The AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)and Dial-Up Days
How many remember the sound of the dial-up when we didn’t want the telephone line to interrupt our internet connection? There was the unmistakable dial-tone sound when AOL (America Online) would connect and finally sign in. Microsoft released this application in May 1997.
Go to this link to get an example of dial-up sound. We patiently waited to connect. Patience is a virtue! That logo of the running man will never be forgotten.
I still remember the “Goodbye” message when we exited this chat application. At that time, we had the buddy list, a very generic interface. We couldn’t get enough meeting Buddies (0/#) incrementing as we realized we could talk to others far more aware of us from around the globe!
We can now appreciate the almost instant connection of various chats and social media applications today. The internet world is dominated by multiple internet service providers that provide fiber connections directly to the home. We have gone a long way.
What has also changed today is that many use Voice Over IP (VoIP) services via Internet services instead of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service or Plain Ordinary Telephone System). This takes me back to memory lane from way back. The typical dial-up speed during AOL days was around 56 kilobits per second (56 Kbps). This speed was…
