Users rebel as AOL becomes a victim of its own popularity

By JIM BROOKS

The explosive popularity of the Internet has been a blessing and a curse to companies that offer access to it.

The blessing is that more subscribers means more revenue; the curse -- as online giant America Online has discovered recently -- is the need to quickly add modems and phone lines to handle new customers.

AOL users are tiring of busy signals and when they try to log-on, and a number of them are going to court to file claims against the world's largest online service.

With more than eight million subscribers, the service can accommodate only 258,000 of them at any one time. Simple math indicates about a 31-to-1 subscriber-to-modem ratio -- meaning you aren't the only one who's getting a busy signal.

And the average AOL user is staying online longer. Member's daily usage jumped to 32 minutes this month from 14 minutes as of September 1996.

The big wave of new AOL users arrived with the service's switch to an unlimited-usage, ``all-you-can-eat'' pricing plan that began in December.

AOL is responding to its critics with immediate system upgrades and reportedly scaling back its TV advertising schedule.

But AOL's promises to upgrade its system to the tune of $250 million by June hasn't appeased its users, some of whom are referring to the service as ``America Offline.''

At this writing, five class-action lawsuits have been filed, all related to the inability of AOL customers to actually get through and make a connection to the service. And attorneys general in additional states are preparing to take up the matter.

AOL's troubles have been a boon to other Internet Service Providers, according to a recent story by C|Net.

The newly revamped Prodigy online service -- now called Prodigy Internet -- reported a 400 percent increase in new subscribers over the past couple of weeks.

ONLINE HOME RESOURCES. Buying a home is something few of us take lightly. Aside from the issue of affordability, there are others to consider: Should I buy a new home or renovate an older one? What repairs can I do myself -- and what's the proper way to do them?

Having recently shopped for a home myself, I found many of these answers at various places on the Internet.

NAR. A great place to find information on buying and selling a home is www.realtor.com, the Web site sponsored by the National Association of Realtors.

Along with tips on buying and selling, you'll discover links to many associated board of realtors throughout the U.S. with listings on the site.

Currently, only the Lexington and Northern Kentucky areas have listings on the site, but Louisville area listings are coming in January, according to the site.

And Realtors will find NAR press releases and the latest information on what's going on in the industry.

KAR. A little closer to home you'll find the Kentucky Association of Realtors on the Web at www.kar.com.

The KAR has a nice collection of data on home buying and selling, as well as its "Real Advice" column and news of what's happening in the world of real estate.

You can browse through the roster of its members, read about new disclosures required about lead paint or visit related sites about real estate on the Internet.

A great feature at the KAR's site is the mortgage calculator. You can determine a monthly mortgage payment by plugging in the numbers -- and even analyze an amortization table showing how much of your payment is principle and how much is interest.

HOME REPAIR HOW-TO. In addition to finding real estate professional on the Web, I was also looking for resources on repairs in a older home -- ranging from simple leaky faucets to major interior renovation.

If you're a fan of the cable TV show ``Your New House,'' you'll enjoy the accompanying Web site at www.YourNewHouse.com.

This site is chock full of information for the home buyer and do-it-yourselfer.

Here you'll find information on buying a home, plus complete details on each do-it-yourself project perform by the show's hosts, ``Super Handyman'' Al Carrell and Michael Holigan.

The site also features complete transcripts of each show, and links to the manufacturers and distributors of the products featured on the programs.

The most useful part of the site is the handyman hints section, offering great tips for lots of those household repairs.

DIY HELP. An real handy site for the handyman in your home is http://doityourself.com.

The Do-It-Yourself.com Web site has tips for all sorts of repairs and household chores, from stain removal to repairing plaster walls to removing the smell of a skunk from your clothes or property.

HHO. Owners of older homes won't want to miss a visit to Historic House Online, a great place to find repair and restoration information targeted at owners of old homes.

In addition to tips for keeping your older home in shape, you can try your hand at answer trivia questions about historic figures in American architecture.

Visit http://www.garlic.com/ft/House.htm for details.

THIS OLD HOUSE. Part of Pathfinder's mammoth Web site, the ``This Old House'' Web site is a great resource for fans of the TV show and magazine.

My favorite feature at This Old House's Web site was the search function. I found 64 references to ``plaster'' on my visit, with lots of information and step-by-step instructions about how to properly repair old-time plaster walls and ceilings.

The Web site features material from both the TV show and the magazine. If you're a fan of the TV series, you'll enjoy looking back at the houses you've seen the show cover in the past.

There's practical projects too those of us who can't afford to totally rehabilitate our home. A handy glossary and fact sheet offer info on the tools you'll need for nearly every do-it-yourself work.

The site also has an extensive bulletin board feature, where home restoration fans from all over the country discuss their trials and triumphs.

An online TOH encyclopedia is a nice touch. Check it out at http://pathfinder.com/TOH/.

CABLE MODEMS UNPLUGGED? Cable modems -- once considered the technology that would give home users a faster Internet connection -- may be falling from favor before they have substantial real-world testing.

According to a column in the January 13 issue of InfoWorld, cable giant TCI is pulling the plug on cable modems. Apparently the high cost of updating its cable plants had the company's stockholders leery of a roll out of a cable Internet service.

The vast majority of existing cable TV systems only allow data to flow in one direction; upgrading the network to allow two directions is expensive. InfoWorld reports that these costs also have Cox Cable and Time Warner considering similar action with their cable modem plans.

JUNO KILLS TOLL-FREE NUMBERS. Juno, the free e-mail people, has decided to quit offering toll-free access numbers to its users.

Until just recently, Juno's rural customers had been able to set up the software to access one of several toll-free numbers the company offered.

The numbers were only a temporary feature, as e-mail from a Juno's executive explained.

During the setup process, the software alerted users to the fact that the toll-free numbers weren't intended to be permanent.

And while this means a toll call to our nearest Juno access point, you can be assured the call is short (generally less than one minute) and the charges will be small.

For more information, visit the Juno Web site at www.juno.com.

Comments and questions about this column may be sent to jbrooks@myoldkentuckyhome.com, or visit www.myoldkentuckyhome.com on the World Wide Web.

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