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May 2007
5/24/07
5/23/07
5/22/07
Welcome to the new Web Suite and how to get around any transition issues
5/9/07
5/4/07
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
5:35:00 PM PDT
Hi,
Sorry for this long entry, but there's a lot of important info below that's needed by some of you. Regular updates are being added near the bottom of this entry.
An easier way to get technical assistance has been created since blogs don't lend themselves well to threaded-topics. There are also more people there who are helping out with questions and I'm jumping there too to answer technical questions. That message board is at: http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=569193&func=3&channel=People
By now, you should have seen the new version of the Web Suite and hope you're enjoying it. While there are many benefits of the new Web Suite, sometimes, transitions and upgrades can be challenging for some users due to the infinite variables in different systems. I've been posting suggestions and solutions for those who've been needing them throughout the day in another topic below, but I wanted to put a more visible one at the top-most level so that it's easier to find (and the first thing found).
I'm confident that we can resolve the majority of the issues I've heard about so far, and we'll start with the ones that are the most critical for you. If you're running into any of the following issues with the new Web Suite, please try the suggestions listed below.
If you're NOT having any issues (statistically from internal reports we can see that the vast majority (99+%) are not having issues), please take the time to leave me that comment too -- happy users don't leave comments (just a nature of a blog) but I too am human and need to hear some good news every now and then. :-)
If you're getting an error when trying to send an email, this may be caused by a custom setting or an extra high security setting in your browser. This can be fixed by a simple settings change.
If you are using IE6, please follow these steps to adjust your setting. Other browsers will have different steps so see its documentation for specific steps):
1) Go to the Tools menu and click Internet Options
2) Click the Security Tab
3) Click the Custom Level button
4) Scroll about 2/3 of the way down and look for "Navigate sub-frames across different domains" and make sure it's set to "Enable-ON."
If this resolves the issue you were experiencing, please leave a comment here that states what your original issue was, and what was done to fix it.
If you can't log in at all to the new Web Suite, it may be caused by ActiveX being disabled in your browser.
Best/permanent solution:
Here are the steps on how to turn on ActiveX Controls in IE6 (if using another browser, see its documentation or search on the internet):
1) Go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options
2) Click the Security Tab
3) Click the Custom Level button
4) Scroll down around two pages and look for items marked "Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins" and " Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting." Select the "Enable-ON" option for BOTH of those and click the OK button. You should be able to log in now.
Temporary workaround:
If you are totally locked out of your account or you cannot send emails from it and the above solutions didn't work for you, there is a temporary URL you can use as a workaround.
Go to: http://webmail1.webmail.aol.com This URL will at least let you temporarily use the older version while it's still around.
Please share information on which of the above items worked for you and what the original issue was so that all the readers can benefit from the info.
One last thing I've heard about: slowness for some people (as in ~20 seconds to open an email!). It should be more like a second or two max typically. The new version should be noticeably faster than the old one. Using the above link, please try to quantify (as in x seconds) how much slower you're measuring and we'll compare notes. If you're still having experiencing this, please email me your contact info to websuiteblog at aol dot com (reformat).
Added: 5/22/07, 9:40PM PDT
To help us find the cause/solution faster, please copy/paste the 7 questions below and add your answers to the end of each one when leaving a message about your configuration.
0) Detailed description of the issue and exact error message.
1) Operating System and version.
2) Browser name and version.
3) Whether you've already tried clearing the browser's cache/cookie files.
4) Whether the same problem occurs on multiple computers (if you can try that).
5) What's the 5 digit number in the web address (URL)?
6) Whether you're getting the same results at beta.webmail.aol.com and mail.aol.com.
Added: Wed, 5/23/07, 12:15PM PDT
- The Contacts list sort order is not working properly as designed and will be fixed.
- Number next to the Spam folder isn't always accurate and may generate an error--this will be fixed.
