Slashdot Mirror
Google Acquires 5% of AOL
Heembo writes "CNN is reporting that Google just acquired a 5% stake in AOL for $1 Billion, shutting Microsoft out of the deal." Under this new agreement, among many other things, Google Talk will now interface with AOL's instant messenger according to the announcement on Google's site. From the announcement: "Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said: 'AOL is one of Google's longest-standing partners, and we are thrilled to strengthen and expand our relationship. Today's agreement leverages technologies from both companies to connect Google users worldwide to a wealth of new content.'"
AOL has a reputation of being a bad ISP, and also creating bad software for it's users. Will this move help AOL, or hurt Google?
This could get interesting. (fp?)
google.slashdot
It's about time there was some co-operation between IM networks. I wonder if this also means that AIM will be open to other Jabber-based networks to connect to easily - perhaps they are implementing a Jabber server based interface to the AIM network?
This reminds me of the transition a couple of decades ago from multiple distinct email networks (Compuserve, AOL, BITNET, etc) to the one unified email system we have now. Hopefully in a few years it won't matter what IM network we are on to be able to communicate. And ideally, one's email address and IM address would be identical.
Google's "Do No Evil" motto found to be obsolete.
I'm not even sure what to think about this.... it's going to take some time.
The beginning of the end? Or do I trust Google enough that this isn't a sign of the Apocalypse...
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
this means more stupid people will be using google. IN ALL CAPS!!!!!
Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind
Both entities are going to have to meet in the middle, as far as on screen visuals. Which can only be bad for the Google we all know and love.
Not a dupe, it comnfirms the speculation in http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/16/204231 &tid=217&tid=120
The 'Net is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it. - William Gibson
With the arrival of graphical ads and corporate aquisitions it seems that post-IPO Google is abandoning a few of it's old principles in the pursuit of the almighty buck. How long before "Don't be Evil" is gone too? I could kinda live with Google's pseudomonopoly on searching back when their character was spotless, but this may well be the first lurch down a slippery slope. It may just be paranoia, but I think the days of trusting Larry and Sergey are coming to an end.
Because I know Slashdot would never post a dupe.
at slashdot, google is good and aol is bad. will the servers melt?
Gimme a 'U'!
Gimme a 'P'!
Gimme a 'E'!
What does it spell? DUPE!
I can never look at Google the same way again.
12:50 - press return.
1. Buy 5% of AOL and have GTalk interoperate with AIM
2. ???
3. Profit!
Google is supposed to be smart, after all.
Pigs around the world grow wings, and start lifting off.
Temperature in hell drops below 32 F.
Mad Software: Rantings on Developing So
I wonder if this means they will be going off standard jabber, using the AIM protocal, or will google setup a gateway for Jabber on google servers? Google has also announced full third party client support(gaim trillian etc), does this mean it will be extended to AIM? This could help the IM world get a little more organized.
Google sold its soul to try and stop Microsoft, as a result they are now evil
http://mooba.blogspot.com/
Also, Google and all their tools and toys seem to be something that is more smart people (lets say the top 50% of technology users) while AOL tended to be something for the dumber folks (lets call them the bottom 50%).
Actually, now that I think about it in that context, makes perfect sense...
Reality has a liberal bias
Does anyone have a link to the announcement on Google's site?
Google + AOL = GAOL?
Optimist: The thumb drive is half empty! Pessimist: The thumb drive is half full...
If Google Talk gets connected with the AIM network, and Google eventually allows Jabber server-to-server (big if, I know), I might possibly be able to talk to my friends on AIM without having to use Oscar...
Do no evil, but own 5% of it!
Today's agreement leverages technologies from both companies to connect Google users worldwide to a wealth of new content.
If you call the junk AOL spews out content.
Search engines come, and search engines go. Will the last one please shut out the lights!
I wonder who's gonna occupy the SGI buildings next.
If $1 billion buys you 5% of AOL, isn't that saying AOL is worth $20 billion!?!?! Holy smokes. Wasn't AOL valued at $0 a few years ago?
1. Google buys dark fiber
2. Google builds instant datacenters in shipping containers
3. Google buys stake in dying dialup ISP with millions of users
4. ??? (Do I really need to spell it out?)
5. Profit. A whole lot of it.
Wow.
f or-free-but-making-money-off-of-corporate-customer -vibe that google has been throwing off is now completely shattered.
All the feel good we're-kick-ass-programmers-giving-you-good-stuff-
Google has finally reared it's head as a company that wants to take the money of the stupid.
