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19-Year-Old Squatted At AOL For 2 Months

Posted by Soulskill on from the built-house-out-of-unused-trial-CDs dept.

New submitter mrnick writes "Eric Simons, 19 years old, was working at incubator Imagine K2 in Silicon Valley, which was hosted at AOL's Palo Alto campus. His grant money eventually ran out, but his access badge kept working, so he moved into AOL's office. He slept on a couch, took showers and washed clothes in the office gym, and ate for free in the cafeteria, all the while working on his new start-up. He was able to get away with this for two months before being discovered by security guard."

111 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm ... by WrongSizeGlass · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe AOL can stay relevant by being a start-up hotel?

    1. Re:Hmmm ... by Grayhand · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe AOL can stay relevant by being a start-up hotel?

      Call me spoiled but I don't think I could handle a dial up hotel.

    2. Re:Hmmm ... by FreedomOfThought · · Score: 5, Funny

      It would take 30 seconds to dial-out a request for water to shower with. Then you have to wait for the heat to download. Once you finally have hot water, it will randomly shut off and there you stand, shivering. So you decide to give up and get out but when you reach for the towel, its only partially there and corrupted. So you make a request for the rest of the towel, wait 30 seconds for the connection again, and realize that you have to start the download over so you try to make the partial towel work for your needs only to realize that its just not going to work. So you go ahead and restart the towel download but it instantly shows complete, but yet there is no towel. Now you have to wait on AOL to clear your cache, start the download again, and get disconnected once more. You would jump out the window but a request to open it would just be futile.

    3. Re:Hmmm ... by volkerdi · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is this the last teenager still using AOL?

    4. Re:Hmmm ... by Pionar · · Score: 2

      Maybe AOL can become relevant again by being a start-up hotel?

      FTFY.

    5. Re:Hmmm ... by MatthewCCNA · · Score: 1, Redundant

      Maybe AOL can become relevant by being a start-up hotel?

      FTFY.

      FTFY.

      --
      "He is so stupid. And now back to the wall!" Moe Szyslak
    6. Re:Hmmm ... by Brad1138 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Maybe you are to young to remember, but as much as it is pointless now, AOL was very relevant in the Internets infancy. In the mid 90's there really wan't much to look at online, AOL help people (beginners at least) get online and "get their feet wet". Now granted anyone with the slightest bit of computer literacy quickly outgrew it, but there were PLENTY of clueless people that needed the training wheels.

      --
      If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people
    7. Re:Hmmm ... by AngryDeuce · · Score: 2

      Plus, you can't ignore the mirth there was to be had with AOHell. Many a troll was born in the AOL chat rooms...

    8. Re:Hmmm ... by Ihmhi · · Score: 2

      Easy way to put it - if you play the "incoming message" sound from AIM, most people would recognize it. That's significant cultural impact.

      --
      Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
    9. Re:Hmmm ... by Antony-Kyre · · Score: 1

      Ahhh, yes. Waiting for hot water. Have to do this with the sink where I live. What a waste of cold water while waiting for the hot water to arrive. Seriously.

      By the way, anyone know if there has been real-life examples of people living in Wal-Marts?

    10. Re:Hmmm ... by westlake · · Score: 2

      In the mid 90's there really wan't much to look at online, AOL help people (beginners at least) get online and "get their feet wet". Now granted anyone with the slightest bit of computer literacy quickly outgrew it, but there were PLENTY of clueless people that needed the training wheels.

      Does anyone here remember the "Internet Suites" sold by Delrina and others?

      These would include more or less integrated clients for Archie, Veronica and Gopher for search. IRC, Usenet for chat and messaging. Telnet for BBS services. FTP for file transfers, a picture viewer and editor , a first generation web browser etc., etc.

      I still have the five thick paperback manuals that shipped with the Delrina suite, the purpose of which was to translate geek-speak into Engllish. The AOL client stripped away all that complexity and replaced it with a colorful GUI, e-mail, IM, flat rate monthly billing, toll free dialup access, automatic updates ----

      and Neverwinter Nights.

      If you needed more than the AOL client, you could painlessly install things like Internet Explorer, mIRC chat, and add-free pure text based search engines like Web Ferret It surprised me to discover that after all these years the Ferret is still very much alive.

    11. Re:Hmmm ... by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      More like a geek monastery, where the monks of code worship the cycles and multi task a better future. No, seriously, why not a monastery for computer geeks but without all the God bothering, a new kind of startup mentoring, rather than providing cash, provide facilities, accommodation, sustenance and fellowship?

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  2. AOL still exists? by crafty.munchkin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I was sure it had died the death of 10000 cuts... not to mention all those CDs people kept microwaving!

    --
    ... wait, what?
    1. Re:AOL still exists? by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 4, Insightful

      AOL is still around, and there are still people paying for dialup service with them -- oftentimes people who are also paying for broadband service. AOL's brand is so strong among the technically illiterate that some people actually thing that AOL is the "Internet," is "Email," is "instant messenger," etc.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    2. Re:AOL still exists? by Tr3vin · · Score: 5, Informative

      AOL has moved on to purchase many popular websites in order to stay profitable. The Huffington Post, Engadget, Joystiq and many other major news blogs / websites are owned by AOL. They really are more than a dial-up ISP.

