AOL Mail To Be Accessible Via IMAP

jfruhlinger writes "News.com.com is reporting that AOL's e-mail service, long accessible only via AOL's proprietary, monolithic app, will be available via IMAP starting Thursday. The story notes that this is part of a series of initiatives from AOL to move content beyond its walled garden and into standards-based formats such as HTML and IMAP that any Internet app can access. Supposedly a 'a dramatically different direction' for Netscape is in the works, too."

Comments

Wish AIM were next

[cygnusx]

I'd love AIM to be opened up, but I'm not holding my breath. Mail is a commodity now, and there is no obvious benefit in walling it up any more. But IM is dominated by the big three: AOL+ICQ, MSN and Yahoo. AOL has too much to lose by letting go, especially since its craptacular IM client is likely to be beaten hands down by Gaim or MSN Messenger.

Re:Wish AIM were next

[osewa77]

Locking in your customers to a product, even if it's not in the best interest of those customers, especially when you have the ability to open things up, is at best a short term strategy. As a company, you're trading goodwill for money. To succeed with this strategy, you hope you're in a market where the monetary value of the goodwill you lose doesn't exceed the extra money you get from the lock-in. You hope you don't have a company like Google or Microsoft (in compete mode) that is intent on giving the customer the best deal even if it costs more! Else you have to just open up like AOL just did. At least GMail won't be providing IMAP. my two cents.

Re:Wish AIM were next

[Raven42rac]

You can use AIM Express from any browser, you have to allow the window itself to pop-up though. AIM even has a Linux client. Read all about it.Where IM is concerned, the market is cornered because the market is cornered. If someone were to come out with an awesome IM service, would anyone use it? "Hey, what's your AIM screen name?" 'I don't have one, I use Florbnab.' "What's that?" People already have established their screen names in various IM networks already, AIM, MSN, ICQ, IRC, etc.

AOL Communicator

[SpiffyMarc]

If AOL keeps this up, they might actually be taken seriously.

This seems to go hand-in-hand with the release of their AOL Communicator application... anything to save a sinking ship, I suppose.

I wonder what the new direction for Netscape is... how many people still trust the Netscape brand enough for them to get any legs out of it?

But who'd use it?

[go3]

Too bad that most people who would understand how to setup an IMAP account on Outlook quit AOL years ago.

Maybe...

[JoeShmoe950]

AOL is usually pretty realiable for dial up.
They've dropped the requirement of the browser. Maybe if they drop:
-The fee thats atleast $10 more than everyone else
-The buggy browser by default
-The advertisements (haven't used it for a while, does it still advertise when you sign on?)
More people will find it appealing, and the people who already use it will be happier

They Could Do THis All Along

[osewa77]

Well,

This goes to show that they could do this all along. They just needed a little nudge by Google's gmail. Competition always encourages innovation ;-)

Just Me

Re:Yummy!

[0BoDy]

No, I ahve a friend that's supported thier "product for years" and there's specific thing built into AOL's Custom TCP/IP / PPP protocol stack that differ from the standard protocol versions, and the network drivers that AOL installs so it can do this also don't work with any of the standard TCP clients, so AOL has to negotiate the connection via their software. Also, AOL uses it's own modem drivers, which allows them to modify the actual handshake. Besides, the point of AOL is the software.

Sorry, but this blankie is fine as it is.

[malia8888]

We fix computers for everyday home users. Many of them use AOL. They love the interface. I doubt even with the ability to use Microsoft Outlook that they will be getting their mail any way other than the way they always have.

This is what AOL does best. It provides a really stellar GUI for the people who are uneasy working with computers. I have watched these same consumers get visably shaken even venturing into Outlook Express. They want the AOL look and feel. Although I think it is progressive of AOL to offer the other email clients to their customers, I doubt if many of the committed AOL users will take advantage of this.

Re:Funny comment on NPR

[(trb001)]

For a number of reasons...

1) Everyone...old, young, stupid...knows what AOL is.

2) someone@aol.com is easy to remember, sometimes easier than myname@mydomain.com.

3) If your target audience is a bunch of computer novices, because of #1 and #2 they're much, much more likely to remember your email addy @aol.com than @yourdomain.com. I'll even admit that when looking at a bunch of email addresses from my hockey team, the AOL addresses are easier to remember because I don't have to think about it, I just remember the screen name.

Remember...people who aren't geeks don't see AOL as a Horrible Thing (tm). Many of us here on Slashdot have set up our loved ones with AOL *because* it's so friggin easy to use and it's recognizable.

--trb

addresses in slums

[Medievalist]

Um, nobody's suggesting your dad stop reading Email sent to his AOL address.

If your dad has a vanity domain such as www.blugu64sdad.com he could easily have all mail sent to Dad@blugu64sdad.com automagically forwarded to his AOL account.

Then his business card would be much more impressive to anyone reading it, "Wow! He's internet-savvy, he has his own domain!" or "Wow! He's successful, he has an IT department to set up and run a domain for him!" instead of "Gee, he's got a lowbrow email addie, he must be technically incompetent".

Sorry to say but the real world actually does work like that. I know of several cases where vendors lost a sale simply for having an AOL or HotMail address.