"Love it, hate it, or laugh at it, America Online isn't going away. One of the longest-lived ISPs, AOL is still the way 35 million people worldwide send e-mail, surf the Net, bicker in forums, or send instant messages. Columnist Robert Luhn has been an AOL user for more than a decade, but this is no AOL booster section. Anyone who has used the service can attest to its many flaws and frustrations. This new column, AOL Nation, will look critically at AOL's products, services, and practices. We'll tell you what's superb, what stinks, how to get the most out of AOL, and what issues may affect your pocketbook or your sanity." Read the full story here
"This is a bold mission statement. But it is the mission we at America Online rededicate ourselves to every day. From our very beginnings, AOL has been about far more than just making the Internet available to consumers. It has been about making our members' lives better by creating an online experience that helps, informs, and delights them.
This commitment to our members drives everything we do. We created unique channel navigation and an improved Search feature - with audio/video and local Search - to make finding things online faster and easier. We offer comprehensive programming experiences, packed with original content. We have been pioneers in making online communications easy and fun. We led the way in protecting our members from spam, viruses, hackers and other dangers.
We do all these things and much more because at AOL, we are dedicated to the simple premise that our members deserve the best possible - and most valuable - online experience available anywhere." Full Mission Statement
May 24, 1985 | Date of incorporation under original founding name, Quantum Computer Services, registered in Delaware |
November 1985 | Quantum's first online service, "Q-Link," launched on Commodore Business Machines |
August 1988 | Quantum's "PC-Link" launched through joint venture with Tandy Corporation |
June 1990 | Quantum's "Promenade" service launched for IBM PS/1 |
February 1991 | DOS version of AOL launched |
October 1991 | Quantum Computer Services changes name to America Online, Inc. |
March 1992 | AOL goes public on NASDAQ market at original price of $11.50, under symbol AMER |
January 1993 | Windows version of AOL launched |
August 1994 | AOL service reaches 1 million members |
July 1995 | AOL service passes 3 million members |
October 1995 | Launch of GNN, AOL's direct Internet service |
January 1996 | AOL UK and AOL Canada launch |
February 1996 | AOL service passes 5 million members |
March 1996 | AOL France launches |
July 1996 | AOL launches version 3.0 for Windows |
April 1997 | AOL Japan launches |
November 1997 | AOL service passes 10 million members |
December 1998 | AOL service surpasses 15 million members |
September 1999 | AOL Hong Kong launches |
December 1999 | AOL service surpasses 20 million members |
July 2000 | AOL Mexico launches |
October 2000 | AOL service surpasses 25 million members |
January 2001 | AOL and Time Warner complete merger to create Time Warner |
October 2001 | New AOL version 7.0 sets record with more than 2.5 million downloads by AOL members in first five days |
July 2002 | AOL service surpasses 35 million members |
October 2002 | New AOL version 8.0 sets record with more than 5 million downloads by AOL members in first two weeks |
March 2003 | AOL launches AOL for Broadband |
October 2003 | AOL launches AOL 9.0 Optimized, the latest version for AOL and AOL for Broadband |
May 2004 | AOL announces spam in member in-boxes down by 20%-30% |
November 2004 | AOL launches AOL(r) 9.0 Security Edition with comprehensive suite of security features |
January 2005 | AOL introduces new AOL(r) Search innovations and opens up new opportunities for advertisers |
January 2005 | AOL and Time Warner Cable join forces to provide customized broadband offering |
April 2005 | AOL introduces Internet phone service |
April 2005 | AOL and XM Satellite Radio unite to create new online radio service |
September 2005 | AOL releases spyware protection to improve Internet security for millions of users |
October 2005 | AOL acquires leading blogging company Weblogs |
December 2005 | AOL and Google expand strategic alliance |
April 2006 | America Online Changes Its Name to AOL |