It's really too bad that they really are kick-ass programmers, because it's going to be nearly impossible to boycott google as they begin charging fees for their amazing services.
I guess that makes me stupid-- or at least lazy.
In Google Russia, evil does you.
A fat man is throwing chairs and popping veins.
Whatever happened to "Don't Be Evil?"
Smeghead every day of the week.
Firstly, Google's main mission is to harvest all information and make it available for all, correct? Currently, Google's jabber thing doens't have the sheer number of users that AOL's AIM does. What I'm guessing is that they will have some sort of chat monitoring going on, watching for keywords, names, places, and using that data to better their search engine or for use in other projects.
but then again, i'm a geek with AOLserver module hacking on his resume. hi there google!!!!
MORTAR COMBAT!
... with the "don't be evil" slogan.
You can't have an omelette and keep the eggs.
You can't have the wolf fed and the sheep alive.
You.. well you get me.
I wonder if Google is 5% evil now, will AOL become 5% not evil.
AOL now 5% less evil!!!
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
I can't wait for the graphical ads google is going to start placing because of the agreement:
Google's Graphical ADs
From day one, I had a bad feeling about Google.
I'll admit I have a gmail account, but I just use that as a spam honeypot.
When it comes to search engines, I do not use Google, nor do I use any of their other services.
Just wait. The Google hero-worship will end, and eventually everyone will see them as what they are: information gatherers that will revolutionize how you are barraged with advertisements, and how your liberties are evaporated.
It's as if a million geeks cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
It would seem that AOL Just Can't Pick a winner. Time-Warner, now Google? What's next, Bell? Oh, wait; too late :)
I swear, if I get ONE damned Google CD in the mail, EVER - I'll go to a LIBRARY before I look something up on Google again.
You'll see many a /.'er claiming the devil within Google, with little to back it up of course but value judgements on their behalf. In this case: capitalism/business is evil.
IMHO AOL is worth nothing, but this deal values it at US$20 billion. This isn't quite as stupid as Time Warner paying what they did for AOL, but I'm sure the value received will be the same.
I have been giving AOL a lot of thought lately. And I really think there is something to the 'Value-Add' market for broad band. I think there is a real market for a company to come along and offer services that augment the highspeed "experience". If AOL does it right, they could still be a viable business once the dialup world has coughed it's last spasms.
"He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato
la la la - funny, though, that the previous reporting (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/16/20423 1&tid=217&tid=120) linked to a impartial BBC article while this one links to CNN, a subsidiary of Time Warner!
Why don't we use this space to talk about something interesting, like how wikipedia facsists are hypocritical bastards for denying any responsability for the accuracy of anything on the site while patting themselves on the back for being many-edit contributors to the world's most gee-whiz encyclopedia (while noting that the word 'encyclopedia' is defined by the academics at Oxford (who, no doubt, wikiplebians would dismiss as being inferior for buying into that whole university-degree racket and reactionary as they have the gall to produce works in print) as "Literary work giving information on all branches of knowledge or of one subject, usu. arranged alphabetically; (E~; Hist.) the french encyclopaedia of Diderot, D'Alembert, and others; WALKING encyclopaedia; hence ~IC a., ~ISM (3), ~IST (3), ns. [mod. L, f. spurious Gk egkuklopaideia for egkuklios paideia all-round education (cf. prec.)]), basically demanding all the credit without taking any of the responsability; ye gods, the slimy wikipunks even had the cheek to say that a 70-year-old lawyer who would probably have a hard time turining an iMac on bore responsability for slander those wikipukes left on their site for months - all this without pausing to consider the real damage done to the poor man's reputation and the huge gaping hole it had shown to exist in their fanatically-supported open-editing model!
Any comments?
"Carry me across," begged the scorpion, "and I promise not to sting you."
The dog was wise and slow to reply. "I don't think so," he growled. "I've never met a trustworthy scorpion."
"Today you have," hissed the scorpion with as much of a smile as he could manage. "I'm not evil, like other creatures of my kind. Besides, if I stung you, I'd drown. Carry me across and I promise all will be well."
The dog relented, taking the scorpion on his back. He paddled out into the current. Halfway across, the scorpion stung him behind the neck.
"Now we will both surely die!" the dog moaned as the venom began to take hold. "Why have you done this?"
"Because I am a scorpion, of course."
This is my post. There are many others like it. If you don't like what you read here, go try one of the others.
I'm just waiting for my gmail account to tell me "You've got Ad"
.... is a chair hitting a wall in Redmond Washington.
