Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Smart Investor who wrote (5684)	2/24/1999 12:41:00 PM
From: im a survivor	Respond to of 41369

Somebody is paying for that internet access......if Gateway wants to foot the bill...more power to them. I would love to see all the big computer manufacturers swing deals with AOL to offer free service. We may sell it at a discount, but we will drastically increase the number of users. I'd rather make $10 on 30 million people then $20 on 10 million people.

To: Smart Investor who wrote (5684)	2/24/1999 12:50:00 PM
From: tang	Respond to of 41369

If you buy a Gateway pc and the free access of internet is not a local connection, you'll pay much more on the phone bill than the monthly ISP fee. There are a lot of ISPs around me, they offer cheaper monthly fee or free access, but none of them has my local number and I live in a 200,000 people neighborhood (local calling region). AOL has most areas covered in the USA with local phone hubs after many years establishment, it takes time, and it costs money to buy and set up the hub, small ISPs cannot afford, PC companies don't have their own hubs. The day that all PC companies go into free access and team-up with all phone companies, everyone has a local number available for free internet access is the day AOL must worry. But then AOL's revenue may depend on ISP fee for 10% and 90% from adv. and e-commerce. And phone companies must be willing to lose all their ISP's fee as revenue and take NO fees from the PC companies but upgrade their system for accepting all the freebies (maybe write-off as chairity for tax purpose). And ATHM and other cable companies go dead way before AOL. AOL's management is a smart bunch, they'll figure something out before investor bailing out.

To: Smart Investor who wrote (5684)	2/24/1999 1:24:00 PM
From: tang	Respond to of 41369

Smart Investor, do you know why Gateway aloows only 1 year free access of internet, not 2 not 3 not forever? I tell you why, 1 year cost of free access of internet is very easy for PC makers to hide in their PC price, that is you pay higher PC price and you don't even know it. But 2 or 3 years will make that PC price too high to compete, this is a typical sucker's game. You buy a $499 box with modem, 1 year cost of ISP is around $100 - $250, add that to $499 or $699 or $799 , the total is still much less than Gateway or Dell's PC, I heard the NC is only $399. Only suckers get sucked in this kind of game.