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LYNNDENISE

Jun 14, 2006, 10:34 AM

Post #1 of 14 (3007 views)

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aol connection

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We arrived here, via auto from Ft. Myers, Fl last Friday, and it's wonderful to be back in our beloved Mexico. We'll be here for three months, and am having problems connecting to AOL through Guad.
I was able to connect through McAllen, but I might have to hock my jewelry to pay the bill.
Can anyone help? Our Ajijic number is 766-2809.
Lynn and Richard Smith

Bloviator

Jun 14, 2006, 11:06 AM

Post #2 of 14 (2991 views)

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Re: [LYNNDENISE] aol connection

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We have TelMex high speed internet and use AOL. We have no problem connecting at no cost except the normal AOL and Infinitum monthly charges.

jaybear

Jun 14, 2006, 1:12 PM

Post #3 of 14 (2975 views)

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Re: [LYNNDENISE] aol connection

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I realize you want to connect from wherever you are staying, but...if all else fails, you can connect via one of the internet cafes (the one by Bagette's in Ajijic allows you to connect your own laptop if you like, and the cost is minimal--you pay by the hour. Also, you can sit at Ruben's cafe at the hot springs, and connect to the hotel via a wireless connection, usually. We have Prodigy Infinitum and I use AOL thru that all the time, no cost except the monthly fees.

JayBear
"Don't believe everything you think" - Maxine

JayBear

johanson / Moderator

Jun 14, 2006, 2:45 PM

Post #4 of 14 (2964 views)

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Re: [jaybear] aol connection

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The last time I checked 19% of the folks in the US use AOL. So your problem comes up quite often by folks our age who are not computer nerds. The closest AOL number you can call is in Guadalajara. That is long distance and the long distance rates are very very very very high in Mexico. So that should not be an option

There is a simple solution. That is to gain dialup access via an ISP which offers a local number, and then link to AOL via the web you know www.aol.com or whatever the URL is. There are two ISPs in Ajijic that offer (local) dialup, the first is Prodigy, owned by TelMex and the second is Lagunanet. If you have your own telephone account, it is a snap to upgrade that account to include dialup
from Prodigy. However, if you are staying at a friend's house or at various B&Bs, forget it. It becomes too complicated. (I take that back, I understand there is some kind of internet card you can buy that charges you by the minute, just like you would using an MCI phone card up North, and that this might work for folks like you.)

The simple solution, though, is to go to the local ISP, Lagunanet, and pay $20 US per month for a simple dialup connection. Then simply change your computer settings so that it will access the lagunanet dialup number, which happens to be 766-0030 and you are all set. (An operation that takes 90 seconds if you know what you are doing or much longer if you don't) Often someone at Lagunanet will do this for you if you bring your laptop with you when you sign up.

Where is lagunanet? immediately above the CIA (the internet cafe mentioned above) and across the street from the local telephone office in Ajijic. Their office # is 766-0297. If you get music just keep on listening. If you are asked to leave a message, you can try, but often they are not answered. The best time to phone is about 9:15 AM, week-days. Oh, and they speak English. (www.laguna.com.mx)

cristalhombre

Jun 14, 2006, 9:32 PM

Post #5 of 14 (2933 views)

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Re: [johanson] aol connection

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Pete

I know you are much better informed about the "tech" world than me. But are you sure that 1 in 5 users of the internet in the US are using AOL ??

I think everyone started with AOL, but in my circle of family, friends, and business - most have switched to broadband............today "maybe"....... 1 in 100 is still with AOL. (my experience)

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

(This post was edited by cristalhombre on Jun 14, 2006, 11:15 PM)

johanson / Moderator

Jun 14, 2006, 10:58 PM

Post #6 of 14 (2928 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] aol connection

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I don't know how accurate it is, but about one or two years ago, I read that 19.6 or 19.8% of those persons on line in the US were using AOL (residential users). I believe my source was PC Magazine. What ever the source, I believed it to be accurate and was quite surprised that the % was so high.

But I will be the first to admit, though, that I am not always right.

I just took a glance at AOL's home page. Don't they offer broadband as well as dialup?

LYNNDENISE

Jun 15, 2006, 9:23 AM

Post #7 of 14 (2891 views)

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Re: [dlyman6500] aol connection

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I knew I could count on my buddies on Mexconnect. Thanks!
Lynn

LYNNDENISE

Jun 15, 2006, 9:25 AM

Post #8 of 14 (2889 views)

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Re: [johanson] aol connection

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Thanks for the help!
Lynn

RickS

Jun 15, 2006, 10:07 AM

Post #9 of 14 (2878 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] aol connection

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Just to clarify a point, the fact that "most have switched to broadband" is not an indicator that 'they' are no longer using AOL. Broadband or dial-up are merely 'methods' of getting TO something, be it AOL or some other content provider. Think of broadband as a super, 8-lane highway and dial-up as the old 2-lane road with potholes. Both will get you to Peoria, just at vastly differing speeds..... and most of us are no longer willing to take the old, slow highway but will pay the toll for the freeway.

But to your main point, the 'popularity' of AOL today vs yesterday, I agree that your point is well taken.

cristalhombre

Jun 15, 2006, 10:35 AM

Post #10 of 14 (2870 views)

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Re: [RickS] aol connection

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True. An ISP can offer multiple methods of connection/speed to provide you a portal to the NET and it's wonders.

However, using your very accurate analogy of the 8 lane super highway vs. 2 lane country road - lets just add a twist here that they are both toll roads (fee for service, similar to an ISP) leading to the same destination of course.

