installing AOL along with IE and Netscape, for testing

[KathyA]

Me again. Does anyone out there test their site on AOL? A large portion of my company's visitors seem to be on AOL, which I have never used before.

Can I install AOL just like a 3rd browser -- so I have IE, Netscape, and AOL? Thus, I can test a page in each one. Or will AOL take everything over / become dominant?

Thanks very much for any input!

[jatar_k]

I tried to install a free version to do just that but I couldn't get past them wanting me to put in a CC num. I therefore scrapped the idea.

[digitalghost]

I acquired and maintain an AOL account for testing. It doesn't take over your PC and it comes in quite handy for testing page load times.

To test page load times I use a different browser though, I only use the AOL browser to check rendering. :)

DG

[KathyA]

Oh, fabulous. I am okay with paying for an AOL account; I just don't want it to rampage my computer!

[pat_s]

I don't think there's any way to run AOL without paying for it. YOu can get into it with backdoor access - using your ISP's connection - but it still has to be an active account. It costs less that way, though. If you sign up for the free trial they'll continue the membership, charging your cc after the free trial until you cancel. It wouldn't take over everything. You'd only have to use it if you wanted to, but unfortunately there's no viewer to just simulate it, as far as I've ever heard of.

[KathyA]

Ah, excellent. Thanks for all the input!

[tedster]

I don't check AOL all that frequently, so this works for me. A friend has an account and he set up a user name for me - I think AOL now allows up to 7 different logins for each account, although only one can be logged in at a time.

I only access at very oddball hours (that's our agreement) so I can do my AOL rendering checks without interfering with his access.