- If it still takes your account ~20 seconds to open an email, please email me your name/phone number for some one-on-one. Send the above details to websuiteblog at aol dot com (reformat address).
Added: Wed, 5/23/07, 4:15PM PDT
- Firefox 2.x users whose browsers are crashing when logging out should try uninstalling QuickTime as a temporary workaround. Please let us all know whether this worked for you or not, since the ORDER of AddOns/Extensions installed into FireFox may affect whether this issue occurs or not.
Added: Wed, 5/23/07, 5:19PM PDT
- If it's taking your account 20+ seconds to open or send an email, it would be immensely helpful if you could try installing the free Firefox browser and see if it does the same thing on your machine. We haven't been able to duplicate this issue here. Firefox is free at: www.mozilla.com. And what is your CPU Utilization after logging into the Web Suite using both IE and Firefox? (press Ctrl-Alt-Del simultaneously then click the Task Manager button if using Windows XP to see what % of your CPU is being utilized).
I know having these technical issues can be really frustrating but the new version is significantly faster for the majority (especially with IE7/FF) and has lots of other benefits. Thanks again for your patience and looking forward to your replies.
PS: For technical issues, a lot of solutions are being offered at the Web Suite message board since it's much easier for everyone to find the topics that are of interest to them. It's also easier for us to provide the answers there since each technical topic is separated and more visible.
For answers to technical questions, please post them at:
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=569193&func=3&channel=People
If you have a non-technical question (about features, how to do X, looks, etc), please leave them here for me. Thanks.
Tae
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5:35:00 PM PDT
Welcome to the new Web Suite and how to get around any transition issues
Sorry for this long entry, but there's a lot of important info below that's needed by some of you. Regular updates are being added near the bottom of this entry.
An easier way to get technical assistance has been created since blogs don't lend themselves well to threaded-topics. There are also more people there who are helping out with questions and I'm jumping there too to answer technical questions. That message board is at: http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=569193&func=3&channel=People
By now, you should have seen the new version of the Web Suite and hope you're enjoying it. While there are many benefits of the new Web Suite, sometimes, transitions and upgrades can be challenging for some users due to the infinite variables in different systems. I've been posting suggestions and solutions for those who've been needing them throughout the day in another topic below, but I wanted to put a more visible one at the top-most level so that it's easier to find (and the first thing found).
I'm confident that we can resolve the majority of the issues I've heard about so far, and we'll start with the ones that are the most critical for you. If you're running into any of the following issues with the new Web Suite, please try the suggestions listed below.
If you're NOT having any issues (statistically from internal reports we can see that the vast majority (99+%) are not having issues), please take the time to leave me that comment too -- happy users don't leave comments (just a nature of a blog) but I too am human and need to hear some good news every now and then. :-)
If you're getting an error when trying to send an email, this may be caused by a custom setting or an extra high security setting in your browser. This can be fixed by a simple settings change.
If you are using IE6, please follow these steps to adjust your setting. Other browsers will have different steps so see its documentation for specific steps):
1) Go to the Tools menu and click Internet Options
2) Click the Security Tab
3) Click the Custom Level button
4) Scroll about 2/3 of the way down and look for "Navigate sub-frames across different domains" and make sure it's set to "Enable-ON."
If this resolves the issue you were experiencing, please leave a comment here that states what your original issue was, and what was done to fix it.
If you can't log in at all to the new Web Suite, it may be caused by ActiveX being disabled in your browser.
Best/permanent solution:
Here are the steps on how to turn on ActiveX Controls in IE6 (if using another browser, see its documentation or search on the internet):
1) Go to the Tools menu and select Internet Options
2) Click the Security Tab
3) Click the Custom Level button
4) Scroll down around two pages and look for items marked "Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins" and " Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting." Select the "Enable-ON" option for BOTH of those and click the OK button. You should be able to log in now.
Temporary workaround:
If you are totally locked out of your account or you cannot send emails from it and the above solutions didn't work for you, there is a temporary URL you can use as a workaround.
