America Online (AOL.com) (1989-Present)

America Online (AOL) 

Originally an online service called PlayNET, it was re-branded as America Online, or known as AOL, in 1989. AOL became one of the largest online services, with about three million active users by 1995. AOL provided dial-up internet to millions of Americans and was an early pioneer of instant messaging with the AOL Instant Messenger. At its peak, AOL reported over 20 million users in 2000. AOL popularity began to decline by 2002, due to the rise in broadband connections and the decline of dial-up. In June 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon for $4.4 billion, and in September 2021, AOL became part of Yahoo! Inc. 

The video is an attempt to connect to AOL Version 5.0 using a dial-up connection on an Apple iBook G3 Clamshell on February 4th, 2024.