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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: P.T.Burnem who wrote (24345)	6/28/1999 2:00:00 PM
From: CGarcia	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

"AOL's future is bleak because dial-up Internet access as we know it is going away." Oh and I suppose AOL will no longer charge big companies big $$$ to advertise on their site? Wow it really does look bleak...I think I'll start some 2bit company and advertise for free on AOL...I'll be rich!!!

To: P.T.Burnem who wrote (24345)	6/28/1999 2:13:00 PM
From: Ed Forrest	Respond to of 41369

>>AOL's future is bleak because dial-up Internet access as we know it is going away.<< NOT!! Ed

To: P.T.Burnem who wrote (24345)	6/28/1999 2:15:00 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

AOL's future is bleak because dial-up Internet access as we know it is going away. PT, You don't work in the industry, do you? Dial-up internet access will be the dominant access choice for years to come. Cable pundits who say otherwise haven't done their research! Just pick up any industry rag and read the research metrics from Jupiter, Forrester, Gartner Group, etc. Almost all of these research think tanks predict that dial-up access will be around for years to come, and will be the choice for consumers. BTW, are you assuming that AOL won't offer other modes of access? Because that couldn't be farther from the truth. $am

To: P.T.Burnem who wrote (24345)	6/28/1999 2:20:00 PM
From: Davyne Dial	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

Duh!? Wanna explain or elaborate on that statement? Wouldn't be taking us for suckers would ya? "AOL's future is bleak because dial-up Internet access as we know it is going away. PT BARNUM"

To: P.T.Burnem who wrote (24345)	6/28/1999 2:31:00 PM
From: DOUG H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

<<<<<<<Mr. Blodget argues that free access isn't really free at all, since in Europe Internet service providers can extract up to 30 percent of the toll-fees from telephone companies. Nevertheless, the trend is clearly in place for the next-generation ISPs to offer consumers free access in order to reach a critical mass of customers, then bombard those users with e-commerce and ads.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< FREE IS NOT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EXTRACT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOMBARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To: P.T.Burnem who wrote (24345)	6/28/1999 3:32:00 PM
From: David E. Taylor	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 41369

P.T. B.: I happen to agree with you that dial-up access is going away, because the next generation of internet services will have a much greater video content - video on demand, real time video conferencing and chat groups, etc. (imagine what the SI threads are going to be like when we can all see each other?), and dial up access speeds won't cut it. The question is, how quickly will this come to pass? Here's some of the latest data I have (millions, rounded): 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 US Households 101 102 103 104 105 US Households Online 26 34 42 52 67 US Total Broadband 1 2 5 9 16 US Total Dial Up 25 32 37 43 51 Total WWW Users 97 132 170 228 320 So, you are wrong on at least two counts: (1) Dial up access is not going away, no matter what rosy scenario you want to paint of the rate of broadband deployment. (2) Second, AOL's future will only be bleak if AOL's management has its collective head in the sand, sits on its rear end and does absolutely nothing for the next three years. IMO, that's not likely. One of the reasons I invest in companies is the quality of the company's management, and whatever you might think of AOL, you can't deny that they've managed to claw their way to the top of the current heap over the last two years or so. My bet is that AOL will continue to adapt to changing markets and technologies, and that they'll continue to grow the top line of the business at somewhere between 50% and 100% per year. The business is AOL's to keep and grow, what's your rationale for stating so conclusively that AOL's future is bleak? David T.