AOL mulls free services: source
678754
Time Warner Inc.&#039;s  AOL unit is  considering offering its services, except for Internet access,  free of charge to anyone with a high-speed connection, a source  familiar with the plans said on Thursday.
215971
AOL is getting a software makeover, its first since deciding to make more of its services available for free in the chase for online advertising dollars.
426114
AOL has held talks with Yahoo about a possible deal to fend off an approach from Microsoft, a report says.
645892
(InfoWorld) - AOL opened up for testing a new local search service, finally adding a component to its search engine that many competitors have had for years. Those interested in giving the new service a test-drive will find a Local tab in the search box of AOL's main portal page. When clicked, that tab takes the user to the local search interface on AOL Search. AOL Local, for now a beta service, lets users find business listings from a specific area, such as a street address, city, state, or ZIP code. The service will return a list of businesses, along with a map indicating where each one is located. Users can also obtain driving directions, AOL said Tuesday. Currently, AOL Local works with the Windows versions of Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher and Firefox 1.5 and higher. For Mac OS users, AOL Local "partially" supports the Safari and Firefox browsers, meaning that some functionality may be limited and not fully tested. More information about AOL Local can be found on the service's help page. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Ask.com have local search services. In addition to maps, business listings, and driving directions, local search engines often provide real-time traffic data andÂ information about local eventsÂ such asÂ movie times, as well as customer reviews of restaurants, shops, and other commercial establishments. While lacking a local search engine, AOL has provided many of these features, albeit in different services,Â such asÂ its MapQuest mapping site, Yellow Pages business directory, and City Guide network of local entertainment guides. AOL Local has a "powered by MapQuest" tag in its logo, indicating the maps come from this sister AOL property. However, it's not clear whether AOL Local is tapping other related servicesÂ such asÂ Yellow Pages and City Guide. The service seems to be limited for now to the United States. AOL didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Having a local search engine is considered a must for Internet search service providers, as the popularity of these sites increases among users and advertisers. Kelsey Group, a market researcher, forecasts that companies globally willÂ increase their spending on local search enginesÂ and online business listing directories an average of 22.3 percent per year through 2011. Advertisers spent $4.1 billion on these sites last year and are expected to spend $11.1 billion in 2011, according to Kelsey Group. Conversely, ad growth in print Yellow Pages phone directories will be almost flat through 2011, increasing an annual average of 0.9 percent, with $27.8 billion expected to be spent in 2011, according to Kelsey Group. AOL announced the beta launch of its local search engine at beta.aol.com.
541630
Free insurance coverage for identity theft and computer damage is among the premium security offerings AOL is making available to its dwindling base of paying subscribers.
398967
Time Warner Inc.  estimates its  AOL division would lose almost &#36;1 billion in operating profit  through 2009 under a plan to offer the unit&#039;s services free to  some customers, The Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.
194056
Time Warner Inc.'s  AOL on  Wednesday said it will give away e-mail, software and other Web  services for free to high-speed Internet users in a bid to  boost online advertising sales.
206236
America Online Inc. is preparing to compete next year with Yahoo Inc., MSN and Google Inc. in the free Web-based e-mail market. The Dulles, Va.
345500
NEW YORK - The chief operating officer of Time Warner Inc. said Tuesday that the company was seeing good early results from opening up several key services on AOL for free last month.
544716
Time Warner Inc. TWX.N on Tuesday   said a strategy to offer most of online unit AOL's services for   free was making faster-than-expected progress in attracting new   Internet users and cutting costs.
314650
DULLES, Va. -- The walls surrounding America Online Inc.'s well-manicured gardens are crumbling: AOL is abandoning its strategy of exclusivity and will free much of its music, sports, and other programming to nonsubscribers, in hopes of boosting ad sales.
316695
For some AOL users, passwords have just become the computing dinosaurs. America Online has partnered with RSA Security to create AOL PassCode, a premium service that secures and manages AOL ScreenNames. AOL PassCode utilizes RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication scheme where a random six-digit numeric code is generated in intervals of 60 seconds from a keychain sized device. AOL claims that this added safeguard provides a second level of account protection. The service is primarily directed toward small business and customers who pay bills and manage funds online. PassCode costs an additional $1.95 USD a month with a one-time service fee of $9.95 USD.
499482
By ASSOCIATED PRESS  AOL's Spanish-language portal is now available for free as the company completes its plans to give away most of its services to boost traffic to its ad-supported Web sites.  Formally launched Dec.
630655
America Online will have a desktop search capability in a new browser the company is now beta-testing, an AOL spokeswoman said Friday.
665977
Time Warner company America Online is entering the free web email fray, though it would be available to people who are not currently its subscribers only by late next year.
667087
Members could have automatic access to easy backup on AOL servers.
392796
AOL joins Yahoo!, Google, and Hotmail in offering free email. But isn't it too late?