Go to: http://webmail1.webmail.aol.com This URL will at least let you temporarily use the older version while it's still around.
Please share information on which of the above items worked for you and what the original issue was so that all the readers can benefit from the info.
One last thing I've heard about: slowness for some people (as in ~20 seconds to open an email!). It should be more like a second or two max typically. The new version should be noticeably faster than the old one. Using the above link, please try to quantify (as in x seconds) how much slower you're measuring and we'll compare notes. If you're still having experiencing this, please email me your contact info to websuiteblog at aol dot com (reformat).
Added: 5/22/07, 9:40PM PDT
To help us find the cause/solution faster, please copy/paste the 7 questions below and add your answers to the end of each one when leaving a message about your configuration.
0) Detailed description of the issue and exact error message.
1) Operating System and version.
2) Browser name and version.
3) Whether you've already tried clearing the browser's cache/cookie files.
4) Whether the same problem occurs on multiple computers (if you can try that).
5) What's the 5 digit number in the web address (URL)?
6) Whether you're getting the same results at beta.webmail.aol.com and mail.aol.com.
Added: Wed, 5/23/07, 12:15PM PDT
- The Contacts list sort order is not working properly as designed and will be fixed.
- Number next to the Spam folder isn't always accurate and may generate an error--this will be fixed.
- If it still takes your account ~20 seconds to open an email, please email me your name/phone number for some one-on-one. Send the above details to websuiteblog at aol dot com (reformat address).
Added: Wed, 5/23/07, 4:15PM PDT
- Firefox 2.x users whose browsers are crashing when logging out should try uninstalling QuickTime as a temporary workaround. Please let us all know whether this worked for you or not, since the ORDER of AddOns/Extensions installed into FireFox may affect whether this issue occurs or not.
Added: Wed, 5/23/07, 5:19PM PDT
- If it's taking your account 20+ seconds to open or send an email, it would be immensely helpful if you could try installing the free Firefox browser and see if it does the same thing on your machine. We haven't been able to duplicate this issue here. Firefox is free at: www.mozilla.com. And what is your CPU Utilization after logging into the Web Suite using both IE and Firefox? (press Ctrl-Alt-Del simultaneously then click the Task Manager button if using Windows XP to see what % of your CPU is being utilized).
I know having these technical issues can be really frustrating but the new version is significantly faster for the majority (especially with IE7/FF) and has lots of other benefits. Thanks again for your patience and looking forward to your replies.
PS: For technical issues, a lot of solutions are being offered at the Web Suite message board since it's much easier for everyone to find the topics that are of interest to them. It's also easier for us to provide the answers there since each technical topic is separated and more visible.
For answers to technical questions, please post them at:
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=569193&func=3&channel=People
If you have a non-technical question (about features, how to do X, looks, etc), please leave them here for me. Thanks.
Tae
Written by websuiteblog Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
This entry has 260 comments: (Add your own)
-
when we go to the spam folder and try to clear off the screen the little check deletes the whole folder. There is no way that we can see over 100 spam emails at one time. The old system u could delete just that page one at a time. How are we suppose to read all those emails?
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If you can not duplicate the slowness of getting into AIM mail, come over to my house! It is more than painstakingly slow! It's downright irritating! And, Yes! I am using Firefox and No! it doesn't happen on other email sites! Just yours! You can keep the blinders on if you want! But, I am sure there are many who are having the same experience. It seems all the services want to pretend that we dial-up users are a thing of the past. But, we are still here!
-
Hello Tae. I'm wondering if I'm not following what's going on with AOL email.
I LOVED the old version --- this new version --- I'm not happy with.
Maybe you or an associate can help me with some pointers or ???
Anything --- I miss the old version!!!!
Thanks,
Terri -
I used the http://beta.webmail.aol.com because i was not able to access my AIM mail otherwise. It worked right away!! THANKS!! RG
7/26/07 2:40 PM