In computer news this week:

The big problems with America Online - Part 2.

Last week I cautioned AOL users against upgrading to AOL's new version 6.0, as it is the topic of much Internet conversation.

One website you can gain information is at www.aolsucks; an interesting site with a lot of information.

Recently, attorneys leading ongoing class-action suits against AOL over version 5 said the bugs in AOL 6 demonstrate that the company hasn't learned its lesson, and the lawyers say they will likely expand their lawsuits to include the new software.

"I don't think they learned as a result of the litigation on 5.0. I think they've just gotten a little more arrogant and feel that they can get away with it, and I think 6.0 will probably become part of the suit," said Reed Kathrein, a partner with Milberg Weiss in San Francisco, which is leading four firms in a consolidated class-action on behalf of AOL users. Their website, www.millberg.com, now has a menu selection which reads: "AOL Class Action - If you are experiencing difficulty with AOL 5.0 or 6.0 software, click here"

A technician for Dell computers shared this bit of information: "AOL 6.0 recently came out - and most of us thought it would bring about resolution to the disaster with AOL 5.0 and Windows Me. It didn't. In the last week alone - I have handled more calls about AOL 6.0 trashing systems than I did anything else. We were told by Michael Dell to send these customers to AOL - and AOL turned them around saying it was a Dell issue.

Steve Gibson of Gibson Research, the author of the Spinrite program, has the following cautions about AOL 6.0:

"The installation of version 6.0 of the AOL user-interface washes away any sort of "network customization" the user may have deliberately performed in the past. The machine is restored to Microsoft's extremely insecure default condition with the highly insecure, information leaking, and hacker-vulnerable NetBIOS protocol exposed to the Internet. While this may not be a problem for the typical AOL user -- who tends not to be very network savvy -- networking conscious users should be aware that AOL 6.0 completely stomps out their previous network settings and should therefore re-examine their network configuration "bindings" after installing AOL.

In today's changing Internet marketplace, AOL faces serious challenges from many sides. Earthlink.net has gained a considerable number of AOL customers who left because of dissatisfaction. Earthlink actually has a "Get out of AOL free program" and they have a booklet and other specials for AOL customers. Their pricing is also the same as AOL's, and they are a very attractive alternative. Microsoft plans on a major assault on AOL with a new internet product.

But despite AOL's plans with Time-Warner to take over the world in their new merger, I think the enemy they need to fear most - is themselves. I'll talk about my personal experiences with AOL and why I'm finally leaving next week on Raw Bytes.

For Raw Bytes, this is Frank Delaney

POB 222 Spangle, Wa 99031 (509)245-3736 Email: fdspokane@aol.com