AOL is a perfect example of a company that didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel being the freight train, and thought it was bigger, better and stronger when the truth finally dawned. That AOL has morphed into something differenet, with its ad-based content and web-based services renders the entire desktop client useless for all but the geriatric retirement home set, who can't or don't want to understand rudimentary online basics.

For more than 18 years I was a charter subscriber to AOL. After repeated attempts to cancel the service, my credit card expired and they all of a sudden contacted me, trying to wring blood from a stone. I informed them that for the past three years I haven't been able to use their services -- EVEN ON THE RARE OCCASION I WANTED TO (some travels still do not have Wi-fi hotspots or in-room Ethernet. Or their costs are so prohibitive it makes no sense).

Nowdays, if I need Internet access, I just put my iPod touch in my pocket, head out to the nearest Panera Bread, grab some coffee and a sandwich and I'm good to go. So why bother with this tired, lackluster, bloated, and STILL BETA software?

AOL reminds me of the dinosaur who is so large it keeps moving for a while because it hasn't yet realized its brain has died. But I'm moving on, and when it finally dies, I want to be out of the way when it collapses.