    3. Re:AOL still exists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I am in indiana, I am lucky I have fiber, but I know area's of the state do not have the profit margin for a broadband company to setup in. So those area's may get lucky and have their cell work as a modem, but more times than not, they just have dial up.

      ~SimonTek

    4. Re:AOL still exists? by Machtyn · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey! This is the slashdot comment section. We don't need anything factual around here!

    5. Re:AOL still exists? by akboss · · Score: 3, Funny

      AOL's brand is so strong among the technically illiterate that some people actually thing that AOL is the "Internet," is "Email," is "instant messenger," etc.

      Whaat? You mean to tell me that AOL isnt these things? Damn and all those years...

      --
      "Remember, politicians and diapers should be changed often and for the same reason."
    6. Re:AOL still exists? by westlake · · Score: 2

      AOL is still around, and there are still people paying for dialup service with them ... AOL's brand is so strong among the technically illiterate that some people actually thing that AOL is the "Internet," is "Email," is "instant messenger," etc.

      The geek ought to have learned by now that not everyone shares his love of complexity --- or his need for or access to broadband services.

      Around 74 percent of the nation's adults had Internet access in their homes by 2010, but 6 percent were still relying solely on dial-up Internet connections to go online, according to a Federal Communications Commission report that looked at broadband access.

      Just last year, AOL, whose more than 3.5 million dial-up users account for the bulk of the business, added 200,000 new dial-up customers to its roster.

      And while Verizon Communications provides high-speed Internet services through fiber optic FIOS service or digital subscriber lines (DSL) to the majority of its 8.7 million subscribers, the company still provides dial-up Internet to more than 31,000 U.S. customers.

      Why are so many are still using the old-fashioned Internet highway?

      Their reasons can range from the expense of faster services to little need to hurry up and download all those movies.

      Plenty of Internet users cling to slow dial-up connections [May 12, 2012]

    7. Re:AOL still exists? by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2

      Probably same users who still use IE 6. Isnt the AOL browser just a reskinned IE 6? I was so angry when when they bought Netscape and released Netscape with an IE 6 engine underneath. Stupid clueless managment

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    8. Re:AOL still exists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Ya. My mother still refers to the whole computer as "The AOL".

    9. Re:AOL still exists? by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, they buy up popular websites, make editorial and staffing changes to fit their monetizing goals, and then leech off the site's residual popularity until the talented people they still have and their audience get tired of the new sites and go elsewhere. There's enough Op-Ed blog bits about Tech Crunch post-AOL acquisition to show this.

      A dying company playing vampire on young properties to support it's existence a little while longer. Soon they'll be another Lycos.

    10. Re:AOL still exists? by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 2

      The geek ought to have learned by now that not everyone shares his love of complexity --- or his need for or access to broadband services.

      That is irrelevant to this discussion and you know it -- AOL's customer base mostly (in the sense of a majority of their customers) people who simply do not understand that they do not need to pay for AOL in order to use their DSL or cable modem service. This is not a matter of costs or users choosing to stick with dialup; AOL's former executives have basically admitted that most of AOL's customers are paying for a service they neither need nor use:

      http://www.techspot.com/news/42121-60-of-aols-profits-come-from-misinformed-customers.html

      Did you notice the part where the majority of AOL's profit comes from people who are paying for broadband service? How about the part where AOL's executives are fully aware of that fact?

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    11. Re:AOL still exists? by mfnickster · · Score: 1

      My mother still refers to the whole computer as "the hard drive." I don't know if that's better or worse.

      --
      "Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
  3. Isn't this a success story? by JoeMerchant · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Isn't that the ultimate goal of the incubators: to get young kids to spend their whole life working on their startup...

    1. Re:Isn't this a success story? by SYSS+Mouse · · Score: 1

      That's why they did not call the police, I suppose.

    2. Re:Isn't this a success story? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      From TFA:

      Contacted for comment, David Temkin, senior vice president of Mail and Mobile for AOL, told CNET, "It was always our intention to facilitate entrepreneurialism in the Palo Alto office -- we just didn't expect it to work so well."

      sigh, another crappy slashdot summary.

  4. free hours by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    i guess his 1,460.9688 free hours of aol finally ran out!

  5. Re:That's nothing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Perhaps he just wasn't smoking what you bunch were smoking.

  6. Urban Legend becomes reality by Cognitive+Dissident · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Steven Spielberg claimed to have done something similar. He claimed to have occupied an unused office on the Universal Studios lot by simply dressing in a suit, carrying a brief case, and bluffing his way past the security guards. But his story kept growing and growing. A clear sign of fabrication. So it was finally debunked by snopes. But even his tallest tale didn't claim to have lived on the lot full time. And now this kid has gone one better than the tall tale, actually living inside the corporate complex of a major tech company.

    1. Re:Urban Legend becomes reality by vencs · · Score: 1

      one more at Walmart by a student from Drake Univ.

