America Online

America Online (AOL) is a services company Internet subsidiary company of the group diversified of media Time Warner, side under symbol TWX on New York Stock Exchange (New York Stock Exchange).

After 15 years of use of the mark America Online in the United States, the company decided on April 3rd, 2006 to re-elect the company AOL LLC in order to adopt the AOL mark which hitherto was mainly used to communicate on its services in Europe.

AOL in France

AOL belonged to the first FAI to propose an access Internet (since February 1991 in the United States) with CompuServe.

The European subsidiary companies (France, GB, Germany) were in the beginning exits of a joint-venture between America Online and Bertelsmann charged to sell in Europe the services and licensed products AOL. These products include/understand in particular connection and the access to the Internet, the Email, the Instant messaging (AOL is the inventor) and of the accessible exclusive contents via a software owner.

In 1998, CGE (via SFR-Cegetel) enters the capital and the company becomes the star of the low unlimited flow for 99 frank French (approximately 15 Euro S). This offer increased the number of subscribers to a significant degree, which caused decelerations, and problems of connections due to the too great number of users on the access points. AOL all the more tarnished its image after the unilateral increase in the supply price, passing from 15€ with 25€.

The French group took much delay on the High banc and did not position in time to propose a fast access Internet in 2004, whereas many suppliers started to propose these accesses at attractive prices. Vivendi is disengaged of AOL France, but despite everything, AOL is modernized and proposed services associated (safety, Antispam, Antivirus, Parental control and others) the whole included in the price with the fixed price.

AOL gives up also little by little the model of access to its services via its software owners: possibility of connecting itself to network ADSL via any modem router or software of access network remotely compatible PPPoE or PPPoA, access to the services via the gate Web (for example, webmail), and access to the AOL letter-boxes via any compatible software with the protocols smtp and IMAP4.

In 2005, AOL France proposes a fixed telephone offer, simple preselection on the phone line, without unlimited offer. At the end of 2005, AOL proposes a " Box " ADSL and telephones.

In September 2006, AOL sold its activity of access to Internet with the group Neuf Cegetel. AOL preserves its activities of Media in France via its subsidiary company AOL FRANCE SNC and will be in particular the supplier of the gate of Neuf Cegetel (neufportail.fr)

AOL THE USA

August 4th, 2006, AOL announces that it will separate from 5000 of its employees in the six next months, that is to say the quarter of its manpower, including 3000 transfers of employment in Europe towards the companies which take again its activities of network of access to Internet.

The August 6th 2006, the company diffuses on its Web site, and to the initial attention of an academic public specialized in techniques of research, the key words used by 500.000 of its American subscribers in the AOL search engine. This research covers one period being spread out over 3 months, that is to say approximately 20 million entries, not censured nor filtered. The file of approximately 400 Megabytes is quickly withdrawn from the site when AOL realizes implications relating to the private life, and emits a letter of excuse the list, whose importance on invasion of privacy was immediately carried out by several Net surfers like by several major sites of technical information (Digg, Slashdot,…) is available on several mirror sites like on the network P2P BitTorrent. The research, although made anonymous by AOL before the publication of the list, makes it possible to identify certain users (for example several people sought information on themselves), and certain Net surfers used search key words “doubtful”, even out the law. It is very probable that a complaint in Collective appeal is deposited against AOL for this publication. This collective complaint is actually deposited on September 22nd, 2006 for violation of the " Electronic Communications Privacy Act and off fraudulent and deceptive business practices" , inter alia loads. A complaint was also lodged with (Organization of protection of the rights of the consumer) by an defense group of the rights, Electronic Frontier Foundation , on August 14th, 2006.

Use

The majority of the software published by AOL exist only in version for the operating systems Windows and Mac, with some exceptions near like AIM for Linux. The users of other operating systems such as the other alternatives of Unix can nevertheless reach certain functionalities of the AOL service such as the email via any traditional messaging software supporting protocols smtp and IMAP, or more generally via the Web: webmail, AIM Express train.

Important personalities of AOL

Jim Kimsey (former president and member of the board of directors)
Steve Case (former president and member of the board of directors)
Randy Falco (president of AOL LLC)
Dana Dune (president of AOL Europe)
Benjamin Faes (chairman from AOL France)

Bonds

''' AOL.fr ''' Site of the French subsidiary company of AOL.
''' AOL-Press ''' official press releases of AOL France
''' Close Center-AOL Inc. ''' Official press releases of AOL the USA
''' AOL International ''' Directory of the whole of the Web sites of the various AOL subsidiary companies in the world.
''' AOL TRAVELS ''' Site gathering the best offers of Voyage

As well as the following sites:

''' City-Online, the French Association of the subscribers AOL ''': Association (nonofficial) of the subscribers to the supplier of access AOL France.
''' Detail of the offers AOL '''.

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