You know how most Technology/IT/Internet/I-Did-Something-Big-With-A-Computer companies get known for something that they don't particularly want to be known for or something that really has no purpose or meaningfuly use to their product? Micro$oft and the blue screen of death? Macintosh and the happy computer on boot up? Iomega and the click of death? ... Al Gore inventing the Internet???

Probably by far, the most famous of these is AOL and their damned CD's. They've even mocked themselves out in their own commercials... What I wanna know is how much to they spend on those damned CDs and cases. CDs are cheap and they probably have a huge deal on getting them in bulk (so maybe I just answerred that question). But the cases. Shrink wrapped to cardboard. Annoying, easy to throw out. Then the tins. Louder, but they actually got people to open them because who woulda thunk you could put a CD in a tin... Then the DVD cases. Just kewl. I think they dropped that though because everyone was just rippiong out the AOL stuff and using them for neat CD cases. I know Jay has at least 5 or 6 of them he got from AOL. Beats buying them in a store. ;) But now they come in a little wodden box. Its like a silent tin... Sleek and... ummm... square... they look kinda neat. Almost a premade coffin for the AOL CD which is predestined to a really really short life...

[RANT] I mean, how many AOL users out there know AOL IS NOT THE INTERNET... How many normal people know that??? I had so many calls getting back into their chat rooms and AOL keywords when I used to do tech support for an ISP. People just don't realize that there is more to the internet *cough* life *cough* than AOL. Juno finally realized the marketing potential when they started advertising their cheaper service for "the same internet." [/RANT]

Anyway, they must be doing something right. AOHell's name is out there. They aren't losing money on these damned CDs (are they?). And they've made a name out of themselves for being able to spam everyone's mailbox with useful frisbees. 8)