    2. Re:Urban Legend becomes reality by IorDMUX · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And now this kid has gone one better than the tall tale, actually living inside the corporate complex of a major tech company.

      I guess it's the "major tech company" part that makes this shocking, right?

      Where I went to grad school, it wasn't uncommon to have at least a few students living (and I mean with their sleeping bags, pizza boxes, toiletries, etc.) in a lab or storage room for long periods of time -- months or more -- in lieu of paying the high rent near campus. There were always the whispered stories of x student being caught trying to wash himself in the chemical safety shower or y post-doc who finally ran afoul of faculty after using his office as his kitchen.

      --
      >> Standing on head makes smile of frown, but rest of face also upside down.
    3. Re:Urban Legend becomes reality by KingKaneOfNod · · Score: 1

      And now this kid has gone one better than the tall tale, actually living inside the corporate complex of a major tech company.

      I guess it's the "major tech company" part that makes this shocking, right?

      Yes, I can't remember the last time I remember anyone referring to AOL as a "major tech company" - maybe it was when they bought Netscape?

  7. incubator? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 3, Funny

    well, did he at least get to keep the eggs??

    (cue woody allen joke about brother who thinks he's a chicken; but the family lets him continue on; they need the eggs.)

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  8. Security? by busyqth · · Score: 1

    So when discovered, why didn't he just show that guard that his badge worked and that he was thus entitled to stay in the building?

    1. Re:Security? by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      I am sure that is how he got caught in the first place, due to a security audit. They found the card was active and still being used.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    2. Re:Security? by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Security audit? what is that? Is that like those mythical Pay raises I hear that used to happen?

      I have not worked at Comcast for 5 years. I handed a friend my keyfob access card that still works there because he lost his and wanted a replacement. He was going to have security reprogram the system to use it for his access.

      Mine Still WORKED! Which is scary as it had All access clearance at multiple locations, 5 Freaking years and they never removed me nor did a security audit to remove users.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    3. Re:Security? by arose · · Score: 1

      If he happened to be discovered sleeping on the couch the guard might be a tad suspicious.

      --
      Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
    4. Re:Security? by nurb432 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Depends on where you work. Where i work, we take security seriously. You cant even walk in the door with another person. Your photo is verified against your face as you enter. We also have metal detectors on the doors, and the guards have real guns to stop you with, not just a radio to call for help.

      Every month a complete audit of badges takes place. Similar things happen for network accounts every 30 days.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    5. Re:Security? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      I am sure that is how he got caught in the first place, due to a security audit. They found the card was active and still being used.

      Having read the article (gasp!) - it appears you are exactly right. The guy who found him came in extra early and was specifically looking for him.

      By the way, you can indeed tell this story came from a new submitter - it was all on one page. Silly guy hasn't yet learned you're only supposed to link to stories spread over nine pages in order to maximize ad revenue...

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    6. Re:Security? by jroysdon · · Score: 2

      Ditto. You get terminated for cause/quit on the spot, and your cardkey badge (physical) and all electronic access is disabled during your HR exit interview. such that you have to be escorted out. You retire/finish on good terms? It's pre-programmed to stop working at the end of business on your last day.

    7. Re:Security? by realityimpaired · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Depends on where you work. Where i work, we take security seriously. You cant even walk in the door with another person. Your photo is verified against your face as you enter. We also have metal detectors on the doors, and the guards have real guns to stop you with, not just a radio to call for help.

      Sometimes depends on the location, too... Same company, my last office was on the 6th floor at a building that houses a shopping facility on the ground floor. After-hours access required a swipe in an elevator and a swipe with a security guard at the front door, but during normal business hours the elevators weren't locked (even though they only went up to the "secure" office facilities upstairs), and people routinely held the door open for others without checking their passes. At the office I'm at now, there's a guard at the front door 24/7 who checks your pass every time, there's nothing but a lunch room on the ground floor and the guard has to unlock the elevators so you can get to your office, and you have to swipe through a security checkpoint on your actual floor, too. (annoying actually, because the bathrooms are on the other side of the checkpoint). Security also makes regular walkarounds on every floor (in fact, the guy just walked past my desk as I'm typing this).

      What you say about network accounts surprises me, though... they do a routine audit here, too, and disable accounts, but they're pretty gung-ho about yanking peoples' network accesses... usually your network login and tool accesses will be disabled before they tell you that you've been let go (I know a few people who found out they'd been fired because security was waiting at their desk with a box when they got in), and except in some exceedingly rare circumstances, you will be escorted out the door by security within minutes of giving notice, when you leave for another job.

    8. Re:Security? by spire3661 · · Score: 1

      where do you work that needs guns? I wont work anywhere where i see someone armed, thats retarded.

      --
      Good-bye
    9. Re:Security? by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      Um, no, i don't work for a prison.

      I know of some places that have hallways with keylock doors every so many feet. They can determine where you are within a few feet and control who gets thru each door.

      They aren't prisons either.

