When timelines cross
Michelle Kondrich is a designer at Post Opinions. Previously, she was an art director at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies and has also been working as a freelance illustrator since 2009.
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Entrepreneur
11 minutes ago
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AOL Is Ending Dial-Up Internet Service
If you are old enough to remember the signature pinging, boinging, and hissing sounds that came with connecting to the Internet in the early days, hold onto those memories — AOL just announced that its dial-up is about to hang up forever. The company released a statement on Friday, which read: "AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet." The service and all associated software will stop working on September 30, 2025, the company added. Related: Billionaire Investor Frank McCourt Jr. Wants to Transform the Entire Internet. Here's How. Wait, AOL dial-up service has been available all this time? That's a valid question, and the answer is shockingly yes. The New York Times, citing U.S. Census Bureau data, reports that in 2023, 163,000 United States households relied on dial-up service to access the internet. That represents just over 1 percent of all internet subscribers in the country. The last time AOL released dial-up user numbers was in 2015, when the company reported two million users that represented $40 million a month in revenue. The company did not offer current user numbers with its closing announcement. AOL's dial-up service unlocked internet access for millions of users in the 1990s, and its signature "You've Got Mail" sign-on announcement was so iconic that it spurred a rom-com of the same name starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as a couple who fall in love over instant messaging. Related: 'Thought It Had Been Deleted': Elon Musk Says His Team at X Found the Vine Video Archive While the closure is sure to inspire a wave of nostalgic thinkpieces about a happier time of the internet's existence, Gen Xers should remember that the web might have seemed nicer than what we have today, but it was insanely slower. Dial-up internet speeds average about 56 kilobytes a second, reports The Times. Typical broadband connections are several thousand times faster. Think about that the next time you're frustrated that a web page took more than half a second to load. End of an Era… Dial Up Internet will be discontinued by AOL on September 30, 2025 — ? Physical Media Forever ? (@VHSDVDBLURAY4K) August 9, 2025 Join top CEOs, founders, and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue, and building sustainable success.
CBS News
12 minutes ago
- CBS News
Paramount acquires UFC rights in 7-year deal with TKO Group
Paramount will become the new home to all Ultimate Fighting Championship events in the U.S. under a seven-year agreement with TKO Group announced on Monday. Under the deal, Paramount will exclusively distribute the UFC's full slate of its 13 marquee numbered events and 30 "Fight Nights" on its streaming platform Paramount+ — with select numbered events also set to simulcast on CBS — starting in 2026. It's a shift away from the UFC's existing pay-per-view model, which Paramount and TKO say will allow the mixed martial arts programming reach more consumers nationwide. "Paramount's advantage lies in the expansive reach of our linear and streaming platforms," David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount, said in a statement. "Live sports continue to be a cornerstone of our broader strategy — driving engagement, subscriber growth, and long-term loyalty, and the addition of UFC's year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win." Mark Shapiro, president and COO of TKO, added that the deal will mean "deeper engagement for UFC's passionate fan base" and that its athletes "will love this new stage." The seven-year deal has an average annual value of $1.1 billion, the companies said Monday. Paramount, now owned by Skydance, also said it intends to explore UFC rights outside the U.S. "as they become available in the future." Shares of TKO — which, in addition to the UFC, also houses the WWE — rose 1.4% in premarket trading Monday. CBS News and Paramount+ are owned by Paramount Global.
