Neowin.net - AOL offers $300 PC with one-year subscription

AOL offers $300 PC with one-year subscription

Posted by malebolgia on 04 December 2003 - 19:33 · 44 comments & 843 views

America Online Inc. (AOL) now sells a cheap PC designed to boost its shrinking user base with a one-year commitment to AOL's Internet access service required at purchase. The AOL Optimized PC, built by Systemax Inc., is a no-frills model that will compete with other low-cost PCs such as the Linux PCs built by Microtel Computer Systems Inc. and is available through Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Web site, and discount models from larger players such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP). The PC comes with a 1.7GHz Celeron processor, 256M bytes of DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM), a 40G-byte hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, a 17-inch CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor and a color printer from Lexmark International Inc. for $299. The company, a division of Time Warner Inc., has launched a Web site to promote and sell the new PC at $299 PC Deal.

The year of AOL's dial-up Internet connection service costs $23.90 a month, for a total of $286.80. The cheapest PCs from Dell and HP cost about $450, but offer faster Celeron processors from Intel Corp., and other options such as CD-RW (CD-rewritable) drives. However, they lack monitors and printers as standard features. Microtel's PCs cost anywhere from $200 to $500 on Wal-Mart's site with Duron processors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Linux operating systems from SuSE Linux AG and Lindows.com Inc. The least expensive option comes without an operating system. The AOL PC comes with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP Home, but the first screen users see is an AOL-designed interface called the AOL Desktop. The PC also comes with an office productivity software package called AOL Office Powered by Sun, which is the StarOffice software suite developed by Sun Microsystems Inc.

News source: InfoWorld

Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBoS) expect to have the majority of their customers moved by the end of 2004, but both will stretch into 2005 to complete the migration.

And HSBC has confirmed that it will take two years to move its six million customers to chip-based cards, with the bank's rollout programme only expected to be concluded by the end of 2005.

HBOS plans to start its rollout in the first quarter of 2003 and expects to take about 18 months to refresh its debit card customer base with new cards.

"We have quite a short period to get cards out to our eight million debit card holders, which we plan to have done by mid-2005," said John Capper, HBOS manager for service and delivery strategy banking.

"We've been through the scoping and design phases, and we'll move into the implementation stage early next year."

Abbey, meanwhile, confirmed that it will have issued its 4.5 million debit card customers with new cards by the end of 2004, while its internet subsidiary Cahoot has been issuing chip-based cards since July.

Abbey is giving customers new cards as their old ones expire or are lost, a process that has been accelerated by shortening the expiry date on many cards, ensuring that the replacement cycle falls within the timeframe.

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#1 Posted by Juguard on 04 Dec 2003 - 19:43: They can keep it. lol

#2 Posted by XP-RTM on 04 Dec 2003 - 19:50: lol sucks

(1 reply) #3 Posted by Grappa on 04 Dec 2003 - 19:54: Isn't this the same thing MSN tried?

G

(1 reply) #4 Posted by Jish on 04 Dec 2003 - 20:01: I have been down that road of "cheap PC". A year later the cheap POS dies and I am stuck paying for an ISP (which I hate to begin with) for an additional two years. Never again!!!

#5 Posted by Samoa on 04 Dec 2003 - 20:09: Please let them die out quickly...

#6 Posted by a1kashur on 04 Dec 2003 - 20:37: AOL sucks!

(1 reply) #7 Posted by midway40 on 04 Dec 2003 - 21:06: I rather have an E-Machine if I was that bad off!

#8 Posted by nw|raptor on 04 Dec 2003 - 21:12: lol... now AOL PC? soon they're going to make their own OS and only allow ppl to access internet through their OS

/Raptor

(2 replies) #9 Posted by MadDog on 04 Dec 2003 - 21:19: How long until AOL just mails out PCs at random with "5,000 free hours of AOL" software pre-loaded?

#10 Posted by extreme_madness on 04 Dec 2003 - 21:30: shouldn't "AOL" change their name to "LOL" now?

#11 Posted by matt74441 on 04 Dec 2003 - 21:51: I'm reminded of something a few years ago. It was a really cheap PC that only surfed the internet, and it bombed big time.

(1 reply) #12 Posted by Smash on 04 Dec 2003 - 21:56: So you get a cheap crappy PC, WITH the worst ISP ever, for 1 full year

#13 Posted by Webgraph on 04 Dec 2003 - 22:02: Yuck! This is pathetic!