      Most good data centers are at least this secure, if not more.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    10. Re:Security? by nurb432 · · Score: 1

      "Need" is of course relative, but there are a lot of places that do have fully armed guards.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    11. Re:Security? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      In the data centre I worked at they had firewalls every five feet of cable (six if it was cat6 cable). You had to enter your username and passwird at each one.
      They knew where your packets were within 5-6 feet at all times.

    12. Re:Security? by danomac · · Score: 1

      (annoying actually, because the bathrooms are on the other side of the checkpoint)

      So they could be tracking your bathroom visits. Ouch. Anyone been fired for taking too many/too long bathroom breaks?

    13. Re:Security? by akboss · · Score: 1

      Depends on where you work. Where i work, we take security seriously. You cant even walk in the door with another person. Your photo is verified against your face as you enter. We also have metal detectors on the doors, and the guards have real guns to stop you with, not just a radio to call for help.

      So your in prison, big deal.

      --
      "Remember, politicians and diapers should be changed often and for the same reason."
    14. Re:Security? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I find it doubtful. Depending on the state's labor laws, it could wind up being a serious liability. There's several medical conditions which could lead to a higher than average number of bathroom breaks. If they let someone go for having a weak bladder, I'm sure there's an attorney somewhere that's capable of turning that into a settlement based on discrimination.

      More likely is it was just easier. The checkpoint is probably placed at the closest choke point to the sensitive areas. Whoever designed the security plan more than likely didn't have employee comfort as the number one on their priority list.

    15. Re:Security? by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 1

      When I worked at a company that had industrial espionage issues to deal with, you had to use your badge to get doors to unlock for every section.

      I still had my electronic badge kicking around the house for years after I quit. This was back when they were expensive, too.

      --
      This space available.
    16. Re:Security? by jroysdon · · Score: 1

      Badges cost us $15. We do try to recover them, but it's not a big deal if we do not.

    17. Re:Security? by Patchw0rk+F0g · · Score: 2

      It's not worth it personally to people to hassle other people who want to get in, so unless there is a HUGE, HUGE deal about that being at the level of burning children and eating them...

      Who the HELL wastes children that way?! That's just sick.

      Children are meant to be basted lightly over low heat, not flash-burned like a marshmallow. Wise up, people!

      --
      When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. ~~ Hunter S. Thompson
    18. Re:Security? by EETech1 · · Score: 1

      There was a guy I worked with that gave his notice and then took his laptop home to copy off some 'personal' files, and the next day right after he got home from work HR, IT, and the police were there to take all of his computers, and removable media, and CDs, DVDs etc into evidence to be scanned for company material. They knew what files he had copied, and to what drives they were copied on, but they took everything anyways to be sure he hadn't made other copies or had anything from before. Then they took his prox card, and told him not to come in for the rest of his 2 weeks notice.

      Another place would also automatically revoke any access; physical, networked, even departmental intranet or mainframe access you hadn't really used (can't just load the screen either, a valid query must be performed, or start a new expense report and cancel it) in the past 90 days, requiring reauthorization by your department head to regain access again. You could be locked out of YOUR OWN network drive if you didn't access a file there in 90 days!

      Some places do take IP seriously!

    19. Re:Security? by statusbar · · Score: 2

      ... And they STILL let you post on slashdot??? even in your spare time?

      --
      ipv6 is my vpn
    20. Re:Security? by shiftless · · Score: 1

      No, this is fucking bullshit. When I was in basic training in the Air Force, instructors and others whose name appeared on the list of those authorized access were allowed to bring whoever they want in. To say that our dorm had no physical security would be stupid and wrong. Sure, it could be considered a higher level of security if only specific purposes on a white list can get in, but again, that's just another level you could implement.

    21. Re:Security? by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      I still had my keyfob and my SecurID for logins. They never wanted them back. I use the SecurID for Paypal now.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    22. Re:Security? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      Depends on where you work. Where i work, we take security seriously. You cant even walk in the door with another person. Your photo is verified against your face as you enter. We also have metal detectors on the doors, and the guards have real guns to stop you with, not just a radio to call for help.

      Unless you worked in a government installation or a prison I have some doubts as to that last sentence. The guards may be carrying guns, but if they're private security personnel their usage was likely restricted to self-defense in the event of an intruder. I don't think assault with a deadly weapon would be considered a justifiable action to stop a trespasser as part of their job.

    23. Re:Security? by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      The article doesn't directly reference the events which led to his discovery, but from his description the guard came in knowing he was there and having scoured the entire building to find him and yell at him.

      He wasn't caught as a result of being stumbled over, he appears to have been caught because security found out through other means that he was squatting in the building. As a result, showing his badge wouldn't have done anything.

    24. Re:Security? by Cramer · · Score: 1

      Somehow I doubt that story. They'd have to file charges and arrest him to seize any property. Or are we talking about another "lost" Apple iPhone prototype?

      I've only worked one place that had such insane network security measures. Password requirements that ultimately meant no one used a good password -- they have to change it every 30 days, and cannot reuse it for 6 months [the system remembers the last four passwords, but it didn't have a minimum password age... so you could change your password 5 times in 5 minutes and be back to the same one. But no one did that.] Your account would be locked after 60 days of inactivity. If you failed to change your password after 30 days, your account would be locked. Account names were of the format XXX##### and had nothing to do with anything; the helpdesk had to keep an access db of who had what account, just to know who the f*** did anything.

