As a person in his seventies, my father’s experience was typical of longtime AOL dial-up users. His subscription was his security blanket. He was convinced that he didn’t need the dial-up service, but he didn’t want to risk losing access to his stock portfolio, investor forums, and email. His system functioned well, and he could afford to continue paying the subscription he had consistently maintained for over ten years.

With my assistance, we managed to transfer everything he used on AOL to the ad-supported and open internet already provided to his home through the broadband component of his cable package. Even when everything was completely mirrored, he still felt apprehensive when the moment came to call and cancel his dial-up account (despite AOL’s attempts to make the process difficult). Months later, he admitted to me that he felt foolish for letting it continue for so long.