So in my case I pay the toll to use the Hi-speed super highway (broadband) - so "why" would I want to pay an additional toll for the slower, inefficient country road I no longer need to use (I think AOL is about $20 bucks a month now). sorta like double taxation?

If a person has broadband, with an ISP package like (DSL/cable/wireless) or access to it??? Are they going to stay and pay for AOL? Seems like a waste of "green" to me. I know the defection from AOL has been HUGE and I think your analogy of the super highway is the reason.

What I don't know, and maybe this is your point......you can use AOL for a home page (net location for mail etc) free like Yahoo & Hot Mail? Is this true or is AOL always a fee for service arrangement?

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

RickS

Jun 15, 2006, 11:02 AM

Post #11 of 14 (2864 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] aol connection

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I think we are agreeing... I just wanted to make a distinction, as fine as it may have been. What you say is true.

With respect to using AOL "free". Yes, assuming one has 'some ISP' proving them access to the web, one can have aol.com as their browser home page free. Just like one can with Yahoo or MSN. All are 'content' providers. But if you want to have an aol.com email address it is my understanding that one must still pay the piper (which is not the case with email directed to yahoo or msn [hotmail]. So why stay with AOL? Beats me! I never understood why one would join anyway but in the early days it was a very easy way for neophytes to get Internet and email access anywhere in the US, and get content 'fed' to them if they didn't know (or care to learn) how to do it for themselves.

(This post was edited by RickS on Jun 15, 2006, 11:15 AM)

johanson / Moderator

Jun 15, 2006, 12:30 PM

Post #12 of 14 (2851 views)

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Re: [RickS] aol connection

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All these comments about AOL, a service I have never used, got me curious. Remember AOL is both an ISP and a content provider, and that many folks use other ISPs to connect to AOL. But for the life of me I do not understand the attraction of using another ISP to connect to AOL. But I know folks in Ajijic who do, who want to continue to connect to AOL for its subscriber content. FYI: The monthly fee for an AOL dialup connection is $23.90 . If you already have access to the internet, and only want the AOL content, the rate decreases to $14.95 per month.

Here is a paragraph of an article I got from http://www.epsiloninteractive.com/...2006/pr-02-21-06.htm dated Feb 2006. It is only talking about AOL as a mail client, but shows that their market share is down as was stated by others above.

Yahoo! appears to have definitively replaced AOL as the nation’s leading email client, with 23 percent market share, up from 19 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, AOL has slipped from owning 20 percent of the market to 15 percent today. Marketers will also be paying closer attention to Gmail in the year ahead – 5 percent of consumers now use the Internet darling’s free service to read their email, up from a mere 1 percent a year ago.

I went to other sites. Although often their percentages were different, they all showed that AOL was loosing market share.

(This post was edited by johanson on Jun 15, 2006, 12:31 PM)

sfmacaws

Jun 15, 2006, 12:36 PM

Post #13 of 14 (2847 views)

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Re: [RickS] aol connection

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I also really detest AOL but as someone who provides tech support for most of my friends and family, I've found that there are quite a few people who simply prefer it. It is a portal and offers a lot of member only content, including a sense of community in many areas. For reasons that I can't fathom, lots of people like the AOL interface and feel comfortable there. Their claim is that they can't find the same information, community and forums outside AOL and that they are "used to it" and can navigate within it easily.

My beloved Mimi is one of those people and for a geek, there is no greater shame than a significant other that uses AOL. I've learned to live with it as it isn't worth fighting about. I draw the line at allowing it to be installed on my laptop however, so when her mac is not working I have to get it fixed really fast or face installing the dreaded AOL on my PC. I won't support it though, I will install it for her and set up the connections but I refuse to deal with its internal workings. One has to draw the line somewhere!

Since we don't use it to connect to the internet, it's pretty cheap at about $10 a month.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

jerezano

Jul 9, 2006, 6:23 AM

Post #14 of 14 (2784 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] aol connection

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Hello cristalhombre,

You asked: "What I don't know, and maybe this is your point......you can use AOL for a home page (net location for mail etc) free like Yahoo & Hot Mail?"

The answer is absolutely not. No, the AOL web page is not free. You can always set www.aol.com as a home page and pick it up free, but it won't take you anywhere unless you have an AOL screen name and a password. That costs. However, if you have anyone in the family who subscribes to AOL [my daughter is a user] he/she can set up 4 screen names, one of which can be yours. With that screen name you can enter the AOL system and use the mail, the instant messaging, etc. All services seem to be available. Or at least all I have tried are available.

New subject. Somebody here asked why have a dial-up if you are using DSL. One very good reason.

Here in México some of us only have Prodigy Infinitum available. That service while reliable perhaps 75% of the time in my area, really isn't that 8-lane autopista. We do have a lot of outages or seemingly overloaded circuits where the connection is frustratingly slow, or a lot of searched for sites report as cannot be found. For example, we just had a 12 hour unannounced outage while Prodigy was supposedly improving our service. That improvement is yet to make itself noticeable. But during that outage a dial-up proved very useful.

I wouldn't pay extra for a dial-up backup because my internet needs are not urgent. But, perhaps many Infinitum users are not aware, that when the Infinitum goes haywire, Prodigy basic--the dial up--is still available. All one has to do is make a normal dial-up call using the internal computer modem instead of the DSL external modem. Depending upon how you have connected the telephone filters for your DSL modem you don't even have to unplug the DSL modem.

Have a good day. Adios. jerezano.