      Physical security was more of a joke... the control boxes tended to be in closets next to the elevators where anyone could get to them -- and the doors don't have locks. If you manage to get into the interior stairwell, you could get anywhere in the 9 story building. (except the basement; it opened into the parking deck at the ground level.) There was only maned (unarmed) security from 7-7(?) -- nothing after business hours.

    25. Re:Security? by satanclause · · Score: 1

      Two months to find out you have a squatter? At least we now know from where TSA recruits its screeners.

  9. Re:That's nothing by Electricity+Likes+Me · · Score: 1

    Agreeing with an AC on this.

  10. AOL Offices by DogDude · · Score: 1

    AOL still has offices?! I honestly had no idea. Wow. That's got to be a depressing place to work...

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:AOL Offices by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Especially when you consider this:

      http://www.techspot.com/news/42121-60-of-aols-profits-come-from-misinformed-customers.html

      We are talking about people who are so helplessly uninformed that they are paying for dialup service despite already paying for broadband. Working for AOL is basically working for a scam that is tricking older, less technically literate people out of their money.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    2. Re:AOL Offices by unixisc · · Score: 2

      What surprised me more was them having a washer or dryer in the gym. But hey, this guy was more entreprenaureal than Stallman, and cleaner.

    3. Re:AOL Offices by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This is news?

      No.

      I caught onto this nearly a decade ago!

      You're a little slow then.

    4. Re:AOL Offices by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      You do not need either to wash your clothes. A bathtub works for washing and the sun is good enough for drying.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    5. Re:AOL Offices by unixisc · · Score: 2

      The submission mentioned that he took his showers and washed his clothes in the gym - I doubt that they'd have had bathtubs there, unless they happened to have an indoor spa that could be used in this manner. Washing his clothes in the shower and then hanging it to dry would have been even more brazen than him using an expired badge and sleeping @ the site. In fact, a lot of residential apartments and homeowners associations don't allow people to hang clothes out to dry due to appearances. Doing it in an office seems even more far fetched.

      The only thing I can imagine is that the facility included washers and dryers, which he used. Hopefully, the only clothes he wore were ones that didn't need ironing.

    6. Re:AOL Offices by LinuxIsGarbage · · Score: 3, Funny

      It's strange what happens reading the article

      "[Plus] they had their own laundromat there, so I'd wash my clothes there."

    7. Re:AOL Offices by sdnoob · · Score: 3, Informative

      not to defend AOL, but it is really NOT their responsibility to determine whether their service is needed by their customers.. but rather to provide the services the customer subscribes to -- which is what AOL does. similarly, if you subscribe to cable tv but then install a satellite dish, it is YOUR job to cancel the cable if you no longer need or want it - the cable company can't read your mind, YOU have to return their equipment and cancel the service (or pay the bill, or suffer the consequences of doing neither)
      ___

      if you do happen to know someone paying for AOL dialup but they have high speed internet.. do them a favor by suggesting they cancel the AOL dialup if they don't need it (laptop use when traveling to remote locations without wifi or other high speed options, etc)

      for those who actually like the AOL client software or want to keep their @aol email account -- they can do both. you can use AOL's client software on your own internet connection (called "BYOA" - bring your own access); and if you don't use AOL client software, existing @aol email can be read at mail.aol.com - the email address(es) remain even when you cancel your paid AOL service (basically it just converts to a 'free' BYOA account).

      don't forget to mention that if they cancel their paid AOL service and have a bundled AOL-provided antivirus, they'll need to replace it with something else.

      to cancel paid AOL service, see http://help.aol.com/help/microsites/microsite.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=219764

    8. Re:AOL Offices by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Yup, after my last comment, I did read the full story, and they do have their own laundromat there. So my origial guess was right, but I'm still a tad surprised.

    9. Re:AOL Offices by Jstlook · · Score: 1

      He's not slow, he just hasn't finished the "quitting AOL" exit process. You know the one where you had to all but get a court order from a Judge for AOL to acknowledge and cancel your subscription ..

      --
      ---jstlook ---For that is the way of Elves, for they say both yes AND no, and mean every word of it. --- J.R.R.T.
    10. Re:AOL Offices by genik76 · · Score: 1

      Interesting is that Simons says

      "I only had maybe five to ten T-shirts, a pair of jeans, and a pair of shorts (...)"

      This means that he had several at least a couple of hours' periods when he was wearing just his underpants, waiting for his jeans to be washed or dried.

    11. Re:AOL Offices by I_am_Jack · · Score: 1

      Hopefully, the only clothes he wore were ones that didn't need ironing.

      Never worked in a company that employed developers, have you?

    12. Re:AOL Offices by Monchanger · · Score: 1

      not to defend AOL, but it is really NOT their responsibility to determine whether their service is needed by their customers.. but rather to provide the services the customer subscribes to -- which is what AOL does. similarly, if you subscribe to cable tv but then install a satellite dish, it is YOUR job to cancel the cable if you no longer need or want it - the cable company can't read your mind, YOU have to return their equipment and cancel the service (or pay the bill, or suffer the consequences of doing neither)

      Begging your pardon, but that's a sniveling shit-pile of an excuse for a company to hide behind.