This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
The AIM of this deal is clearly to take over the instant messaging market, aka, AIM. With Google's ability to throw together amazing software (look at Gmail), I see a skype-esque but better client that supports itself via ads by scanning your conversations (maybe - if they push it that far - backlash might be too big). Personally, I would not have a problem with that, but I say no to cyber sex.
Google had to sacrifice quite a lot to snag this deal but if you take over instant messaging, you can take over voip, hence, you can take over telecommunications when cell "phones" can simply operate via wi-fi. I say, good move Google - I love you baby.
check out my music biatches. www.seanduffymusic.com
AOL user #1: HEY! I USE GOOGLE! IT'S L33T!
AOL user #2: ME TOO!!!
AOL user #3: ME TOO!!!
AOL user #4: ME TOO!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September
just checking your theory....
Making good on their word, the United States switches to the metric system.
The head cheerleader from high school goes out with me, upsetting my wife greatly.
Israel and Palestine call a truce, organize bake sale.
Major Time Warner shareholder Carl Icahn is calling this a "disastrous" decision.
When you absolutely positively need your news about 3 days later than everyone else.
cat
Google's DUPElicity is astounding.
"Sure there's porn and piracy on the Web but there's probably a downside too."
You think dups on /. are bad? RTFA and see under the "more tecnology" news heading, "Google Aquires Stake in AOL"
13. Any legal action is absolutly excluded. (Pi World Ranking List rules)
If they hurt Microsoft's platform strategy, that means more sales for both AOL and Google.
I could be wrong about this, and probably am, but this is one possible explanation.
Otherwise, Google's just gone and alienated some of their geeky users in exchange for some short term profit and traffic. Not a good move.
Google spent 1 Billion dollars to add smiley faces to Google Talk.
http://www.eonestudio.com/
This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
Google's "Do No Evil" motto found to be obsolete.
and now you see that evil will always triumph... because good is dumb
Perhaps it's time to dump some of that golden Google stock :) e &symb=GOOG
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?shownav=tru
Instead of competing with companies on merit, they buy them out or pay them off.
Just being the Devil's Advocate.
It is just a matter of time before the advertisers that use Google say "enough." They are having channel conflict now at every move they make. This infusion puts them in serious jeopardy of losing major advertising dollars by directly and indirectly competing with their sponsors. They are no longer agnostic to service providers with this move: 1) ISP 2) VoIP 3) Cable TV 4) Communications Carrier Networks
I would be willing to wager that this has serious implications to their bottom line.
The air in here is getting pretty brown, and with that, we will see a new google come in and take some market share. There was a reason we all started using google after the likes of infoseek and other good search engines back in the day went south due to poor management vision, index spamming and advertising revenue crater. They are not learning from the mistakes of their predecessors. My recommendation to Larry and Sergey: Sell some stock now.
When a good company buys a bad company, the result is usually mediocrity. It's can be much harder to fix a crap company than to start fresh and build it right.
However, that isn't what's happening here. Google is only buying 5% AOL, and they already have a business relationship. Google crunched the numbers and determined that one Billion dollars was the right price to pay for renewing their lucrative contracts with AOL, establishing some new contracts, and disrupting Microsoft's plans.
My friend once told me about this time when he made out with a girl who he later found out was his cousin. He tried to explain the feeling to me. He said that his enjoyment made the post-revelation remorse much worse. But I didn't understand.
Jon -- if you're out there -- I get it now.
My area code is 666, and it's snowing outside.
Before MS announced its interest in AOL, Google was nowhere near interested in an AOL deal (or so it seemed).
Now, just because MS wanted it, Google got it first.
Sometimes businesses are silly as they can possibly get. Remember the rush of everyone providing 1GB or better storage in their mail boxes in responce to Gmail? As if we all just die for a GB of storage we won't use cuz Google 'invented' it.
Now Google has fallen pray to the same game. I hope they play their cards well. But really I think instead of turning AOL into the Google ISP, they'll turn Google into the AOL Search Engine.
If anything i think it will help AOL. I mean who uses AOL anyway? No one is hardly on dial up (unless they dont have a choice). And if they had to use dial up, why use AOL? and pay for a service that targets ads at you and makes money off of you, on top of you paying for services! SCAM! , I will be happy when ads, and commericals are against the law
One thing that we have to keep in mind, is that they shut out the EVIL M for this deal. I don't know who else they might try to partner with, but can you imagine if M$ tried to parter with someone like EARTHLINK, or COMCAST, to get deeper into the ISP market as google has just done? And in addtion, what if this is a good thing, and they can even bring prices of AOL's service lower? They may even be able to help AOL's wonderful customer service. Finally, google can now place even more ADS into the AOL software itself. Microsoft VS. the "G"OL browser. (Even though firefox would beat them both, its another way google can get into your office, and if they can get part of AOL's music service, your living room.
