I know what you're thinking, and no, I didn't know that this was still around either! I've been using WiFi for such a long time now, but while the distant screechings of the computer dialing up to the internet and the connection being cut when someone tried to use the phone are gone, they're definitely not forgotten.
If you're too young to remember dial-up internet, then you're lucky. Things used to load incredibly slowly, and it was forever cutting out. Still, it's an important part of our history, and while AOL's dial-up internet service, Dialer software, and Shield browser are very much still active as of writing this article, they will all be finally laid to rest on September 30th.
AOL's dial-up service is one that many people still link with the internet as a whole, just like we call all vacuums 'hoovers' or that we'll 'Google' something. And according to The Verge, a census in 2019 reported that 265,000 people in the USA were still relying on dial-up internet to get onto the web!
A message on the AOL website tells us that, “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet. This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025, this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued.”
So, if you remember dial-up internet, let's have a minute's rhythmical screeching to salute the end of the AOL era. Thank you for all of the song downloading, map printing, and web browsing of our youths!