      The question isn't one of legal responsibility* and consequences. It's one of service and this sort of activity by companies, of charging people who they know are receiving zero services from them, is morally bankrupt If you want to run a business that provides a service, please do, but if you keep billing people for nothing, there's no difference between that and stealing. Even those few idiots still holding AOL stock should agree that never signing on new customers is not a proper business model (doubly so when your existing customer base is dying off).

      One of my main objections to automatic payments and paperless billing is exactly this kind of prevalent attitude- that a company will take as much money from me, whether or not I'm actually using their service. Companies I can't trust will just have to keep paying for outdated collection systems. At the moment that's all of them, except for two publicly-owned utilities. You want to know why I might be more than happy to opt for a non-profit Internet service, or (Friedman forbid) government-run? This is why- because the private sector keeps proving it can't resist the temptation to rip people off,

      * Yes, legally, the customer is solely responsible for terminating the contract, blah blah blah. But only a soulless lawyer will suggest that has any bearing on the correctness of such an attitude, and even he'll remind you that forgetfulness isn't a contract. One report on Brokaw and your revenue could plummet so fast that no judge could keep your business from falling apart.

    13. Re:AOL Offices by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 1

      not to defend AOL, but it is really NOT their responsibility to determine whether their service is needed by their customers

      Except that if you actually read the link that I posted, you would see that AOL's managers already know that their service is not needed by a majority of their customers. This is not a matter of legal responsibility, it is a matter of ethics -- and AOL is as far from the moral high ground as they can get. Here you have a company whose executives know that most of their customers already have broadband, but are so confused about exactly they are paying for that they continue to pay for dialup service that they neither need nor use. There is really no defense of that, at least outside of a philosophy that says that any profit is good (in a moral sense), regardless of how that profit was realized.

      I am not claiming that AOL has a legal obligation to inform its customers that they have no actual need for the service or that they are not realizing any actual benefit by paying for that service. My point is that anyone who works for AOL has to convince themselves that failing to do so is OK just to sleep at night, and that it would be hard for anyone working for AOL to not be aware that the majority of their customers are paying for a service that the neither need nor benefit from. The post I was replying to suggested that working at an AOL office must be depressing; I like to think that people have an inborn sense of right and wrong, and I was therefore confirming that point, inasmuch as it must be depressing for anyone other than a psychopath to work for a company that is knowingly ripping people off.

      No offense, but yes, only a psychopath could knowingly charge people for a service they neither need nor use without at least feeling some sort of guilt or remorse.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    14. Re:AOL Offices by Fjandr · · Score: 2

      In the US the term "shorts" typically means "short pants." Only rarely is the term used to denote an article of underwear.

    15. Re:AOL Offices by unixisc · · Score: 1

      I agree w/ sdnoob above - the argument about ethics provided by Monchanger and betterunixthanunix is off the mark. A company's legal and moral duty is to provide the services that their customers are paying for. Once the customer has paid for something, whether they use 100% of it or 1% is really none of their business. AOL can only stop charging once the customer cancels, or they themselves go out of business.

      Besides, who gets broadband services unless they specifically order it? One is also making too many assumptions about the customers here - it would just as easily be not just computer novices, but people for whom their 10 or 15 year computer still works, and does well the things it does, with dial-up service. They may just be using it for e-mails and IM, and not browsing YouTube, in which case, simply connecting by dial-up when they need it is just fine. If they were to get a newer computer, they'd probably be hard pressed to find an analog modem that would work with it.

      Normally, a new provider of a new customer would explain to them why they no longer need their old dial-up service. But the installation technicians who go there are busy enough just getting the new connection to work - to expect them to do a sales pitch on why they should stop using AOL dialup is too much, particularly when they have other customers waiting for their installations.

      Bottom line - as long as AOL is providing the service that its customers use - for whatever reason - they are fully justified - both legally and morally - for billing them every month.

  11. Returning to your room at the end of the day... by Vandil+X · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Welcome.... You've got mail!"

    --
    Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
  12. Re:He couldn't bring himself... by dreamchaser · · Score: 1, Troll

    to go back to his basement. I know the feeling.

    to go back to his Mom's basement. I know the feeling.

    There, fixed it for you.

  13. Re:That's nothing by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I did not know that EA had a programming office in Inglewood, CA. and you got to sleep near rattlesnakes? Were you a lead on a project? The rest of us had to sleep WITH the rattlesnakes.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  14. Reminds me of the high tech manager lion joke by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 5, Funny

    Two lions escape from the zoo. One kills and eats a human on the street, and is subsequently hounded down and killed.

    The other hides in the headquarters of a high tech company, and lives a long and peaceful life.