Well if it isn't the leader of the wiener patrol, boning up on his nerd lesson...
this is scary ....
That headline... sounds suspiciously as AOL convincing Google to try harder drugs.
I just imagine AOL patting Google on the back "Try dude, what's the worst that could happen".
If I have to draw further parallels, we're soon gonna be showered in flashing CASINO ads from the google's front page.
Good thing parallels are usually inaccurate... (cue in spooky music) or are they?
he was trying to trick you. slashdot doesnt filter any words.
there's not even a $ filter on microsoft.
AFAIK, it's still speculation.
Nothing @ http://googlepress.blogspot.com/
/. crowd: Get your head out of the sand...
/. population likes.
One of Google's issues right now is diversification of revenue streams. Most of their revenue comes from search and ads. They need to find more revenue from different areas, so what if they decided to provide the backend search and advertising infrastructure to AOL? AOL still provides the same interface and experience to it's users while Google still gets to have it's same interface that the general
What if google provided AOL with the ability to provide customized Ads to AOL users instead of AOL having to perform the work? It's called outsourcing, execute what you are good at and outsource the rest to people that are better at those tasks. If Google is good at displaying the correct ads, then it's in AOL's best interest to leverage this ability. AOL pays for this service and then Google has one more revenue stream.
With all the dark fiber purchases and rumblings I'm hearing about Google regarding streaming video, is it possible that the AOL buy is ultimately to get access to Time Warner's network?
-R
wtf? Do you REALIZE those email bits have to go somewhere too?
Just because you (quote)delete(unquote) them, doesn't mean they just go and disappear off into fairy binary land thin air, now does it? Bits cost electrons; electrons cost energy; energy costs coal!
3.3 V/bit x 8 bit/1 Byte x ~1 kB/spam =~ 26,4 kV/spam x 100 spam/month = 2700 kV/month x 500 mA = 5,3 kJ/month
You, sir, are a spam deleting coal burning environazi nightmare!
It takes a billion dollars to make two companies agree to open up their IM clients? ...
I wonder what it takes to get two to agree on anti-spam or anti-phish techniques...
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Man, I totally know what you're talking about.
A long time ago, I had a bunch of total nerd friends who started using this search engine thrown together by some grad students at Stanford, while all the rest of us were using Yahoo, Infoseek, and AltaVista. It had the word "beta" in big letters on it, which probably made it seem even more advanced.
One day, they'll realise the error of their ways and switch back to the less snobby, far superior engines like HotBot and Ask Jeeves.
so it's the other way around :)
Google is now 5% more evil.
You can't handle the truth.
With AOL Messenger merging to gTalk, this opens the gates for mac users too, only a matter or time for iChat to run over Googles network :P
From a competitive strategy standpoint, what's the alternative for google? Just sit and watch Microsoft make friends with AOL and cannibalize 10% of their revenue? Don't be evil? To who? To the shareholders? Users? Partners?
is a first major instant messenger consolidation move. Which is a good thing.
Today's agreement leverages technologies from both companies to connect Google users worldwide to a wealth of new content.'"
What exactly are "Google users"? That could be anyone that can type www.google.com into a browser. Its not like you aquired some type of paying customers or people under some type of contract or agreement and are now opening the doors to to this previously isolated group of people. Seems a little odd to say that as a bullet point for this agreement they made. Sounds like Eric Schmidt is talking out his ass.
Where is my wealth of new content that I now qualify for because I am a Google user?
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
Atleast insightful.. as it seems most have missed this part regardless of googles seemingly obvious intentions ;)
/. is good for you.
Look what I found with it: Google To Purchase Stake In AOL For $1 Billion, also Graphics Coming to Google Ads which is partly related to the AOL deal.
Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
* I realize that 5% of AOL may not equate to 5% of Google but one should not allow that to stand in the way of a good joke.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Who is John Galt?
I should clarify that I wouldn't be all that surprised if Google wanted to enter a largely unexplored market--as with their bid for providing wifi to San Francisco. But there's not really any good reason for them to want to go into the already-crowded traditional ISP market, I don't think, for the reasons cited above (and the lack of last-mile infrastructure).
More than likely, in my mind, the dark fiber and instant datacenter thing are just ideas being explored to cope with Google's existing infrastructure demands--we don't need to speculate on any particularly odd projects to explain why Google would want this.
And the stake in AOL is presumably for advertising and AOL's web services users. Again, no huge mystery.
