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Microsoft And Time Warner Resume Talks
An anonymous reader writes: "Seems as though Microsoft and Time Warner have come back together at the negotiating table." From the article: "The two companies are focused on combining AOL's Web content with Microsoft's search-engine technology, although other aspects of the talks are sketchy. It isn't clear whether they are considering merging their Internet dial-up businesses, which generate lots of cash, the paper said. The two companies originally began discussions about some sort of Internet deal earlier this year. But the talks stalled in the late summer over a range of issues including technical obstacles and questions about control."
Neither of them are terribly huge in the search market. Google is the clear winner there. So, let's say they do merge, they jump from 12% market share to... 12% market share?
The paranoid might see this as some sort of threat, I suppose. Perhaps you should look to Google if you want to fuel the flames of your paranoia. They have a pretty aggressive strategy for, well, just about everything. Multimedia, search, searching multimedia, desktop search, hell, I heard they're even coming out with BrainSearch so you can remember who that was you slept with last night.
As for the dialup market... it's dying off. And with so many locales having serious talks of wireless-for-everyone -- why, one taste of the difference between wireless and dialup will sell just about anyone.
Anyone that thinks this is a big deal as far as some monster being created is probably either distributing FUD, or open to buying it.
My ZooLoo
One would assume that companies with as much know how (They must know something) as these two would realize that revenue from dial-up is going to continue to shrink and eventually die. There's no long term benefit to focusing on a dial-up service.
It just boggles my mind that a service that has been made obsolete (except in rural areas, but that will happen eventually too) is still focused on by such large companies. You'd think at least AOL would have learned from their mistakes and switched their focus entirely by now.
"If you put butter and salt on it, it tastes like salty butter." -Terry Pratchet, on Popcorn.
What would Lawrence "Larry the liquidator" Garfield say about this.
"I bet 10 years ago there were dozens of dial-up companies...5 years from now there will only be one
and I bet you it will be the best damn dial up company you ever saw...but would you want to be a shareholder in that company?"
This is not an aquisition to create a new internet behemoth, this is cannibalism. This is microsoft eating AOL getting its list of technophobes and little old grannies. Its Time Warner dumping AOL for as much money as it can get. The only worrysome part is Microsoft getting control of Netscape. I suspect we can get the feds to force Microsoft to sell off Netscapes trademarks and assets as a condition of sale and that SHOULD be Mozillas stand on the issue.
Why all this talk of merger scares? A joint venture is one thing, but these companies will simply not merge. You think Billy has any intention of giving up ownership or control of Microsoft? Ted might have got into bed with Steve Case, but I think a Ménage à trois is pushing things a bit too far.
Plus, who who would be on top? I don't think Bill would enjoy biting the pillow.
"If you put butter and salt on it, it tastes like salty butter." -Terry Pratchet, on Popcorn.
Together they can filter the DNS addresses of a good share of Internet traffic, like both have done already. Here's slashdotters recognizing that TimeWarner did so against www.inforwars.com and against www.prisonplanet.tv:
o ld=-1&commentsort=1&tid=95&mode=thread&pid=1372760 2#13727627
... the point is, the end-result is at least the danger of DNS address filtering no matter how you slice it. Alternatives to mainstream reporting gets squashed by such moves.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=164421&thresh
Alright, supposing for the sake of argument that the Level 3 filtering is just a rivalry between two ISPs
As to regulation, a legitimate purpose of government is to prevent such abuse by corporate entities (which have legal rights as "persons" under the law, yet have far greater freedom at the public's expense to acquire wealth than do either you or I). Of course, the fact that government has not done so in the past and has allowed the increase of such abuse means that government will probably not do so in this case.
As usual, we cannot depend upon government to protect us even though it should. So, it becomes important to get the word out to so people to stop subsidizing such abuse by dropping both Microsoft's and Time Warner. For those left without alternatives, isn't that an argument in and of itself to prevent monopolization by these giants?
Bah. This is exactly what people were saying a few years back during the original AOL-TimeWarner merger. A content behemoth with a high-tech darling to deliver that content. How could they be stopped? Unfortunately for them, it didn't work out that way and all it did was cost a lot of TW shareholders a fortune.
Uh, step out of your basement, kiddo.
The companies poisoning our earth, funding civil wars in Africa over stupid clear rocks, or even pilfering the pockets of employees and shareholders are far more evil.
I know this is slashdot and all, but you could try and tone done the rhetoric to "semicoherent."
"There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
Mmmmm. Only if there was a law preventing a monoply from doing these types of things.
It seems like MS is going back to the "cut off their air supply" strategy they employed with Netscape.
evil is as evil does