Forbes
12 minutes ago
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Beyoncé Gifts Louis Vuitton Luggage To Cowboy Carter Dancers
Backup dancers on Beyoncé's 32-show Cowboy Carter tour are sharing photos of a handwritten note and Louis Vuitton gift they received from the superstar singer two weeks after the end of the tour—and each piece retails for $3,500. Beyoncé and her backup dancers perform in Chicago during the Cowboy Carter tour at Soldier Field on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Parkwood Entertainment Dancers tagged Beyoncé and Parkwood, the entertainment company she founded in 2008, in thank you posts that showed they'd been gifted what looked to be the Horizon 55 piece of rolling luggage from Louis Vuitton. The carry-on size bag, which has cowhide leather trim, features the classic Louis Vuitton logo in gray repeating across a black canvas and retails for $3,500. The gift came with a handwritten note, signed from Parkwood, that reads, "Congratulations on the completion of the Cowboy Carter Tour! Thank you for all your hard work and dedication the last couple of months. We hope you enjoy your gift and know that we greatly appreciate all your contributions to this tour and its success." There were reportedly 29 dancers on Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin' Circuit Tour, which started in April and ended on July 26. Beyoncé notably partnered with fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) earlier in her Cowboy Carter era when she launched whiskey brand SirDavis, a joint venture between the singer and Moët Hennessy, with a limited-edition Louis Vuitton trunk designed to hold the whisky bottle and glassware; she also posed for an image in a custom outfit that included a custom LV monogram bikini and matching leather chaps. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We're launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day's headlines. Text 'Alerts' to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here : While some fans have praised the singer for rewarding the 'loyalty' of her dancers, others have said the gift is 'cheap' and compared the bags to the reported $197 million in bonuses Taylor Swift gave to the hundreds of people on her Eras Tour team over its nearly two-year run. 'Giving louis vuitton while ticket prices could've funded a small country is wild,' one fan posted to X. 'Pay them Not PR them,' said another, referencing Beyoncé's close ties to the Louis Vuitton brand. It's unclear if Beyoncé also gave cash bonuses to her supporting performers. Beyoncé has partnered with the Louis Vuitton brand for years, notably around the Cowboy Carter and Renaissance tours. Pharrell Williams, men's creative director for the brand, created custom outfits for Beyoncé, her dancers and daughter Blue Ivy during the North American leg of her Renaissance World Tour that included a custom bodysuit hand embossed with crystals. She wore a western-inspired, crystal-studded Louis Vuitton look to the 2024 Grammys weeks before formally announcing her country music album, and she wore a custom denim outfit by Williams, seemingly inspired by the "Cowboy Carter" album, to the Louis Vuitton Men's Fashion Week show in June. Williams gifted Beyoncé a Speedy bag straight from the runway in a viral moment, making her the first person—besides the model—to wear the purse. Beyoncé during the Louis Vuitton Menswear Spring/Summer 2026 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on June 24, 2025. Getty Images Key Background Beyoncé released her first country music album, 'Cowboy Carter,' last March. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and launched at No. 1 on both the Top Country Albums and Americana/Folk Albums charts. It also sparked a conversation about the music industry as some in the country community questioned whether she truly belonged in the genre, and some radio stations refused to give the album airtime. The Cowboy Carter Tour was announced in February and demand for tickets, which ranged from $50 to $800 in price, crashed the Ticketmaster website. The tour's five-show run at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles sold 217,000 tickets and grossed $55.7 million, according to Billboard. By the end of the tour, Cowboy Carter had broken, tied or extended 47 Billboard Boxscore records and was the highest-grossing country music tour in history. Forbes Valuation Beyoncé was ranked 45th this year on Forbes' list of America's wealthiest self-made women. She was estimated to have a net worth of $780 million as of June. Her husband, Jay Z, has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion as of Monday, making him the 1,524th-richest person in the world. His wealth was built on his music career and significant investments in alcohol, art and tech. The LVMH conglomerate is the parent company to brands like Louis Vuitton, Moët & Chandon, Tiffany, Dior, Sephora, Bulgari and dozens more. Its chairman, Bernard Arnault, has an estimated net worth of $141.7 billion and is the world's ninth-richest person. Forbes Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Is Rewriting American Culture — And Boosting The Economy By Richard Fowler Forbes Beyoncé Changed Country Music Forever A Year Ago By Hugh McIntyre Forbes Beyoncé Is Now Worth $800 Million By Marisa Dellatto