Voyager didn't write that ending. That's been the standard ending for this fable for...oh...2500 years or so. Besides, it wouldn't really be a fable if it wasn't didactic. Aesop (heard of him?) was known for that sort of thing... You might look into some of his other fables. I'm sure he's written something that might help you with your obstinance.
Google could have sent out some operatives to steal a bunch of those AOL CD's for free... A quick way to gain a part of AOL!
Ryan - http://www.thecosmotron.com/
Took me a little while to find it, but here's the press release from Google:e d.html
http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/twaol_expand
Would've been nice to have that linked in the summary, or at least in the CNN article. Or maybe it's just too late and I failed to see it.... O_o
Thanks for the insight. AOL's edge is their dominance on the instant message market and to have access to that is worth every penny when the alternative is swimming uphill offering what may be a better protocol but few will take to it because their chief concern is whether or not they'll be able to message their old friends. This market gives itself a natural monopoloy. So google's grabbing it and expanding it in all sorts of directions but the direction of which I am most curious is their stock: Is Google still a buy at $430?
Yes I do realize this story predates voyager. Actually, I wondered if this story was of native indian culture.
That was the best summary I've seen of what both sides get. Thanks!
Even more important than Google getting that revenue and search instead of Microsoft, is that the quality of Googles search can go up even further if it can peer into a vast amount of content that MSN and Yahoo cannot! Even just from the standpoint of page relevance based on links held inside AOL... (I'm speculating here).
A disturbing trend though, will search engines each try to buy rich data oases just to keep other engines out?
In that contest I would place Google as the winner though as it has the hottest name. Money really can't buy everything, as we just saw.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
While they may be desperate for more power and the ability to vent more heat from the datacenter, it seems deals like this come too easily to Google to call it "desperation".
As far as I can tell Google made out like a bandit here, hardly a sign of someone "desperate". I think any whiff of that you may have got was from the AOL side - what would users have though if Google was not the search any longer?
Microsoft considered the deal unethical because they could not win it.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
it seems like google is slapping itself in the face to avoid microsoft's attempt to hit them with a bat. at least google is still holding the bat.
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Will this make Google worse, or AOL better?
The reason google is such a fantastic company is because time and time again they will find a niche in the industry where consumers are getting screwed (by greedy corporations, a lack of competition, or all the corporation agreeing to just settle on a crap implementation and not bother updating it), and then just knock everybody's socks off by creating a service so far superior it makes your head spin:
Google Search Engine - remember search engines before Google? Crammed and cluttered with ads, and nearly useless search results. Top result for a search for "cars" in Infoseek was someone in a message board talking about cars, but there were plenty of ads in every direction! Google was the first company to put the consumer first here and bring some intelligence to the information on the web.
Google Mail - Yahoo Mail was giving us 5mb, Hotmail I think 2MB?!? Insulting. Google comes along and drops a gig for everybody, plus a far superior interface compared to the decade-old interface of Yahoo and Hotmail. Of course Yahoo and Hotmail up their mailbox sizes in response (why werent they doing this before? it obviously wasnt a problem for them because Yahoo and MS were both content screwing the customer)
Google Talk - it looks like Google will finally be the one to unite the IM programs - this would never happen on its own, because the current players are perfectly fine with screwing their users because it helps their short-term gain. Can you imagine if phone companies were the same way, you couldn't call someone unless you subscribed to their service? The state of IMs is absolutely insulting to consumers right now and I'm rather ecstatic that Google has got their hands in it and is finally going to set things straight.
Google has got to be the first company I've ever heard of that counts on the intelligence of customers, looks past immediate gains they might get by pandering to their customers, and is very hugely rewarded for it (in terms of a skyrocketed stock price).
Don't get me wrong, I try to be cynical about corporations but Google is just making it too difficult!!
One of the most important pro-Google points you left out: AOL will shift from using another search engine (I forget who) to using Google as the built-in search provider. Hence millions of extra ad impressions for Google per day. What I've seen mentioned but not described in detail that scares me is that Google may have given its away its impartiality and somehow give AOL precedence in its ads / search results. Anyone have details?
AOL has zero idea what the hell they are doing when it comes to mail. They tout SPF on their site (postmaster.aol.com) However..i've recieved a bunch of mails from them, supposedly returned mails. This i get eventhough my domain uses SPF and the sender originally sending them is NOT listed in allowed senders. Way to go AOL.
WIlling to try them - at the bottom of the page. Possibly a tactic to suck up more of AOL's 300M before they are disbanded.
Also no mention of changes to the main page. Personally I am willing to give Google the benefit of the doubt on the expiriemtn until it's prooven to be crappy.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Hey, I thought this company was Google. Our happy interweb friend. What kind of speak is this?
Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said: 'AOL is one of Google's longest-standing partners, and we are thrilled to strengthen and expand our relationship. Today's agreement leverages technologies from both companies to connect Google users worldwide to a wealth of new content.
Leverages technologies? Wealth of new content? WTF?
Methinks Saruman's been looking into the palantir.
-- I prefer the term "karma escort."
With single click, focus is given when the mouse hovers over an icon (as opposed to a single click, which would activate the icon). If I'm using the keyboard to navigate, as I often do, what often happens is that an icon finds itself under my unmoving mouse stealing my focus. And that sucks. SUCKS I SAY.
"as part of an enhanced pact where Google will move beyond text-based advertising to allow AOL to sell graphical ads to Google's fast-growing ad network." There they just made the biggest mistake they could have made... Currently the only advertisement I don't block is from google because they are simple text adds they are also the only advertisements I've ever clicked out of interest on something they offered. If they are going to add annoying graphical banner adds they will go where the rest of the annoying graphical adds go.. exactly the block list. I really hope they reconsider this am sure they will lose A lot of revenue if they implant this.
Is a hampster a small rodent with a big weekend house on Long Island? Unless you meant hamster.....
Now every time I do business with Google, I'm affiliated with AOL!!! Gag, the reeking STENCH!
They've successfully fool M$ with their do no evil marketing strategy. Ah yes, Typical Art of War: do not look threatening to your competitors, then when the time is right, wack'em unless your competitors fail from fear, over-protectiveness, and anxiety.
This deal is actually good for Google. AOL has such as wide reach--an internationally reach that only Microsoft can match. It's fits to mission #1 of Google.: to make information available to all users, you need a network/system that allows one to easily connect. That's compared to word-of-mouth strategies. And AOL fits nicely. Good business move I say.
Just as long as google supplies the results I want, at the price point (free to semi free) more power to them. So to the nay-sayers, really, only time will tell.
They should name the AOL version of Google, Aogoogle...
Then YOU or these editors you so so honor should've linked to the speculation as follow-up.
You don't have to use a client supporting Oscar or TOC to use AIM. You can do it from your Jabber/XMPP client by using an AIM transport. The transport becomes a proxy for your AIM account and permits you to register on their service, using your Jabber/XMPP client. I think ideally Jabber wants to do away with transports eventually, as the quality of them vary and let's face it, they're not very elegant, proprietary IM protocols not withstanding.
But, with this deal, I could see AOLand/or Google, setting up a custom XMPP-AIM gateway that would probably only allow s2s communication from Google Talk and any one else they let into their proposed "federation." This would allow all their users to communicate with AIM users and vice versa.
Though, I'm not too keen on Google's federation, either. Limiting s2s connectivity only to networks they choose, goes against one of Jabber's primary advantages -- IM decentralization. One of the big advantages to Jabber, is having an open protocol which finally gives the Internet community a way to decentralize IM. Just as so many other open protocols before it have enriched the Internet of today.
Requiring third party networks to federate, in order to interoperate with Google Talk only makes sense, IF they're using an incompatible protocol. Jabber/XMPP s2s communications, however, would be compatible as they're all ready using a subset of the protocol that Google Talk natively uses! So, Google, if you're reading this, what gives? Show the world just how much you believe in openness, and allow anonymous s2s.
_excellent_! will google get dumber, or will AOL get smarter, we shall see...
i _like_ google, because they put simplicity in front of complexity.
i don't particularly like AOL (with caveats) because they put _stupid users_
in front of complexity, via a restricted interface.
the caveats are: at least a damn computer that's connected to the
internet via AOL stands less of a chance of being attacked - as long
as you stay the fuck away from IE and Outlook.
so, despite being a geek techie linux dude, i actually _recommend_
AOL to people that are too stupid to use anything other than windows,
and to those people who insist on "following the herd" because the
don't believe linux cuts it.
If AOL chose Microsoft, I'm sure Microsoft would mess it up. Some way or another AOL customer's computers/credit card info would get in the hand of the bad guys. Or at the very least, they would display really obnoxious ads which would turn even more AOL subscribers away. In a perfect world Microsoft would mess up so bad to kill AOL and then everyone would get a real ISP.
Unfortunately, google won the contract. Now Google has to partner with this dinosaur ISP and get dragged down by it, just like Time Warner. What made AOL great in the beginning was the access to such a wide variety of content. The WWW made that content obsolete and now AOL is only riding on all of its older subscribers and its name brand recognition.
The Internet is coming of age. Its time for AOL to either change or die. I hope, for Google's sake, that it's not part of the latter.
Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-6002395.html (uses New York Times as source)
We are the Google, resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated.
It means more integration between AOL and google services...
Hence Google talk supporting AIM.....
That talk of Google launching an ISP service later on could be linked with AOL...
And so forth.
#!/bin/bash
login root
chmod 775 universe://
EMail addresses and IM addresses will never be identical without some layer of abstraction, because both expose some of the mechanics of how the messages are routed. In order for my Jabber ID to be the same as my email address, I must either manage my own domain -- which isn't an option for most people at this point -- or use the same provider for my email and my Jabber services. A user can choose to set things up this way for his own email address and Jabber ID, but no-one will ever be able to make the assumption that the two will always be identical.
Now what would be useful is some kind of service (decentralised, naturally) which gives every user a single identifier which can then be used to look up a user's Jabber ID or email address (or a webblog URL, telephone number...). Could even just use DNS for this with a few new RR types. People would probably want to do it in an authenticated manner though, so that they can control the distribution of their contact details; I guess things like LID can be used for this in theory. LID uses URLs as the universal identifier. Not much use until it gains critical mass, though.
I see posts like this all the time... it appears you are responding to another post... but you are not threaded, and I can't find the parent! Is this slashdot's fault? Or did you hit the wrong reply button?
AIM (as of last night) has seemingly inserted some rule to parse links in AIM profiles. It strips out any = sign which breaks almost any link that relies on query parameters. Seems like a not so subtle move to get rid of subprofiles...
Blatant karma whore. This same comment was posted in yesterday's related story. It's not even funny or creative.
Even more interesting is if this will encourage apple to make ichat compatible with google talk since it's already compatible with AIM.
You just got his point.
Patrick Doyle
I mod down every jackass who puts his moderation policy in his sig. Oh, wait a sec....
The parent AC's #3 is exactly right. Google doesn't want the dying dialup ISP, they want the millions of users. The want the graying-America who are comfortable with their AOL-Internet and are retiring richer than any generation in history. Millions of (primarily) older generation, with lots of expendable income, who are only really comfortable using the Internet through AOL. Forward thinking businesses (which I hope/think is Google) understand the monetary value of a customer-base. Read "The Customer Revolution" by Patricia Seybold.
Yes, I know, I tried using the AIM (and MSN, and Yahoo) transports for Jabber on my server, but they just don't work as well as a native client.
For one, the server has to keep your unencrypted password saved. For me that wasn't a problem since it was my server, but for other users they have to trust some unknown third party.
Also, things like buddy icons don't work (which is another rant I have about Jabber and incompatible proposals for that, but anyway). Little things like typing notification and profile information don't work quite right.
Some Jabber clients also don't work correctly with transports. Gaim for one only sort of worked. In the end I'd rather use Oscar (or TOC when I'm using naim, but I wish naim had oscar support since TOC is horrible and often broken...).
I'm hoping that any XMPP to AIM google put in place would work better than transports. For one thing it should at least prevent you from having to have an AIM account to proxy through.
Though, I'm not too keen on Google's federation
I agree with you there, hence the whole "big if" comment. They'd have to open up site-to-site for everyone, because I doubt my little server with a few friends on it would be eligibale for their "federation". That's the main reason I've avoided google talk altogether so far.
ISTM if there's a spam problem they could just selectively block certain users, or entire domains if whoever's operating the server is in on it. Unlike email I think Jabber is fairly spoof-resistent.
women = time x money
time = money
women = money * money
women = money^2
____
money = Vevil
money^2 = evil
women = evil
Therefore: standard definition of evil is women.
No seriously though... the problem is not just that companies become big... the problem is that size implies power.
Power corrupts. Absolute Power corrupts absolutely. History is full of people who were morally respectable and philosophically pure until they rose to power; When they rose to power, they became corrupt, arrogant, and even evil. It takes some very strong convitions to maintain the moral highground when in a position of power. Lets hope that google realizes that its past success was won on the strength of its convictions, and that we, as its original supporters, can remind them of it often, and keep our beloved company in line.
pttp
Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni
From an outsider's point of view, it seems the reason for this deal is that AOL will keep Google search engine and Ad programs, the latter of which make up about 12% of Google's revenues. Google did this to protect their revenue and by extension, stock price. AOL gets a lot of money, and perhaps the cachet of a closer partnership with Google. As a side benefit, Google also gets to tie Google Talk in with AIM. It was an unfortunate necessity for Google, but that's business. Maybe they'll eventually persuade AOL to dump IE and go back to a Gecko-based browser...