    It eats middle level managers, and nobody even notices or cares.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  15. the phone company does this too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    cleaning up my Mom's estate in the late 90s, i discovered she had been paying rental on a wall-mounted rotary phone for nearly 15 years - the phone company said to keep the phone when service was disconnected

  16. Grammer? by felixdecat · · Score: 1

    Ahhh why so many commas in one sentence. My brain hurts.

  17. Okay, how did they REALLY catch him? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    Did someone finally decide to look behind that shiny new curtain made up of AOL mailer CDs?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  18. Hardly beats the Graphing Calculator story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    See http://www.pacifict.com/Story/ for a corporate culture that managed, at one time, to embrace and extend that kind of enthusiasm. That's what you get when engineers are ultimately being understood as running the show rather than beancounters.

    1. Re:Hardly beats the Graphing Calculator story by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      See http://www.pacifict.com/Story/ for a corporate culture that managed, at one time, to embrace and extend that kind of enthusiasm.

      Embrace, extend... and now it's extinguished.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  19. I've been doing that for years ... by mspohr · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... in my mom's basement

    --
    I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    1. Re:I've been doing that for years ... by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

      ... in my mom's basement

      Dude - you know that food you regularly find at the top of the stairs? That means she knows you're down there.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:I've been doing that for years ... by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

      Perfect delivery. You actually got me to laugh out loud for awhile. Very glad I wasn't at work when I read that. :)

  20. Let me get this straight by __aarimw2106 · · Score: 2

    - Brantley is Whitfield?

  21. And so by sjames · · Score: 3, Funny

    For the first time ever, AOL actually proved to be good for something. Naturally they put a stop to that as soon as they found out.

  22. Re:That's nothing by joss · · Score: 1

    you were programming at EA and you got to sleep ? don't know your born....

    --
    http://rareformnewmedia.com/
  23. Sigh, elitst pig, not what was being atalked about by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 2

    You are not looking out for those you look down up on in secret, the grand-parent was talking about AOL practice to keep people paying for dialup access when they already moved to broadband connections. So it is NOT for people who still use ONLY dialup, it is a scam operated by AOL to convince people that without their dialup service, broadband would not work or people would loose all their email, so people end up paying a high price for just their email account.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  24. Welcome to the Hotel AOL by Noughmad · · Score: 1

    You can check-out any time you like,
    but you can only leave after downloading a HD movie over a dial-up connection

    --
    PlusFive Slashdot reader for Android. Can post comments.
  25. devil's advocate... by iamhassi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    i'm sorry, maybe i'm just being negative, but by the end it sounded like an advertisement:

    Ad one:
    "Simons said he was able to score $50,000 in seed funding from Ulu Ventures and Silicon Valley VC Paul Sherer."

    Now Ulu Ventures and Paul Sherer is someone thanks to this CNET article.

    Ad two:
    "Now, Simons said, he's looking to raise an additional $500,000."

    Yep there it is. "I slept on a couch in AOL, can i get $500,000?"

    And just in case you missed it, his startup name, ClassConnect, is mentioned 6 times in the article. 6. When really, it didn't need to be mentioned at all, the story is about the kid hiding in AOL, not about his startup. It's even in the topic tags at the bottom.

    Someone's profiting from this, besides the kid. Writer obviously, probably several others.

    --
    my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    1. Re:devil's advocate... by iamhassi · · Score: 1, Troll

      Also, I'd like to point out that if a startup needs 500k to keep the idea going then it's probably not a good startup idea. He got 20k and.... what? How well did he do with that 20k? Seems like it went no where, article said nothing about how much $$$ he made with that 20k. Yes, silicon valley = expensive, so move back to Iowa or Nebraska or where ever to make that 20k last. 20k is more than most startups get to start with, most start in a parents basement or garage or dorm room and either make millions or vanish, he got 20k and it's gone, then he got 50k and now wants 500k? Take what you have and make something with it, don't keep begging other people to throw money at your pit hoping someone else will fill that pit for you.

      Startups these days.... shesh, think people should just toss money at them because they have an idea. You got the money, now show us the profit. Sink or swim.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    2. Re:devil's advocate... by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      I don't agree that all startups that need big $$$ are bad ideas - there are lots of very good startup ideas that take 10s of millions to get rolling.

      On the other hand, startups principaled by a 19yo sleeping on AOL's couch, yeah, show me where the first 20K went, and a detailed plan of how the $500K is going to be spent. Don't like counting paperclips? Get a real job.

  26. How did the security guard know about him? by Cutting_Crew · · Score: 1

    "One of the guys who manages the building came in at like 5 or 6 in the morning," Simons lamented, "and he scoured the entire place to find me."

    How did he know that someone was there to scour for to begin with? The article didn't state or perhaps it is unknown how AOL or a guard came to realize he didn't belong there.

  27. Is he related to RMS? by msobkow · · Score: 1

    Rumour has it that the inimitable Richard M. Stallman might have some experience with "office living"... :P

    --
    I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
  28. Compare AOL and US border security by Tolvor · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is probably the conversation the manager had once he got caught squatting at AOL...

