AOL to release major upgrade for subscribers

About 25 million people who buy Internet access and a package of online services through America Online can download a major upgrade to AOL's software this month.

Versions will be available for both broadband customers and those who access the Internet with Windows computers via dial-up telephone connections. A Mac version of 9.0 Optimized won't be available for months.

AOL terms release of AOL 9.0 Optimized "the most significant upgrade in AOL history." Users can decide whether 9.0 is a milestone or just a broadly based upgrade and if it really is the optimal online software or just an improvement over AOL 8.0.

During the last year, about 1.2 million AOL subscribers cast their votes on 8.0 and the relatively high cost of using AOL, compared to other online services like Microsoft's MSN and other Internet service providers. They voted by canceling AOL subscriptions and switching to competitors who offered ways of accessing the Internet that were cheaper, faster or better suited to individual needs.

AOL hopes that 9.0 Optimized will reverse that trend, convincing lost customers to return and attracting new subscribers -- especially among the growing numbers of people with broadband connections.

The new update is "optimized" in three areas -- safety, security and ease of use. But few of the enhancements break new ground, and AOL's competitors and many Web sites long have offered some as standard features.

Among them are personalized start pages, enhanced connection speeds for dial-up customers, firewall protection and virus-scanning of inbound and outbound e-mail.

Instant messaging fans will love the new "IM catcher," which routes suspect commercial spamlike messages into a storage queue for later review. The improved spam filter for e-mail allows users to create lists of words that would tag messages as possible junk e- mail.

A new Safety icon on the AOL menu toolbar provides a central access point for configuring and controlling all safety-related features.

Previous versions of AOL have included a really basic e-mail component missing features found in standard e-mail programs like Microsoft's Outlook and Outlook Express. People who want fuller- featured e-mail software can download (separately from AOL 9.0) AOL Communicator, which has even more Outlook-like features.

AOL users also get an alternative to the company's traditional cluttered start page, filled with all kinds of pitches and promotions. AOL 9.0 allows users to replace that page with a personalized start page, and customize the content to their own interests -- such as weather forecasts for specific cities, sports scores and stock quotes.

Called "QuickView," it is just as easy to use as other features in the upgrade.

AOL's new media player simplifies life for people who play music, view film clips, and do other multimedia tasks. It runs all the popular audio and video formats, eliminating the need to download additional media players.

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