AOL to Enter the VoIP Ring

FiveDollarYoBet writes "Looks like AOL is entering the VOIP racket. The service is free but it's really a Skype clone with a copper local number. They're also going to offer an unlimited version for $14.95 a month but you have to make the calls from your computer. It'll be interesting to see if it's more of a IM live chat or a true VoIP. The article also outlines their plans to take on MySpace in the near future."

Comments

Re:Ya!

[TapeCutter]

That is why AOL has succeeded thusfar..

It's also the reason we have to put up with the concerted effort to take over your browser, spam your inbox, ect. People actually buy shit from random pop-ups and emails. AOL will happily promise to shield you from all the "hackers" for a fee. From what I can tell, (I'm not from the US), they are basically aimed at people who (for whatever reason) cannot use a browser for more than five minutes without calling a help desk.

If AOL suddenly had a change of heart and tried to educate their users about "the tricks of the trade" they would loose their (sizable) section of the market, it is in their interest to "help" their users and at the same time treat them as mushrooms.

"The average net use cannot figure it out in 15 minutes."

I agree. Whatever your opinion of AOL, there are plenty of people who are willing to pay for someone else to "work it out" for them Many of them don't want educating, they want a device like a preset home theater where they only have a few buttons to remeber to get what they want. Push the wrong buttons (like 'mute' or 'AV3') and they simply call in a TV repairman (or pester a relative) to "fix it".

"People are fucking stupid."

I don't see that behaviour as automatically stupid, sometimes it is just willfull ignorance. All through the 80's I repaired my own cars and bikes, now my car looks like a dishwasher under the hood and tells the mechanic how badly I have neglected it (error codes). I have a good enough idea of how my car works to spot bullshit, but spare me the details, what's it going to cost and how long will it take?

OTOH: Browse at -1 to see the stupidity of people on the net. While doing so remeber the 'netizens' who created the often nonsensical, bottom-dwelling posts were at least smart enough to work out how to post them.