Eliana Willis

AOL / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways Generation X says goodbye to the past.Old technology can linger long after you thought it was dead and done.AOL, once a technology giant, is now little more than a footnote.For millions of people who first heard “You’ve got mail” over crackling phone lines, an iconic chapter in digital history is coming to a close. AOL, also known as America Online, has announced it will shut down its dial-up internet service on Sept. 30, 2025, effectively retiring a technology that was once synonymous with getting online.You’ve got mailEven if you’ve never used it, AOL became synonymous with the early days of the popular internet, thanks to the rom-com “You’ve Got Mail,” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The movie was a cultural touchstone. Also: Should you upgrade to mesh? I compared it with a traditional Wi-Fi router, and here’s my adviceAOL is the last of the services, such as CompuServe, GEnie, and Prodigy, which enabled people to go online before the Commercial Internet Exchange and the web started us on our way to the online experience we know today. AOL, however, unlike its rivals, embraced the internet rather than trying to fight it. The result was that AOL’s dial-up network introduced the internet to households across the country in the 1990s. From 1995’s million users, AOL grew to over 34 million subscribers by 1997. The distinctive sounds of a modem connecting were as well-known as the company’s ubiquitous CDs, which promised hours of free internet when tossed into millions of mailboxes. Also: The best VPN services (and how to choose the right one for you)The company dreamed then that, after its merger with Time-Warner, it would be worth billions more. At the time, the integration of the firms was the largest corporate merger in the US. In January 2000, AOL was the US’s biggest Internet Service Provider (ISP) and was worth billions. In March of that year, the dot-com crash helped turn dreams into nightmares. More

JuSun/Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways AI-powered narrative attacks, or misinformation campaigns, are on the rise.  These can create real business, brand, personal, and financial harm.  Here are expert tips on how to spot and protect yourself against them.  Last month, an old friend forwarded me a video that made my stomach drop. In it, what […] More

Aleksandra Konoplia/Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways ChatGPT Codex wrote code and saved me time. It also created a serious bug, but it was able to recover. Codex is still based on the GPT-4 LLM architecture. Well, vibe coding this is not. I found the experience to be slow, cumbersome, stressful, and incomplete. But it all […] More

How do I find Instagram Map? There a couple of ways you can access Instagram Map: DM Inbox: Tap the Map icon at the top of your Direct Messages tab to launch the interactive map. Story or post: Tap the location tag in a Story or Post, and then Instagram will open the Map view for that place.Also: Best data removal services: Delete yourself from the internet Is Instagram Map’s location sharing on by default? No. You have to opt in before anyone can see your precise, last-active location in Instagram Map.  Can strangers see my real-time location? Not unless you share it. Map only shares your precise, last-active location with friends you’ve approved. You can set it to “No one.” How often does Instagram Map update my shared location? Instagram has said your location updates every time you open the app, and it disappears after 24 hours if you haven’t been active. Why am I seeing people on my Map who haven’t opted in? According to Instagram head Adam Mosseri, people are seeing location-tagged posts and Reels on Map and assuming that means their live location is being tracked. “Your last reel is showing up on the map, not your current location. Your live location is not being shared, and it will never be unless you decide to share it,” Mosseri wrote on Threads.So, if you tag a location in content, it will appear on the map for 24 hours — but this does not share your precise, last-active location (which is what Mosseri calls “live location”).  If I tag a location in a post, will it show up on the Map? Yes, if your account is public, then tagged posts and Stories can appear on the Map. Can I hide certain locations or places from some people? Yes, you have the option to choose up to three places to set as hidden. When you’re at a hidden place, no one will see you on the map. You can also choose specific people to hide your location from. Open Instagram and tap the Messages icon in the top right of your feed.Tap Map at the top of your inbox. Tap the Settings icon in the top right and then Options.Add a hidden place: Tap Add, drag a pin to the map, click next, and done. You can then go back to Options, tap, “Hide from…,” and choose accounts to hide your location. More