Does anyone reading this want to code a more modern version of SeaMonkey?

I’m asking because one of my primary annoyances is not having an all-in-one browser/IM/email client to usher ex-AOL users to once they’re ready to quit AOL. For years I’ve wanted to be able to say to them, “There’s this program named X that works just like AOL does, with instant messaging, email, and browsing all in one client, but it runs on a more modern layout engine, loads more pages the right way than AOL or IE does, and it’s safer to use and more enjoyable than AOL.”

Outside of SeaMonkey, there is nothing on the market that I know of that can replace not just what AOL has, but the way AOL combines it all into one client. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to just use Firefox and say, Yahoo! webmail and/or Outlook if you like, and to keep an AIM or MSN client on the computer for chat, but for people who have used AOL forever and like having all three tools ready-to-go in one browser, having a replacement for that would make it much easier for them to move away from AOL.

Just a quick update on jv16 PowerTools 2009…

After receiving a comment on this blog today about jv16 2006 (someone used it to remove AOL from Vista, which I do not recommend anyone do with the 2006 version) I remembered the jv16 PT dev has come out with numerous updates of the program since he released the first 2009 version.

I gave the latest version, released on May 16th, a run about a month ago on my Vista install, and it performed admirably compared to previous versions. My only caveats are that it will always be slower, in my opinion, than jv16 PT 2006 was, but since the 2006 version doesn’t work all that well on Vista, that’s neither here nor there.

Maybe it’s just semantics, but for me “Armstrong” = “Ice Age”.

What does being a “consumer” mean to you?

When you’re using AOL’s software or ISP (or both) or visiting AOL.com to check your email, does doing those things make you feel like a “consumer”?

How does it feel to be a “consumer”?

The AOL Classic desktop client: Welcome back, AOL 9.0 SE.

Updated 2-26-09 with a separate review of AOL 9.5 and again on 2-28-09.

AOL has a new desktop client in Beta called AOL Classic. What’s exciting about it is…tabbed browsing! Do I hear you ask, “What else?” That’s it. What else do you need? Don’t tell me you “need” stuff like browser skins and add-ons…hey, I remember when people used Gopher and Archie to surf the Web…this is really modern compared to that. AOL even did something with the menus. After I got down rolling around in strong spasms of tremendous joy at the thought of being able to open…new tabs…in a classic AOL client, I installed the damn thing. That ended even the flimsiest notion of AOL Classic offering me much more than deja vu of why I canceled AOL three years ago.

What’s the best uninstaller for AOL? Results are in.

Edited 5-23-08.

All those tests I’ve written about doing to find the best software to remove AOL are finally done. Frankly, I’m a little surprised at the results.

Results: Just keep on using the same old programs to remove AOL.

You’d think I could do better than that, and I tried because I love how so many of you want to find the best ways to remove AOL, but I couldn’t come up with anything niftier than my current methods (well, I did find one Honorable Mention) – blame it on lack of better technology.

I’m in love…with an uninstaller.

I cannot believe this thing. Seriously, I’m in awe. I’ve been eying it for months but never touched it because I wasn’t using Vista when I found it. And it’s just a simple, lowly batch script. Haven’t had much luck with those in the past!

Ran it just now and words can’t even do it justice – or maybe they can – let’s see: it bypasses AOL’s uninstaller entirely (except for one brief stop at the AOL Toolbar Uninstaller), removes almost every AOL reg entry (just 12 entries left afterward), and requires just one restart no matter how many AOL programs you’ve got installed. And it’s quick! Naturally I want to marry whoever wrote it – or at least reincarnate as him in my next life.

Vista users: try it. XP users: don’t. It only works on Vista, at least as far as I can tell.

You may get a few “cannot find uninstall.exe” warnings. Just click through them and the UA warnings (if UAC is enabled on your PC) – I promise, you won’t be sorry.

5-22-08, Update: This product made my Honorable Mention list as one of the three Greatest AOL Removal Products of All Time.

Don’t waste your time on AOL Desktop.

What’s wrong with AOL Desktop? Just about everything.

I tested AOL Desktop (also known as AOL Explorer – they’re more or less identical – update 5-21-08: the programs are offered as a combined download, but the similar name is for AOL Desktop Search, which was one of the downloads I chose; I regret the error) on dialup for a week, because I wanted to see what the broadband-unenabled go through these days, and the results weren’t pleasing.

Why You Want to Uninstall AIM Now

Any hacker in the world can use your AIM messenger to do a lot more than send you messages.

According to ZDNet blog writer Ryan Nariane: The attack scenario works without the target clicking on a link and only requires that the AIM user is logged on and accepting incoming messages.

AOL 9.0 VR and 9.1 Beta Are Garbage

Updated 7-17-2007.

I’ve had it with AOL’s software. Before anyone at AOL gets too warm and fuzzy that I noted recent improvements to how the software uninstalls, keep in mind I only download and install AOL to test it for people who want to get rid of it. That’s a lot of people: my most enduring tutorial for removing AOL has seen roughly 10,000 unique visits. For comparison, the site’s had over 100,000 (should’ve checked my stats first!) 136,000 uniques, but at least 60,000 of those were from Digg, so you can do the math yourself and see one sixth of regular (non-Digg) visits are to a page on how to uninstall AOL.

Don’t Use AOL 9.0 SE

AOL 9.0 SE, the product that uses 2 processes that can’t be shut down unless you use Hijack This or blow your computer up, is back on my computer again. I can’t get enough of how badly AOL screwed this up. My processor is three times as fast as the one I had when I started writing this blog in 2005, my hard drive is three times as large, and my computer has four times as much memory, yet AOL still slows it down; other programs crash and the computer is unusable for anything except surfing.

Firefox has crashed twice since I installed AOL 9.0 SE a few days ago. POP Peeper, which I’ve used for about a year to collect email, also crashed twice. Now I can count in seconds how long it takes to launch an Explorer Window. They opened so fast before I installed this version of AOL, there was no waiting.

Here I am. I’ve put AOL 9.0 SE on a clean install of XP, on a much more powerful computer than I’ve ever had before, and it’s still killing it.

On AOL’s new 9.0 VR Help page, they tell you not to upgrade to AOL 9.0 VR because both programs are “the same.” Look at this crap: