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AOL Dialer for Linux
jesuscash writes "Linspire today announced the availability of Internet dialer software that provides direct access to the Internet for desktop Linux users via AOL's dial-up ISP service."
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At last! AOL and Linux!
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Who could possibly make fun of AOL that wouldn't make fun of Linspire? Are these on E-machines? I miss my Packard-Bell.
The blub linked says "Available free to all Linspire users, ..." but says nothing about non-Linspire users.
Question: is this available for non-Linspire machines?
The code link on the Linspire page seems broken - the correct one is here
www.eFax.com are spammers
Even though it's open source, AOL might try to invoke the DMCA on this. In any case, this is very good news for anyone wanting to get Linux onto more desktops. I wish Linspire the best of luck with their dialer, and hopefully they can build a complete AOL client based on this.
US businesses that currently accept chip and PIN/signature
Linus Torvalds: "Hey! You've got AOL in my Linux!"
Steve Case: "You've got Linux in my AOL!"
Best Windows Freeware
This is clearly "vaporware". Everybody knows that Linux does not exist.
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. -Frederick Douglass
Now we know what today's threat to the internet is. Thanks for cleaning that up Linspire.
The same thing that was debated years ago when penggy was announced on /. will most likely be argued here:
Why would linux users want to connect to AOL?
Although, marketing this software through linspire makes a lot more sense considering their more simplistic market.
transmission_err
You're smart enough to not need the hand-holding that AOL provides.
Honestly, who is going to use this? If you want to setup a Linux desktop for your grandma, fine. But set her up with a local dialup provider. After all, she's not going to call their tech support, she's going to call you.
Overrated / Underrated : Moderation
I would have thought that we linuxers had understood how to connect to the net through dialup by now...
Still, it's nice(?!) to see them take it seriously enough to release software for linux, even if it's been done several times before...
Slackware user since 1997.
Finally, all the 11 year olds and grandmoms running Linux have internet access!
$22.95/month is definately NOT cheaper than you can get elsewhere.
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
N/T
It's better to be the foot on the boot than the face on the pavement. ~~ tkx Kadin2048
In the end, the worms and other nasties of ms-windows life finally gave him the final push over to Linux... and that was the end of his AOL account... it was a painfull break for him, but in the long run he's had no regrets and he can still chat with his friends via Gaim, but as far as he's concerned, the lack of official support from AOL for Linux has cost them an account
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
Guys, for ages i tried to find a way around the AOL client on windows machines. Quite hard until aol decided that it would be a good idea to offer this.
First they produced a dialer like this, which would run aol endorsed software to connect for you, but nothing else (i.e. no stupid gui for the net).
This was better, but still not perfect, as it still involved telling the machine to connect, and not a true network (as the computer saw it, it was a dialup connection, how ever a very fast one).
Aol then seemed to drop this idea altogether and let users use the default I.E. connection tool to connect to AOL!. I found it took quite awhile to find how to do this, if anyone needs to know, email me.
Basicly when you installed the nasty USB modem they give you, it sets up the connection, you just need to put in your user name and password and your away. (You dont even need the BT client, *UK* users only i belive?).
As i found i could do this on windows, surely linux users either DONT use aol (why would they? they have more skills than that) or know how to implement this same work around linux-side.
Either way, it means that this dialer is redundent, it doesn't actually do anything we couldn't do already?
Except maybe make Linux more user friendly to people new to linux i guess?
Cheers for listening
The Dumb Dj.
- http://www.milkme.co.uk
A bicycle for my fish...
We may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode. -Capt. Mal Reynolds
I'm not sure what's so revolutionary with this program (the two links in the press release end up in a 404, so I can't check if it has something new), but an AOL dialer for Linux already exists. In fact, they've even been threatened by (and lost their old domain name to) AOL. As far as I know, their software still works today. Wouldn't this be another publicity stunt by Mr. Robertson and Lin(dows|d-ws|spire) ?
Xenu brings order!
Oh, we already heard this story... er, wait. I guess that wasn't America Online...
Use Ctrl-C instead of ESC in Vim!
Will this dialer also be included in future AOL frisbees?
It will happen.
File this one along with the following classic:
A network engineer sits at his workstation late one night in a datacenter.
*finishes typing*
"There. That should do it. Now all the members of AOL have access to the Internet."
Or does anyone feel almost betrayed by Linspire? Alright, maybe not betrayed, but bamboozled. Initially, they said they were going to revolutionize linux and make it easy for everyone and thus promote linux as a whole as a real competitor to windows and mac os.
But they had problems with their name that was clearly to rip off windows. They promised full compatibility with windows apps, but that never mounted to much that crossover and I guess wine can't do. Their software distribution is a pay for free software system. They charge $100 a year for free software. All their system provides is an easier Apt-get. Now they're catering to the AOL crowd. That's not so much as a negative, more like a joke, but I find it funny nonetheless.
They charge what? $130 for Linspire? I may be wrong, but I know it's up there. Shit, oem windows adds roughly $40 to a computer. I use linux, but I'd almost recommend people who want a cheap computer buy one with windows and let me secure it with firefox, adaware, and norton.
Maybe some people really like Linspire, but I always get the feeling they just repackaged debian with little innovation and are trying to pass it off as something revolutionary.
Anyone else feel the same or know of stories about people who bought these walmart computers with this OS preloaded?
The clashing of 2 very different kinds of "free".
Jonahweb.com has stuff.
The reason why this gets more coverage is because it's marketed. Keep in mind that your typical luser is more likely to go andhear about it throuch commercials than hunt around on places like Freshmeat and Sourceforge.
This sig no verb.
..To bad it's 3 years too late. Does anybody still use dialup?
^^
Posting anonymously --- can't bear to acknowledge this, but that dialer both works, and works well. In my (unfortunate) experience, it works better than the AOL software for Windows. When forced to use AOL, that Peng/Penggy/PengAOL software has saved my sanity several times. The hardest part is finding it, thanks to AOL's little threat.
There is no point in this, because without the support from AOL you might as well use any other dialup account. Some of them may even provide support for Linux users.
AOL will never support Linux. Or at least, not until the market share breaks 10%, and probably not even then.
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"