Welcome America Online Users

If you use AOL for your Internet access the are several important things you should know. First, the default settings for your AOL web browser software will cause many Internet web pages to display, well, not as well as they can. In an attempt to make the Internet seem acceptably fast on their crowded network, AOL compresses certain types of images before sending them to you. This lowers the quality of some images significantly and even causes many images not to display at all. You can turn this feature off by selecting [Prefs] and clicking the [Web Graphics] tab. Then uncheck 'Use Compressed Graphics'.

Did you know...? Due to pressure from users, AOL recently backed down from agreements with two telemarketing firms to sell them your phone number. (If only they would cool it with those annoying pop-up ads!) AOL recently expanded their network by adding over 150,000 new modems. It appears that this has helped connectivity in many areas. Read what Jesse Berst(ZDNet) has to say about AOL. Our Opinion? If you are serious about doing business online you should consider getting a true ISP (Internet Service Provider) that you can trust and depend on. They generally charge a flat rate ($15-20) per month for unlimited access. In most cases they are considerably faster depending on who you sign up with. To find an ISP in you area, click here.

Tips for AOL Users Upgrade Your AOL Software You can have the latest Windows 95 browser for your 'Net surfing, but the trick is to also have the latest version of AOL software. It's not going to be on that floppy you installed six months ago! Here's how to upgrade your browser, so you can be sure you're seeing the best that the Internet has to offer! First, find out which version of AOL's software you have. To do this, start AOL and select "Help / About America Online." You'll probably have AOL 3.0 (or lower) for for Windows. If you're running Windows 95, you definitely need to get Ver. 3.0 for Windows 95. It MUST say for Windows 95. If you want to upgrade... If you don't have the Windows 95 version, log onto AOL and type in keyword get95. You'll download a huge file (11MB) called setup95.exe. Run that program and it will install the newer version. AOL's W95 browser is Internet Explorer 3.x so you should update that as well, to Internet Explorer 4.1 What are you waiting for? MSIE 4 is FREE! Click Here to get it the newest microsoft web browser. Note: Separate mail readers and newsreaders won't work with AOL's proprietary system. If you use AOL as your dial-up (Internet access), You must use AOL's software to read your e-mail and participate in newsgroups, even when you install MSIE 4.