On August 2nd, America Online announced that it will provide its basic service for free to anybody with Internet access, giving up its long experiment in building a gated community online. AOL's membership peaked at 27 million subscribers in 2002. But it was disregarding two trends that would end its reign: the growth of broadband Internet access and the increasing usability of other Internet programs. Subscribers numbered 17.7 million in July, having declined for years. Those who do want to keep the company as their online connection will pay $9.95 a month for unlimited use. Those who want to switch to another Internet service can use AOL for free, though tech support will still cost $9.95 a month. This means that users can keep their existing AOL e-mail address for no additional expense. Equally important, as this month you won't need to run AOL's software to use its services. AOL's own Web site and (since 2004) its e-mail have been accessible via standard Internet programs, but by September all of the online service's content, including the child and teen areas that have remained proprietary, will be open to everyone. Further information may be found at http://press.aol.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=1023§ion_id=14