Flying is easy, just throw yourself at the ground and miss. -Douglas Adams
Did anyone ever consider that Google could turn into Skynet like in Terminater? I know it seems rediculous; But look how fast they're growing and how much realestate they're taking up. And the absolutely endless amount of resources they have right now -- It's insane to think that they're just an IT Company.... hmmmmm Maybe I should build a bombshelter now?
Ah shud thank u, cuz ah shur dident no that, wut with me and Cletus bizzy slopin thuh howgs an all. Ah shur am glad ah hav u furrin fellers lookin out for us dum Amuricans.
ISP-Planet's most recent rankings of U.S. ISP market share show AOL still way out in front of everyone else, at 20.8 million U.S. subscribers. Say that Google decides to use AOL's backbone, ATDN, for at least some of the traffic to and from Google servers. Assume also that SBC, BellSouth, or whoever - let's call such a company "Jerkweed" - begins to charge traffic to and from Google at a higher rate than anywhere else. What are Jerkweed's options?
1) Have some sort of metering at Jerkweed<=>ATDN transit points. That's a shitload of traffic to meter. I mean, you have Google traffic, then you have traffic from all those AOL subs. Does Jerkweed count individual packets bound for Google, or does it just say fuckit and count them all, even though a lot of those packets will be for AOL subs, not Google? Either way, it costs money to do that sort of metering, and it'll probably slow down the transit. If people complain, ATDN can point the finger squarely at Jerkweed. Winner: ATDN.
2) Rewrite the peering agreement between Jerkweed and ATDN to charge higher rates. Well then, you have contract negotiations, during which ATDN will say to Jerkweed, "OK, we will charge you more to access our 20.8 million AOL subscribers in the U.S. Oh, and don't forget our even larger number of worldwide subscribers, either." Winner: ATDN.
So, with this move, Google is bringing the noise, both vs. MS and vs. Jerkweeds everywhere. The message is clear: "If you try to pin us down, you'll only be hurting yourself." Turnabout, after all, is fair play.
Google may in fact be after access to AOL's Points Of Presents throughout the world. I imagine that AOL has a POP with pretty much every major telco player in the world. Bundle that with the dark fiber, the millions of users, the raw talent and the cash.....
This company has a plan and we are just along for the ride. I hope it takes us somewhere we want to go.
Do no (more) evil (than AOL)
What about if Google was buying part of AOL, so that they could join IM networks. When AOL goes belly-up, Google keeps AOL's IMers and they get a 1 billion dollar tax write-off. Sounds like a win-win situation.
I am wondering how this might all tie into the information back in August about a GoogleNet, if at all. http://www.business2.com/b2/web/articles/0,17863,1 093558,00.htmlOm Malik of Buiness 2.0 talked about Google buying up unused fiber-optic cable across the country as well as superfast connections on the east coast and in Atlanta, Miami and NY. He suggested that these purhcases are needed for Google to unleash a flood of new bandwidth hungry aps. Everything from digital-video to on demand tv-programming, which would tie in nicely with the AOL Time Warner deal.
http://blizzardinternet.blogs.com/blizzard_interne t_marketi/2005/12/google_will_pur.html
I wonder if it would have been good news or bad if Msft had bought in. Obviously I wouldn't have wanted any part of it but I have been waiting for an excuse to get another ISP for ages. I want to go play with Linux.
It always suprised me that with the popularity of entertainment files, AOL wasn't the top dog in that file share market. I think if Google can wrest control, they could make it what it aught to be. (I can't se how Msft would do that can you?)
They'll want much more than a small percentage though. So no doubt they will see it as an investment covered by tax deductions. Money earning interest in a bank is money not earning more interest elsewhere.
I doubt they will invest much by way of new ideas until they have had a good look around,though. And then if Time continue to be jerks, they will build their own version.
Either that or go elsewhere; buy into a Linux distro perhaps and set up their own ISP. Maybe even sell their AOL shares to Msft -or more likey, Yahoo.
I bet AOL have got some places off limit to Google.
What will AOL gain?
Customer profiles I suppose. And then not maximise on that too neither!
With a buy back clause they can get a good idea about what Google were looking for/interested in and no harm done. You don't have to snatch at the first straw you are offered, just because you are stuck in a swamp.
Does this mean having mail waiting in a gmail box will now come with the "you got mail" tune?
I'm shuddering just thinking about it.
--
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