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America Online Inc. (AOL) announced that it posted lower-than-predicted charges against its earnings for two recent purchases. The announcement underlined the greater intensity in regulators' investigations of company write-offs. AOL assumed noncash charges of approximately $70 million during the fiscal fourth-quarter of 1998. The company took the charges for research and development in two of its recent acquisitions.

America Online Inc. said its fiscal fourth-quarter operating income climbed more than tenfold. Fourth-quarter revenue climbed 67% to $792 million from $475.7 million as AOL added 665,000 members for a total of 12.5 million. AOL delayed reporting net income because of difficulties in figuring out the amount of special charges related to its acquisitions of Mirabilis Ltd. and Net Channel Inc. AOL said it continuing to discuss the charges with the Securities and Exchange Commision.

Offers commentary related to the merger between America Online Inc. (AOL) and Time Warner Inc. Changes in the economy since January 10, 2000, when the deal was first agreed upon; Opinion that the future lies in breaking down the walls between the real world and the Internet, which this deal can do; Suggestion of indicators to mark the companies progress.

Discusses the implications of the America Online-Time Warner merger on consumers. Forecast for the price of America Online Internet access; Prospect of open access for cable television; Why the United States government is investigating the instant messaging service.

Describes the instant messaging service offered by America Online called Buddy List. How instant messages (IMs) are making inroads into corporate call centers and customer support operations; How America Online has blocked some rivals from plugging into its IM system; Forecasts that voice calls will eventually become a standard feature of instant-messaging software and what this will mean to telephone companies.

Discusses the problems that America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. hope to solve with their merger. How the deal tears down the walls between old and new media; Some of the changes that consumers can expect to see as a result of the deal; Major strategic initiatives that the deal could accelerate for America Online; How the territories of both of these companies had been merging.

Reports on how America Online (AOL) and Prodigy Communications Corp. are offering free personal computers in exchange for Internet access sign-up. The teaming of AOL with eMachines Inc.; How the deal works; Other companies involved in marketing free PCs.

Reveals that America Online Inc. has said that it would invest $1.5 billion in Hughes Electronics Corp. to promote satellite delivery of Internet services. How the move represents the biggest vote of confidence yet in satellites as a consumer broadband technology; Number of consumers in the United States that receive their Web access from Hughes satellites; The promotion of a satellite version of AOL's planned AOL Plus highspeed service.

Focuses on the America Online (AOL)/Sun Microsystems alliance in which Sun will hold some sway over a large portion of AOL's Netscape Communications. How shareholders could be affected by Sun's involvement in the alliance; Possible problems with accounting requirements for the transaction; Speculation that Sun will eventually buy some Netscape assets two years after the deal closes.

Focuses ICQ, a sophisticated instant-message system which may prove to be America Online's (AOL) ticket in dominating the Internet in the coming years. ICQ's capabilities; When AOL purchased Mirabilis Ltd., the company that created ICQ; AOL's revenues in its most recent fiscal year; Advantages of ICQ for AOL's purposes; Why AOL must trend carefully in commercializing ICQ.

Reports on the possibility that America Online Inc. (AOL) will form a closer business relationship with the online-auction company eBay in 1999. Number of visitors to AOL and eBay; Status of eBay stock since the company went public in September 1998; Relationship AOL has with eBay as of February 1999.

Notes that Standard & Poor's (S&P) is considering changing its reporting policies. The emergence of concerns regarding the timing of their release of the report about replacing Venator Group in the S&P 500-stock index with America Online (AOL); The limited number of investors who were able to take advantage of the price increase in AOLs stock after it was announced that it would join the index; Efforts to ensure that the distribution of S&P news is more equitable.

Discusses electronic wallets. How Internet companies are racing to create the standard for Web-surfer's latest accessory; How an electronic wallet works; The process of shopping over the Internet; Examples of some electronic wallets offered by America Online, Yahoo!, and Excite Inc.

