For a long time now, all Macs have shipped with plenty of Internet software pre-loaded. For web browsers, both Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer ship standard-- though IE's the default these days. Email and UseNet? Again, there's Communicator, and Outlook Express-- and again, guess which is the default? When it comes to picking a service provider, there have long been several choices as well. The Mac OS itself includes everything one needs to connect to the standard dial-up ISP of one's choice, but to make things simple for novices who are signing up for their first ISP, Macs have shipped with both AOL's client software and the EarthLink set-up application. Now, think real hard, now... which of those two do you suppose just got the axe? (Hint #1: Apple recently partnered with EarthLink as part of its Internet strategy. Hint #2: If you haven't guessed by now, you may want to adjust the dosage on your medication.)

Yes, it's the end of an era: for the first time in many, many years, Macs are shipping sans AOL. According to a Tech Info Library article, "AOL is no longer included on new hardware from Apple. This started with the updated Power Mac G4, iBook, and PowerBook (FireWire) products introduced at the Tokyo MacWorld [sic] Expo in February, 2000." Interestingly enough, the TIL article in question seems to have been pulled, and attempts to load it result in an "Entry not found in index" error. Suppose Steve Case made a phone call to Cupertino? Even if AOL's software is no longer shipping on new Macs, we suppose it's possible that Case wasn't thrilled with that fact being expressed so bluntly on Apple's web site.

In any event, it's definitely the case that your brand new iBook, PowerBook, or G4 is AOL-free (unless you count AOL Instant Messenger, which is probably on there as part of the Netscape distribution). That means that if you really want to use AOL on your nice, new Mac (again, you may want to check that dosage), you're going to have to install the software yourself. That means you're either going to have to download the AOL installer via another ISP, or you're going to have to find the installer on a CD-ROM somewhere... Lord knows where you'd find something as rare as that. There aren't even any on eBay that haven't been turned into clocks. We'd offer to send you one of ours, but the six that aren't all under coffee mugs are stacked up under the short leg of the kitchen table, and nothing irks us more than wobbly furniture. Sorry.