    Security: "Sir, we've caught a guy who has overstayed his work visa and has been illegally squatting in our corporate campus for three months."
    Manager: "Damn! What damage has he caused?"
    Security: "None sir, he's been working on some start up project to link teacher's educational materials together."
    Manager: "Really? How much are we paying him?"
    Security: "Ummm... nothing. He's doing it a part of our K12 Imagine incubator that we are running. However he's been eating our cereal, drinking our soda, and sleeping on our couches."
    Manager: "What has he been doing all day? Surfing the internet?"
    Security: "As far as we can tell he's been programming 12 to 16 hours a day."
    Manager: "..."
    Security: "Should we call the police sir?"
    Manager: "Hell No! Ask if needs pillows. One more thing, get me ten more of these 'squatters'"

    Now contrast this with the United States Border Patrol...

    Border Security: "Sir, we've caught a guy who has overstayed his work visa and has been illegally squatting in the United States work force for three years."
    INS: "Damn! What damage has he caused?"
    Border Security: "None sir, he's been working in an orchid picking oranges for a farmer that can't get anyone else to do it. In fact the person is extremely peaceful as they want to ensure that no one calls the police about them and causes them to be noticed."
    INS: "Really? How much is he being paid?"
    Border Security: "Ummm... minimum wage, and he's paying taxes. He's doing it a part of our American Dream incubator that we are running. However he's been shopping at our stores, going to our movies, and using our services."
    INS: "What has he been doing all day? Watching television?"
    Border Security: "As far as we can tell he's been working two jobs to support his family and save money."
    INS: "..."
    Border Security: "Should we deport him sir?"
    INS: "Hell Yes! Make sure you deport him hundred of miles away to make it harder for him. One more thing, build me a bigger, better fence."

    1. Re:Compare AOL and US border security by Fjandr · · Score: 1

      Ah, I can hear the screams of outrage now. This is a masterpiece.

    2. Re:Compare AOL and US border security by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 2

      I defense of INS, they are enforcing th laws Congress passes; even if they disagree and would rather spend time catching the real criminals and bad actors. Congress decided to take away much of the common sense aspects of enforcement; and of course people scream when some government official says he or she won't enforce some aspect of the law. Some do, at personal and political risk, such as the mayor of a small Georgia town that has said not only will he not enforce GA's new immigration law but helps people get basic services such as medical care even if it legally makes him a criminal for transporting an illegal alien.

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    3. Re:Compare AOL and US border security by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      "Real" americans would do the work if the farmer (a.k.a giant farming corporation) was willing to pay more than slave wages. Of course, the problem is that the other farmers are doing the same thing, so then he can't compete.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    4. Re:Compare AOL and US border security by rleibman · · Score: 1

      Nitpick... it's no longer called the INS.

  29. He was going to leave... by otaku244 · · Score: 3, Funny

    but AOL kept giving him free hours...

    --
    Mod me down, I shall become more off-topic than you could possibly imagine.
  30. In Soviet Russia EA subsidiary Re:That's nothing by davidwr · · Score: 1

    < quoteski >The rest of us had to sleep WITH the rattlesnakes. < /quoteski >

    I Soviet Russia EA subsidiary, rattlesnakes fsck^H^H^H^Hsleep with YOU!

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  31. That's Com-castic! by davidwr · · Score: 1

    I have not worked at Comcast for 5 years. I handed a friend my keyfob access card that still works there because he lost his and wanted a replacement. ...

    Mine Still WORKED! .

    I'm sure at BIGNAMECABLECOMPANY this would never have happened. They would've "upgraded" to a new security system every 4 years whether they needed to or not, rendering allthe "old" cards useless.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
  32. the AOL-crashing Macarena loop by Sosarian+Avatar · · Score: 2

    AOL also enabled a very entertaining prank I played on a friend... I found a brief event-sound .wav I'd found of the Macarena ("hey, Macarena - ai") and looped the "ai" over-and-over thirty or so times, amplified the "ai" to "AI!" then compressed it into a self-extracting .exe that would overwrite the AOL gotmail.wav with it.

    I sent it off to my target, either he opened it or AOL did so for him...and the next time he annoyed me while we were chatting (he could be rather obnoxious) I sent him a one-word email. I intended for it to just startle him, but instead it crashed his copy of AOL; he vanished, then reappeared and was promptly booted again since he couldn't get to the unread email before the Macarena struck. A few mutual friends and I had a good twenty minutes of fun watching him appear and disappear before he figured out how to fix it...

    --
    Apathy Sucks, Nobody for President!
  33. They also started/run Patch by Sosarian+Avatar · · Score: 1

    AOL also started a "hyper-local" news service called Patch.com. I've started noticing that the one for my city is managing to keep up with the county paper on topics specific to my city by summarizing & linking to articles, plus surpass it regarding stuff the paper isn't bothering with -- and the quality is usually fairly good.

    --
    Apathy Sucks, Nobody for President!
  34. odd, isn't it? by khipu · · Score: 1

    Usually, this is theft, fraud, and trespassing. When a 19 year old "entrepreneur" and computer geek does it, it's somehow OK? Kind of a double standard.

  35. Re:I remember this gag! by sootman · · Score: 1

    I first heard it about IBM.

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    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.