AOL
AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online[1]) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
For other uses, see AOL (disambiguation).Formerly
- Control Video Corporation (1983–1985)
- Quantum Computer Services (1985–1991)
- America Online (1991–2009)
- AOL Time Warner (2001–2003)
NYSE: AOL
- 1983 (as Control Video Corporation)
- 2009 (as AOL Inc.)
Worldwide
Web portal and online services
5,600
- AOL Time Warner (2001–2009)
- Verizon Communications (2015–2021)
- Yahoo! Inc. (2021–present)
The service traces its history to an online service known as PlayNET. PlayNET licensed its software to Quantum Link (Q-Link), that went online in November 1985. A new IBM PC client was launched in 1988, and eventually renamed as America Online in 1989. AOL grew to become the largest online service, displacing established players like CompuServe and The Source. By 1995, AOL had about three million active users.[2]
AOL was one of the early pioneers of the Internet in the 1990s and was (at one point) the most recognized brand on the web in the United States. AOL once provided a dial-up internet service to millions of Americans and pioneered instant messaging and chat rooms with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). In 1998, AOL purchased Netscape for US$4.2 billion. By 2000, AOL was providing internet service to over 20 million consumers, dominating the market of internet service providers (ISPs).[3] In 2001, at the height of its popularity, it purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in US history. AOL rapidly shrank thereafter, partly due to the decline of dial-up and rise of broadband.[4] AOL was eventually spun off from Time Warner in 2009, with Tim Armstrong appointed the new CEO. Under his leadership, the company invested in media brands and advertising technologies.
On June 23, 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion.[5][6] On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced it would sell Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion.[7] On September 1, 2021, AOL became part of the new Yahoo! Inc.
History
1983–1991: early years
AOL began in 1983, as a short-lived venture called Control Video Corporation (CVC), founded by William von Meister. Its sole product was an online service called GameLine for the Atari 2600 video game console, after von Meister's idea of buying music on demand was rejected by Warner Bros.[8] Subscribers bought a modem from the company for $49.95 and paid a one-time $15 setup fee. GameLine permitted subscribers to temporarily download games and keep track of high scores, at a cost of $1 per game.[9] The telephone disconnected and the downloaded game would remain in GameLine's Master Module and playable until the user turned off the console or downloaded another game.
In January 1983, Steve Case was hired as a marketing consultant for Control Video on the recommendation of his brother, investment banker Dan Case. In May 1983, Jim Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for Control Video, which was near bankruptcy. Kimsey was brought in by his West Point friend Frank Caufield, an investor in the company.[8] In early 1985, von Meister left the company.[10]
On May 24, 1985, Quantum Computer Services, an online services company, was founded by Kimsey from the remnants of Control Video, with Kimsey as chief executive officer, and Marc Seriff as chief technology officer. The technical team consisted of Seriff, Tom Ralston, Ray Heinrich, Steve Trus, Ken Huntsman, Janet Hunter, Dave Brown, Craig Dykstra, Doug Coward, and Mike Ficco. In 1987, Case was promoted again to executive vice-president. Kimsey soon began to groom Case to take over the role of CEO, which he did when Kimsey retired in 1991.[10]
Kimsey changed the company's strategy, and in 1985, launched a dedicated online service for Commodore 64 and 128 computers, originally called Quantum Link ("Q-Link" for short).[9] The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from PlayNet, Inc, (founded in 1983 by Howard Goldberg and Dave Panzl). The service was different from other online services as it used the computing power of the Commodore 64 and the Apple II rather than just a "dumb" terminal. It passed tokens back and forth and provided a fixed price service tailored for home users. In May 1988, Quantum and Apple launched AppleLink Personal Edition for Apple II[11] and Macintosh computers. In August 1988, Quantum launched PC Link, a service for IBM-compatible PCs developed in a joint venture with the Tandy Corporation. After the company parted ways with Apple in October 1989, Quantum changed the service's name to America Online.[12][13] Case promoted and sold AOL as the online service for people unfamiliar with computers, in contrast to CompuServe, which was well established in the technical community.[10]
From the beginning, AOL included online games in its mix of products; many classic and casual games were included in the original PlayNet software system. The company introduced many innovative online interactive titles and games, including:
Developer(s)
AOL
December 8, 2007[129]
1.7 (macOS) / August 10, 2015
Microsoft Windows XP or later, Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later
