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| AOL for Small Business |
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• Review • Company info page |
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| CNET rating: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 best |
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The good: Includes some free services; very easy initial setup; AOL Broadband users can log on to seven screen names simultaneously. The bad: Overpriced business e-mail, domains, and Web hosting; includes a paltry 10MB of initial e-mail storage space; services are poorly integrated and documented; no Mac support. The bottom line: AOL's entry in the small-business services and information game is too little, too late, and too pricey. |
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CNET review |
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You wouldn't call AOL and small business longtime bosom chums. Although AOL offers e-mail that's supereasy to use, it lacks any business-class tools. And AOL's content, from gossip to online concerts, takes aim squarely at stay-at-home surfers. So we weren't surprised that the company's new service, AOL for Small Business (AOLSB), is underpowered and overpriced. Its communications services cost too much for too few features; the marketing services offer only modest exposure and functionality; and the business content pales next to that of sites such as MarketWatch. AOL's small-biz effort, in other words, is halfhearted, and it shows. Consider Yahoo's competing service instead (and watch for our full review) or One World Hosting Standard 75.
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| Quick facts | |
| Software requirements and specs: | |
| Platform: | Windows 98/Me/2000/XP |
| Processor: | Pentium-166 |
| RAM: | 64MB |
| Disk space: | 208MB maximum |
| Display requirements: | VGA, SVGA or better display, with 640x480, 256-color or better screen (optimized for 800x600) |
| CD-ROM required: | N/A |
| Downloadable full version: | Yes |
Robert Luhn is a former CNET executive editor and author of the biweekly column AOL Nation. Got a question for him? Drop us a line.
