Everyone hated AOL's 4.0 software. Or so it seems. C|Net described it as "chock full of advertising" -- and the San Francisco Chronicle decided it "doesn't deliver any revolutionary breakthrough." But Steve Case's background isn't technology, it's marketing -- and AOL quickly sent out gushy press releases. Then they went even further, pre-preparing video clips which lazy television producers could use to tout AOL's software for them on our local television newscast.

You'd think a savvy marketer like AOL would know better than to try the bait-and-switch con on its users, but some users say AOL did just that. AOL apparently told the users they'd won millions in a Coca-Cola contest, but then refused to pay up on the grounds that their winnings were due to a technical glitch!