Considers the effects of America Online Inc.'s (AOL) intended purchase of Netscape Communications Corp. Details on what AOL would gain from Netscape; AOL's increase in tactical weapons in AOL's fight with Microsoft Corp. to dominate the World Wide Web; Chart on what an AOL-Netscape merger means to consumers; Sun Microsystems Inc.'s role in the purchase of Netscape.

Reports on the losses facing Tel-Save Inc., a reseller of long-distance service. Cost and results of marketing association with America Online Inc.; Additional off-line marketing costs; Failure of company to show a profit on increased sales.

Reports the plan of America Online Inc. to acquire MovieFone Inc. Value of the purchase; Purpose of the acquisition; Information on both companies.

Presents information on the acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. by America Online Inc. (AOL). Value of the transaction; America Online's problem in keeping employees and customers of Netscape; Transition plans of AOL; Other challenges facing the company.

Reports on the agreement of America Online Inc. (AOL) to acquire Netscape Communications Corp. Terms of an AOL deal with Sun Microsystems Inc.; Prices of AOL shares; Significance of the Netscape acquisition deal to AOL. INSETS: Wild, wild world;You've got Netscape!.

Focuses on the effort of Microsoft Corp. and other Internet players to open America Online Inc.'s (AOL) near-lock on the market for instant-messaging, a technology that allows computer users to track when friends are online. Users of the instant-messaging service of AOL; Implication of AOL's success with instant messaging on Microsoft; Design of the MSN Messenger service of Microsoft.

Reports on the increase of the earnings of America Online (AOL) Inc. for its fourth-quarter ended June 30, 1999 as the company added a number of members to its online service. Total revenue for the quarter; Earnings per share; Comments from AOL chairman and chief executive Steve Case on the earnings; AOL shares in New York Stock Exchange trading and Big Board composite trading.

Reports the victory of OpenNet Coalition, lobbying group formed by America Online Inc., on their fight to allow local cable television companies in the United States to open their lines to Internet companies. Details on the demand of the coalition; Members of the lobbying group; Information on the group.

Focuses on the franchise built by Steve Case of America Online Inc. (AOL) which functions as a buffer between consumers and electronic technology. Comments from Case; Description of the company's online approach; Plans of AOL in handling information overload.

Reports on the plans of America Online (AOL) to buy Internet music companies Spinner Networks Inc. and Nullsoft Inc. Information on Spinner; Remarks from AOL President Robert Pittman; Plans of AOL for the Spinner Web service.

Focuses on the strategic alliance between America Online Inc. and Gemstar International Group Ltd. to develop an electronic program guide. Information on the electronic program guide; Details on the agreement; Views from industry analysts.

Reports on the operating earnings for American Online Incorporated's fiscal third quarter which ended March 31, 1999. Financial information on the company; Views of analysts on the company's quarterly operating earnings.

Details the plans of Sun Microsystems Inc. and America Online Inc. to integrate their enterprise-software product under their announced joint venture. Terms of the Sun-Netscape alliance; Reason the two companies are reticent about their plans; Plans of the companies to combine their strengths in business software for electronic commerce.

Reports that America Online Inc. is laying off as many as 500 of its own employees on top of cuts at its Netscape unit. Reorganization plan of America Online; Reason behind the company's move; Decline in the shares of America Online.

Looks at America Online Incorporated (AOL) as the gate keeper to cyberspace, and online service customers' response to the corporation. Comparison of AOL to other service providers; Prediction on the future of AOL; Information on AOL.

Reports that members of CompuServe's consumer on-line business are concern about America Online Incorporated's (AOL) plan take-over of the business. Number of CompuServe's members; Comments from Arthur Powers, a New York City software developer and a member of CompuServe; Performance of AOL's shares on the New York Stock Exchange on September 8, 1997; Information on the two companies; Concerns which were raised by CompuServe's members.

Reports that instead of member-access fees, America Online Incorporated (AOL) will collect rent from its electronic retailers as part of an effort to overhaul its approach to on-line shopping. What the shift calls into question; Problems associated with commissions; How AOL will benefit from the move.

