mac? I looked on the AOL site and there wasn't enough information to make this clear.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    I would ask as I am a recent convert to Mac and I couldn't wait to get off of AOL. The two things I was concerned about was my AOL mail accounts and buddy lists. Mail and iChat handle these most excellent. You may have a fight on your hands with the AOL browsing experience. i.e. Favorite Places, but I am sure you could win that one. Just pump up the fact that no more obnoxious ads when trying to read emails.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    What do you mean by "AOL internet"? Do you mean AOL Desktop, AOL's latest MacOS X client, or do you mean AOL Connect which allows the Mac user to setup his/her computer to access the Internet through AOL?



    AOL has a website where you can examine all of your options. You can find it here. If you need additional help, then get back to me.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    javacowboyjavacowboy Posts: 864member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    What do you mean by "AOL internet"? Do you mean AOL Desktop, AOL's latest MacOS X client, or do you mean AOL Connect which allows the Mac user to setup his/her computer to access the Internet through AOL?



    AOL has a website where you can examine all of your options. You can find it here. If you need additional help, then get back to me.



    I mean the AOL ISP, which seems to be AOL Connect. I visited that site last night, and it wasn't clear to me what "AOL Desktop" was, and I didn't want to download that crap onto my own Mac. I'm guessing that the g/f's sister will want both.



    Anyway, now that I have the terminology "AOL Connect" and "AOL Desktop, I was able to google for both.



    http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...olconnect.html

    http://daol.aol.com/software/desktop-for-mac/



    Both seem to be entirely Mac compatible, so there won't be a problem.



    To the other poster: I know AOL is garbage, and I would never use it in my household. It's just that I'm not going to tell somebody else how to use their internet, plus she has an AOL email account, making it even harder for her to switch (It took me about 2 years to completely switch away from my Yahoo! email to my Gmail account). It'll be enough of a challenge just teaching her to use a Mac.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Believe it or not, AOL started out as a Mac centric service. I remember CompuServ being the PC goliath at the time.



    Sorry though, I don't know much about what they've done in the last 10 or 12 years.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JavaCowboy View Post


    I mean the AOL ISP, which seems to be AOL Connect. I visited that site last night, and it wasn't clear to me what "AOL Desktop" was, and I didn't want to download that crap onto my own Mac. I'm guessing that the g/f's sister will want both.



    Anyway, now that I have the terminology "AOL Connect" and "AOL Desktop, I was able to google for both.



    http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...olconnect.html

    http://daol.aol.com/software/desktop-for-mac/



    Both seem to be entirely Mac compatible, so there won't be a problem.



    To the other poster: I know AOL is garbage, and I would never use it in my household. It's just that I'm not going to tell somebody else how to use their internet, plus she has an AOL email account, making it even harder for her to switch (It took me about 2 years to completely switch away from my Yahoo! email to my Gmail account). It'll be enough of a challenge just teaching her to use a Mac.



    I think you may have misinterpreted what I had said about Mail on the Mac. I have two AOL mail accounts that I have had for many years and still use them. My point was that there is no need to lose an AOL mail account as Mail can be set up to pull the mail down from the AOL servers. It works like a charm and I have access to all my folders that I have set up on AOL.



    If AOL is going to be used as an ISP, I'm assuming dial-up, then yes, you would need to go thru and use the AOL client, but if she is using cable (for instance), You can use AOL.com and still have pretty much the same functionality. Also, if she is not using AOL dial-up, check with her and make sure she is on a "bring your own" access plan so she is not paying AOL's higher rates.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    mr. memr. me Posts: 3,221member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MassMacMini View Post


    ...



    If AOL is going to be used as an ISP, I'm assuming dial-up, then yes, you would need to go thru and use the AOL client, but if she is using cable (for instance), You can use AOL.com and still have pretty much the same functionality. ...



    I agree 110% with everything that you said. AOL as a dial-up ISP is convenient in that you can take it with you wherever you go. I don't know if it still does it, but TimeWarner's Time-Warner cable modem-based broadband service gave users the option of using AOL as their ISP.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    dfilerdfiler Posts: 3,420member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr. Me View Post


    I agree 110% with everything that you said. AOL as a dial-up ISP is convenient in that you can take it with you wherever you go. I don't know if it still does it, but TimeWarner's Time-Warner cable modem-based broadband service gave users the option of using AOL as their ISP.



    Some said dial-up!

    Sorry, couldn't resist.



    Do cheaper hotels, like motel 6, offer wifi now?

    (The only traveling I've done in a decade are business trips at hotels with network acess, or trips to relative's houses where I stay as a house guest. And thus, wifi acess.)



    The sounds of modem make me nostalgic. We kept hearing a modem here at work. Eventually we found a modem above the ceiling in the machine shop. It wasn't connected to a phone line but everyday it would try to dial somehwere.
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