E-Commerce Times Talkback

Re: AOL Books $99 Billion Loss; Turner To Step Down
Posted by: Lisa Gill 2003-01-30 14:33:21

See Full Story

After reporting that it ended its fiscal year an unprecedented $99 billion in the red, AOL Time Warner said Ted Turner also will step down from his post as vice chairman in May. The company's fourth-quarter earnings statement revealed a $45.5 billion charge as a result of depreciation in its America Online division. The company's fourth-quarter revenue of $11.4 billion was up 8 percent from the same time last year.

Re: AOL Books $99 Billion Loss; Turner To Step Down
Posted by: munjak 2003-01-30 21:15:30 In reply to: Lisa Gill

Let me begin by identifying myself as a nameless Postal worker (a mailman to be specific). I'm sure ANYONE who receives mail has received an enclosed CD from AOL,asking you to join them. I myself receive at least 1 CD every other week (at the end of the year I give them to a schoolteacher who uses them as a project for her students). My point here is this...Every day my Postal station receives THOUSANDS (YES, THOUSANDS) of these CD's from AOL as advertisements to join AOL. Multiply this amount by EVERY Postal station in the country and you get MILLIONS of these CD's going out EVERY DAY! (this goes to show you why people are P.O'd that new music CD's cost $16-$20, when the discs themselves are probably costing AOL pennies). I also wonder what the discs do to the landfills...we throw out MILLIONS every day, nationwide(how long does it take for a CD to disintegrate?) (I have forgotten to tell you about the elaborate packaging AOL uses, ranging from cardboard sleeves to metal tins). I have always wondered how AOL could afford to send out millions of these CD's every day...I'm sure that's a big chunk of change out of that $99 billion loss. I'm hopefully speaking for a lot of Letter Carriers nationwide..Yes it's good business for the Postal Service, but for me and my fellow co-workers, it's a waste of AOL's money. I would be willing to bet that there isn't ONE person reading this now that hasn't received a CD from AOL, asking you to "Try it FREE for 1000+ hours". Anyway, thank you for letting me blow off steam about my all-time pet peeve as a Letter Carrier.