(7 replies) #14 Posted by Digital_k on 04 Dec 2003 - 22:36: Actually it isnt all that bad, a 299 dollar pc with printer? Thats a good deal to those on a budget. Granted, the AOL service leaves alot to be desired, but I think its ok for people who aren't tech savy. Alot of you will flame this comment, I don't really care. But maybe the better ISP's will offer the same deal and I'll get a cheap pc too!

#15 Posted by Coolme on 04 Dec 2003 - 22:40

QUOTE

The PC comes with a 1.7GHz Celeron processor, 256M bytes of DDR (double data rate) SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM), a 40G-byte hard drive, a CD-ROM drive, a 17-inch CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor and a color printer from Lexmark International Inc. for $299. The company, a division of Time Warner Inc., has launched a Web site to promote and sell the new PC at $299 PC Deal.

Celeron 1.7GHz processor?! I don't think Intel makes them anymore!! (If not they will stop production by Feberary 2) and I think that anyone who can afford AOL would have a PC by now. Oh yeah BTW, does the motherboard even have an AGP port?

#16 Posted by dismuter on 04 Dec 2003 - 23:00: All hatred againts AOL put aside, this looks like a pretty sweet deal! Hell I would subscribe if I needed a 56k connection! I would then sell the PC and enjoy a free 56k connection...

(2 replies) #17 Posted by georgi55 on 04 Dec 2003 - 23:31: WTF(What The F**k) is up with all those ()?

(1 reply) #18 Posted by PseudoRandomDragon on 04 Dec 2003 - 23:53: If you want a cheep PC, make one yourself. If you want crap, get the AOL PC.

(1 reply) #19 Posted by plasticparadox on 05 Dec 2003 - 01:38: You guys obviously don't understand the concept of demographically-targeted marketing.

This computer is not aimed at you; it's aimed at first-time computer buyers or first-time internet users. And it's a damn good idea. $300 for a PC and printer would sound good to me if I didn't already have a system.

The one thing that scares me is 'AOL Office' powered by Sun. Obviously it's just a reshack of StarOffice, however I find the idea of AOL getting into the office productivity market a little unsettling.

#20 Posted by SirEvan on 05 Dec 2003 - 06:29: ok well heres what I have to say about this. From both personal experience, and from knowing people that use aol.. This is bad. AOL leads to the creation of online noobs, hackers, and script kiddies. Every AOL using kid i've ever met has no clue how the internet really works, and AOL just leads to more idiots being created, and stupifying the people who are semi intelligent. Just pop your heads into any aol lead chatroom, and listen to what everyone talks about.. AOL users seem to think they're all that. The kids who use AOL are the worst. I wish AOL would just die out. it is bad for everyone else. Most of the viruses and chain emails out there are sent from aol accounts, by aol users who believe in chain letters, or aren't smart enough or have enough common sense to know not to open stuff from people they don't know.

This is stupid.

#21 Posted by Gary_Player on 05 Dec 2003 - 06:33: $286.80 for a year of freaking Dial up?!?!?!?!?!?! That SUCKS

#22 Posted by stncttr908 on 05 Dec 2003 - 07:38: Isn't "AOL Optimized" an oxy-moron?

#23 Posted by poind on 05 Dec 2003 - 11:26: Let me get this right. This is $300 PLUS about $300 more for a year of AOL required for purchase??

Can get one heck of a lot more if one purchases a new system via Dell or whatever, right? Some internet access plans possible?

(1 reply) #24 Posted by BGuillaume on 05 Dec 2003 - 12:25: I m not a AOL addict but quite franquly I think AOL made a mjor step for briging the internet to everyone. See a 60 y o person that wants to start using the web will certainly find it easier with AOL...Dont you think ? So i guess it's a good idea to have such a PC for them to be familiar with Computing....There are tons of conservative that will tell themselve "Oh yeh i have AOL, why not by their PC..." That's certainly not what we'd like to do but having an objectie point of view, it 's pretty mich understandable and it will have the merit to encourage a bunch of people to learn how to use a computer...Well for me AOL users are mainly old people so...

#25 Posted by Chrisnet on 05 Dec 2003 - 14:55: Whoa!! Im sold... Where do I sign up?!?!

Just kidding guys

#26 Posted by xhaulthim on 13 Sep 2004 - 14:09: I'm the dumb g-ma.. is it worth it?

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