Submitted by Time Warner and Microsoft are in advanced talks over Microsoft buying a stake in Time Warner’s America Online unit, the New York Post reported on Thursday. Citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the Post said the talks concern Microsoft acquiring an AOL stake and then combining it with Microsoft’s Web unit MSN.
Personally I don’t think this should be allowed to happen. Competition breeds innovation and makes competitors improve their products. Combing these two would be not be good.
Its Microsoft. They can do whatever they want. They can buy their way out of anything legal or otherwise.
you’re just jealous
The same implication of market damage existed when AOL and Time Warner originally merged. AOL Time Warner was going to control the Internet or something like that. The real harm there turned out to be to Time Warner.
There are lot of ISPs and there are a lot of web portals. More damage in the U.S. is probably done to the consumer because of government-granted monopolies to telecommunications companies influencing the cost and service of broadband than any Microsoft stake in AOL will manifest. How about attempts to ban municipal broadband by those same telecommunications companies? In contrast, what does owning a stake in AOL really get Microsoft that’s so bothersome to the consumer?
“In contrast, what does owning a stake in AOL really get Microsoft that’s so bothersome to the consumer?”
It gets their foot in the door of Time Warner. One of the largest cable providers. It sets up all kinds of scenarios of IM integration with AIM and ICQ. Those are just a couple of “issues”. There are many others.
>It gets their foot in the door of Time Warner. One of the largest cable providers<
this is the part that is scary.
I don’t want MS snooping in my business….. and Microsoft would LOOOOOVE to have a full view of all the traffic on the net.
Microsoft doesn’t care about you. If they wanted to have “full view of all of thr traffic on the net,” their desktop monopoly already places them at the best place to accomplish the largest piece of that.
Buying a stake in Time Warner’s AOL assets has rather little to do with Time Warner’s cable assets. As for IM integration, that would be a good thing for consumers. If you don’t need a half-dozen protocols for every IM client, everyone’s life is all the easier.
It might not be allowed. Remember that MS has been ruled a monopoly. Any acquisition would have to be cleared by the FEC.
Remember that MS has been ruled a monopoly. Any acquisition would have to be cleared by the FEC.
NOPE
2 different markets, if they did but a stake in AOL… or even a controlling stake in Tie Warner itself, it is stiff far removed from its own market. Therefore, it does not matter if it is a monopoly or not. Companies are still allowed growth in other sectors.
It’s AOL… I hate Microsoft but I won’t mind seeing AOL silenced.
If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.
Personally, both AOL (and a lot of the 13 yr. old patrons that go along with it) could fall off the face of the planet and I don’t think anyone would say a thing.
In fact, Time Warner can go with them.
Does this deal includes Winamp and Netscape ?
Will Microsoft own Winamp and Netscape ?
That is the question of the day? If M$ does buy Netscape, will they be allowed to pull back Navigator/Communicator code?
All rights to the Mozilla.org code have been transfered to Mozilla Foundation two years ago.
And even if they hadn’t been – the code is under the MPL/GPL/LGPL triple license, and “once MPL’ed – always MPL’ed”. The same applies to the other two licenses.
Yes, but what about Winamp ?
That also means that the Netscape trademark will belongs to MS.
Actually it means that Microsoft and Time Warner will own AOL’s assets jointly. Who knows what it will mean for Winamp, or any other AOL product. If Nullsoft actually makes any money for AOL, you shouldn’t expect Microsoft’s tendrils to change that. If it doesn’t, maybe it will be put out of its misery. Who cares, really?
From what I understand, Winamp has been on life support for a long time now. Most of the original winamp folks really got screwed by AOL and no longer work at nullsoft.
AFAIK theres not much development happening with Winamp lately and there likely wont be any.
Lately I went searching for a better player and found Foobar2k, which fits my bill just fine. Its not sexy but its got a lot of features.
Probably nothing, unless this stake in AOL (a stake is not 100% for those that are confused) includes applicable Time-Warner trademarks and such (doubtful).
Isn’t ICQ owned by AOL ?
This one could also means the end of ICQ and AIM, merged into MSN Messenger.
That will left Microsoft with few competition, mainly from Yahoo Messenger.
I can already see it….
Microsoft kills Netscape.
Netscape team let go.
Mozilla Firefox becomes popular.
AOL restarts Netscape project based off of Firefox/IE.
Microsoft buys stake in AOL.
AOL kills Netscape and begins to use IE.
Microsoft ends deal with AOL.
Internet Explorer is very stagnant now.
There is a possibility that Microsoft rebrand it’s IE to “Microsoft Netscape” and adopt a new interface inspired by Netscape/Firefox one.
They also could simply put down Winamp, or make it a skin for Windows Media Player and integrate the visualisation plugin system to WMP.
It can be the end of a great and popular media player (Winamp).
Microsoft isn’t going to come to your house and uninstall Winamp on you.
