Comments for Gee Whiz, The New AOL Beta Looks Familiar

Gee Whiz, The New AOL Beta Looks Familiar

2007-04-28T23:42:17Z

Where have we seen this website before? —MEGHANN MARCO

AOL's beta site looks like Yahoo [BoingBoing]

Comment from ducksauce on 2007-04-30

2007-04-30T21:19:34Z

Yahoo originally stole this from the default Dell homepage:

http://dell.myway.com

Comment from consumed on 2007-04-30

2007-04-30T18:01:15Z

Maybe this is a sign of an up-and-coming Yahoo/AOL merger?

Comment from Roundonbothends on 2007-04-29

2007-04-30T04:56:37Z

I work in tech support for software products. We used to make a certain number of assumptions about a user's basic understanding of technical matters, ability to follow instructions, and likely intelligence just from his or her having an AOL email address.

Comment from huginn on 2007-04-29

2007-04-30T03:34:10Z

Excuse me, but when is AOL NOT in beta?

Better yet, go back to Alpha, I'll understand the shittyness of your products.

Comment from hop on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T22:39:30Z

if aol was the only network provider, i wouldn't be on the net........
a.o.l. sucketh, along with best buys.........

Comment from Mr. Gunn on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T19:51:13Z

AOLSUXLOL!!1!

/kthxbi

Comment from mopar_man on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T18:44:49Z

Does anybody still use AOL??

Comment from tozmervo on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T11:20:37Z

@guroth: lol, I honestly didn't even notice that was the order. I take that back, but stand by the rest of my comment :)

Comment from superbmtsub on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T09:42:30Z

AOL just keeps going lower down in my list.

Comment from Zeke129 on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T09:09:20Z

@grant0: Yes, and their alphabet is not compatible with any other one and is full of ads.

Comment from ivieso on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T08:12:59Z

aol is looking like payless shoe stores now. Unless you wanna pick up 14 years old and be on Dateline.

Comment from grant0 on 2007-04-29

2007-04-29T07:15:58Z

@Zeke129: Doesn't AOL use their own alphabet anyway? They have a whole corporate language. It's something like "goowawe fdsa l fwjioreawewalf;j look we can give u teh internet pay us more money than other ISPs because our internet is better than theirs". Their target market is "stupid people who don't understand what the internet really is".

Comment from AcidReign on 2007-04-28

2007-04-29T03:24:56Z

.....Their welcome screen has looked like that since at least version 4.0. Don't get rid of AOL. It would make me have to create another spambox!

Comment from NeoteriX on 2007-04-28

2007-04-29T01:11:07Z

something something imitation something flattery?

Comment from Zeke129 on 2007-04-28

2007-04-29T00:51:46Z

@guroth: AOL should be forced to use reverse alphabetical order. Actually, let's just get rid of AOL.

Comment from guroth on 2007-04-28

2007-04-29T00:24:40Z

"Hell, even the menu items are in nearly the same order."

I didn't realize someone had patented alphabetical order?

Comment from tweaked on 2007-04-28

2007-04-29T00:12:01Z

I'm really disappointed to see that AOL has abandoned their stellar track record of tech innovation and groundbreaking new internet services.

Comment from SpaceCat85 on 2007-04-28

2007-04-28T23:41:17Z

Yahoo made some of their webapp code available for other developers:
http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/

AOL's ripping of the visual aspect of the design, however, is just shameless.

Unfortunately, that seems to fit with their history of buying/using someone else's design or program, hobbling it somehow (in this case, no narrow layout version), then slapping on heaps of AOL/Netscape branding, slow ads, and association with dubious software like RealNetworks programs and Weather Bug (check out the Netscape browser recently?).

Comment from tozmervo on 2007-04-28

2007-04-28T23:38:03Z

We're not talking basic look, though. That is a virtually identical reproduction, with only tiny graphic tweaks here and there. Hell, even the menu items are in nearly the same order.

Comment from mattloaf1 on 2007-04-28

2007-04-28T23:33:50Z

Thus marks the first and last time I will ever see AOL.com in this decade.

Comment from Skylar on 2007-04-28

2007-04-28T23:31:26Z

Eh, ever since the whole "web 2.0" thing, all websites look the same anyway.

Comment from Xkeeper on 2007-04-28

2007-04-28T22:57:00Z

Plenty of websies copy each other's basic look. Hell, the AOL welcome screen looked like that anyway, just now it's in a webpage/single window instead of that stupid "Welcome" window.