Quantum Link(orQ-Link) was an American and Canadianonline servicefor theCommodore 64and128personal computersthat operated starting November 5, 1985. It was operated byQuantum Computer ServicesofVienna, Virginia, which later becameAmerica Online.

In October 1989 the service was renamed America Online, and made available to users of PC systems as well. The original Q-link service was terminated November 1, 1995 in favor of the America Online brand.

The original Q-Link was a modified version of thePlayNETsystem, which Control Video Corporation licensed. Q-Link featuredelectronic mail,online chat(in its People Connection department),public domainfile sharinglibraries, onlinenews, andinstant messagingusing On Line Messages (OLMs). Other noteworthy features included multiplayer games likecheckers,chess,backgammon,hangman, and a clone of the television game show "Wheel Of Fortune" called 'Puzzler'; and an interactive graphic resort island, calledHabitatduring beta-testing, then renamedClub Caribe.

In October 1986, QuantumLink expanded their services to includecasinogames such asbingo,slot machines,blackjackandpokerin RabbitJack's Casino; and RockLink, a section aboutrock music. The software archives were also organized into hierarchical folders and expanded.

In November 1986, the service began offering to digitize users' photos to be included in their profiles, and started anonline saleservice.[1]

Q-Link competed with online services likeCompuServeandThe Source, and withbulletin board systems(single- and multiuser), including gaming systems such asScepter of GothandSwords of Chaos. Quantum Link's graphic display was better than many competing systems because they used specialized client software with a nonstandard protocol. However, this limited their market, because only the Commodore 64 and 128 could run the software necessary to access it.