There is a possibility that Microsoft rebrand it’s IE to “Microsoft Netscape” and adopt a new interface inspired by Netscape/Firefox one.
They also could simply put down Winamp, or make it a skin for Windows Media Player and integrate the visualisation plugin system to WMP.
Come on…
You’re caught in a huge RDF if you really think MS gives a shit about Netscape and Nullsoft !
All they want is the AIM/ICQ network in order to become the IM worldwide leaders. Maybe they’ll merge other AOL activities with MSN but i’m not sure that they want to become a provider again.
They’ll just kill Netscape and Winamp or sell them if they fear a phone call from the DoJ. But i don’t think they will need it. Those softs and brands don’t worth anything but in some geeks fantasies.
MS got somewhat stronger competitors in the browser and media player markets, these days…
good luck trying to backup dvd’s in vista then – if ms has a share of time warner they’re gonna put in some serious drm, jesus you probably won’t even be able to play a movie without media player asking for aol’s permission over the internet!
japail – do you -really- not know?
MS already has MSN, which hardly anyone uses. What could they hope to get from AOL? Ah yes, the millions of locked-in AOL users. That’s the only thing I could see them benefitting from. It’s not like AOL tech is valuable to MS.
Microsoft kills Netscape.
And this is bad how? Name one peice of software Netscape has released in the last few years thats worth the media its on.
AOL doesn’t develop Netscape anymore. They outsource it to a Canadian company. And even then, all they really do is re-brand the Mozilla code as Netscape and ship it out.
As for Microsoft pulling back the “communicator” code, they can’t. It’s GPL/LGPL/MPL, so it’s open source for ever. That does leave me to wonder, however, if MS intends (one day) to replace Trident (the current rendering/layout engine in MSIE) with Gecko (Mozilla’s counterpart). I think it’ll be real interested to see what comes of this (if anything).
Let’s not forget however that this is not perse an “aquisition” but just MS buying a “stake” in AOL, not the whole pie (yet).
Yeah, that means new monopoly de-facto.
In instant messangers.
Microsoft just want to own and lead in every area. They wont be happy until everything everybody does goes through or via them.
IF ms get hold of the stake in that company a lot of things will shift and change and MS suddenly become even more powerful than they already are.
Next week MS buy Apple and Intel and AMD.
General Electric has 4 TIMES the amount of CASH in the bank and you don’t see them blowing a nut to buy the rest of their competitors out the doors.
IM is a stagnant market and I’m sure MSN is hoping to stay afloat. MSN has been a losing business division since its inception. The same for XBox. The goal is for both to leak less money over time until they stabilize. By then they can extend their profit sector areas over to them and make them all interconnected.
Once interconnected you are for sure dependent on Microsoft, for Microsoft services.
I suggest OS X technologies, Linux technologies and if you have more cash go for Sun technologies, IBM technologies, etc.
Microsoft hasn’t adopted its business model to keep up with the pace of its competitors–wanting to own everything creates too many holes in the hull of your ever growing ship.
Like the Spanish Armada, the smaller, more agile enemy ships eventually won the seas.
The Sea, like the Internet is open with new standards being supported by the smaller ships that continue to trade back and forth. If the trading stopped, then its time to blow it up.
Winamp has so far been the popular competitor to WMP. Winamp is clean, small, fast and simple when it comes to media players. It’s going to be interesting to see how Microsoft effects the development of future Winamp versions, and what Winamp will be turned into.
How will Microsoft effect the development of AIM? In the past they’ve been at each other’s throats, trying to keep each other off their respective IM servers. This has Microsoft’s usual bully/buyout competitive practices written all over it.
As long as I don’t have to get my bandwidth from Microsoft as I am a Roadrunner customer (Time warner cable).
If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em.
Personally, both AOL (and a lot of the 13 yr. old patrons that go along with it) could fall off the face of the planet and I don’t think anyone would say a thing.
In fact, Time Warner can go with them.
For that matter, Microsoft can go as well.
Time Warner has been on a downward spiral since merging with AOL. This gets the monkey off their back.
AOL is basically the internet for morons, and it will become easier for that market due to not even having to install any software more than likely.
Everyone gets to get rid of AIM/ICQ, both have pretty shameful interfaces, and everyone will pretty much be on the same network. Its the interoperability that was talked about years ago – the hard way.
Time Warner can go back to what it does best, entertainment. AOL and MSN very much target the same people, so there will simply be less choice, which is good for the target audience.
Choice is only good when the audience knows what they are looking for. Inovation is only important when the audiance can tell the difference. These are AOL users we are talking about, while I doubt all are idiots, I’m sure a good majority are.
I don’t think this makes a big deal… and as much as I dislike Microsoft, I honestly think this is a good move for everyone.
Ten years ago, this would have been a big deal. Maybe even five years ago.
Seen AOL commercials lately? AOL is trying to convince people they need AOL in addition to their current ISP. I don’t think it will work.
$20+ a month for dial-up is ridiculous today. You can get DSL from SBC for $15 a month.