Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Mac Daniel's Advice

Getting More Out of AOL

Evan Kleiman - 2002.05.20

One of the problems that have plagued us AOL users for a long time now is how the PC world has a much more feature-packed access client than its Macintosh counterpart. There have been many reasons thrown out by AOL, such as we don't have enough users, that they had to devote many people to the AOL for OS X development, or that version numbers don't mean anything.

But no matter what your theory on it is, AOL for the Macintosh is years behind the PC version, and there's nothing you can do about it - well, sort of.

Today, I'll explain how you can use a bunch of well-known programs in different ways to help better your overall AOL experience.

Use AIM

While the AOL client itself might not be up to par with its Windows counterpart, it's AIM or AOL Instant Messenger cousin is still neck and neck with the Windows version. But what if you're using AOL? You can't use AIM, right? Wrong. You can, but with a catch.

The only drawback to using AIM as your Instant Messaging client instead of the one already built into AOL is that you cannot use it for the screen name that you used sign on to your current session, because if you are signed onto the same screen name on both clients, anyone who IMs you will automatically go to AOL not AIM. There is an easy fix: All you need to do is sign on to another screen name that no one will IM you on or one that no one uses anymore, then sign on to AIM.

While this might be a bit of an inconvenience for some, you can get many more benefits over using the other AOL software to send Instant Messages. Now that you are using the newer software, you will have such features as buddy icons, color profiles, better chat, direct instant messaging, and file sharing.

Of course, you can get AIM at AOL's website at <http://www.aol.com/>.

Use Buddy Icons

While they are pretty much unknown to Mac users, buddy icons are something that allow even more options to express their creativity and individuality online. AIM has a nice collection for you to use, but if they aren't original enough for you, you can get some more here, at

Use an External Browser

Many people also use the AOL browser to view the web, and when using this, they usually discover how slow, unstable, and feature-barren AOL's browser truly is.

How do you fix it? It's pretty easy! All you need to do is launch your favorite browser, whether it's Netscape, Internet Explorer, iCab, Opera, or something else. Just because you are using AOL doesn't mean you can't use any form of external internet-aware application, so get out there and have some fun!

Not sure if you should upgrade your old Mac or replace it? Check the Mac Daniel index to see if we've already addressed your problem.

Recent Mac Daniel columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2010 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.

Custom Search

Amazon.com

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Low End Mac's Amazon.com store

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.