You've Got Mail! But AOL Is Shutting Down Your Dial-Up Internet Service

Dear friends, it is time to pour one out for the iconic, screeching sound of a modem connecting to the internet. AOL, a name synonymous with the early days of the world wide web, has announced it will officially end its dial-up internet service on September 30, pulling the plug on a service that once connected millions but has since become more of a running meme.

For a generation, the internet wasn't always "on" like it is now. It was something you logged into with an arduous ritual. It began with the distinct sound of your modem dialing a phone number, followed by a symphony of beeps, whistles, and static. Then, after what felt like an eternity, came the infamous words (if you were an AOL customer): "You've got mail!" This was the soundtrack of the 1990s and early 2000s, a time when going online meant tying up ...