States that America Online users were charged 10 cents a minute when they used a toll free number offered by America Online (AOL). Why the number was offered; Promises made by the company to refund customers; 800 number given by Packard Bell NEC Incorporated; Comments from Robert Pittman, president of AOL Networks.

Reports that due to charges for restructuring and refunds for some members, American Online Incorporated recorded a fiscal second quarter loss of $154.8 million. Amount lost to charges; Comparison for the same period in 1995; What analysts had expected; Figures on second quarter revenue; How the company's stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Looks at plans by America Online Incorporated (AOL) to scale back a $300 million advertising campaign and spend $100 million on increasing its capacity for higher traffic. Reason for cutback in spending on advertising; Comments from Steve Case, chief executive of AOL; Factors facilitating online traffic problems experienced by AOL.

Reports on the success of America Online in bringing the Internet to consumers and the competition it could face from cable companies if broadband Internet access becomes popular. The speed at which broadband works; The implications of the merger of AT&T Corp. and Tele-Communications Inc.; Efforts of America Online to expand into a broadband market.

Reports on the 1998 quarterly earnings posted by America Online Inc. (AOL), a Dulles, Virginia-based online-service provider. Net income for the company's fiscal quarter ended September 30; Company's revenue; First-quarter profit of AOL.

Reports on hacker's attack on America Online Incorporated's address on the Internet. Details on the incident; Comments from Network Solutions' officials.

Focuses on the expansion of America Online Incorporated's (AOL) service in Australia. Expectations from the expansion; Comments from Steve Case, AOL chairman and chief executive officer; Estimates on the annual international revenue of the company.

Forecasts the direct-mail of free disks by America Online Inc. (AOL) in efforts to attract members. Information on AOL 4.0; Objectives of the effort; Competition from smaller Internet-service providers; Criticisms on the direct-mail strategy of AOL.

Reports that America Online Inc. will team up with Oxygen Media, a New York start-up launched by media veteran Geraldine Laybourne, to produce an area of its service aimed at women. Information under the agreement; Significance of the deal.

Focuses on the plans of America Online Incorporated (AOL) to boost its monthly charge by 10 percent, clearing the way for price increases in the Internet-access industry in the United States. Impact of the move on AOL's stock; Highlights of the changes starting April 1998; Information on flat-rate pricing in the Internet-access industry.

Relates how an embarrassing blackout on August 7, 1996 left thousands of customers of America Online Inc. (AOL) without service. The incident occurring while the company was upgrading its internal software; Viewing the blackout as a temporary setback; The significance of subscriber turnover to the company's fortunes. INSET: What went wrong for William Razzouk at AOL.

Reports that America Online Incorporated (OAL) won rounds in separate legal battles over electronic junk mail, and the service's billing practices. Details on rulings and settlements in the company's legal battles; Company's effort to revitalize its growth.

Reports on the financial performance of America Online Inc. (AOL) for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1996. Number of cancellations from subscribers; Member satisfaction; Problems with AOL's routine maintenance leading to system collapse.

Reports on the resignation of William Razzouk, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of America Online Inc. after only four months of service. Reason for Razzouk's resignation; Steve Case as the president and CEO of the company on an interim basis.

Reports on the prospects for the stock performance of America Online. Stock performance as of June 5, 1996; Comment by analyst David Readerman; Financial performance of the company for the nine months ending March 31, 1996.

Reports on the financial performance of America Online Inc. for the quarter ending March 31, 1996. Total net income; Stock performance.

Reports on American Online Incorporated's revenue growth for the second-quarter of 1996. Growth compared to that of 1995; Membership number; Statistical information.

Reports that American Online Incorporated named William J. Razzouk, former official of Federal Express Corporation to its number two position of president and chief operating officer. Age of Mr. Razzouk; Views of industry analysts; Increase in American Online shares.

Reports on negotiations between Netscape Communications Inc. and America Online Inc. (AOL). The possible acquisition of Netscape by AOL involving computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc.; Netscape as inventor of the concept of Internet stock; The deal helping the dominant online service extend its franchise against Web rivals; The deal from Microsoft Corp.'s perspective; The efforts of Steve Case, AOL chief executive officer.