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Netscape/AOL/Sun deal delayed until March
The Netscape/AOL/Sun deal will not come to fruition until
late March because Microsoft's trial has resulted in a lengthier
federal regulator review process. Moreover, the net result of
the deal in 3 years time may be that Sun walks away with Netscape's
software while AOL takes its portal.
Read the article yet? Still sounds like Sun is only getting Netscape's server (or "enterprise" as the article puts it) software. Nothing specific here about Navigator, so I'd assume that piece is still going to AOL.
http://home.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease70
Wonder why ZDNet would publish this story (given that there has been *no* change in the schedule)?
This kind of scenario has been predicted in the past (RPG again?)
What scares me is that it seems to always come closer.
dude read more Robert Anton Wislson, and then see if you dont sometimes feel that the illuminati is out there somewhere...
all that i'm saying is i wouldnt put it past them to try...
nah, it was always going to be this way, it
just wasn't initially announced that way.
the four month thing too -- that's waiting
for regulatory approval.
at least engineering at both companies knew this
was how it was going to work out back when the
deal was announced.
But they couldn't; the time frame has always been
four months since the deal was announced.
The arrangement with the gradual shift to Sun
owning stuff over three years was there from the
start as well.
There are currently 3 major internet players: Netscape, AOL, Microsoft. The U.S. government claims to be worried about monopolizing the browser market, etc. so now the government is going to allow AOL to get Netscape's portal and browser. So now we have two major players, AOL and Microsoft where there used to be three. Can someone explain to me:
a) how this improves competition the market?
b) how this helps the consumer?
c) how this keeps Microsoft from getting a stronger grip?
And finally, if it were up to you to make the decision, would you allow AOL to buy Netscape?
The real deal is that 'Scape will continue to exist as a separate business, wholly owned by AOL, in the same way as CompuServe. AOL will not confuse its (probably easily confused) audience by integrating netcenter now. Also, Sun will be a big customer (prepaid too) for NS, but not actually acquire anything. Of course the working relationship will be close. Still curious to see how the competition between NAS and Sun's app server (Netfinity?) will shake out. My money's on NAS.
AOL are in the internet portal game, which is where everyone else seems to want to be too. I'm sure they want Netscape for the Netcenter portal rather than for the browser technology (although that's nice insurance against Microcrap's trying to make the internet proprietary).
It's the same reason they bought Mirabilis (ICQ) - they've already announced that they want to turn a nice single purpose tool into another bloated portal.
What I don't understand is WHY everyone wants to be in the portal business - it seems like advertising is the main pay-off.
Hi. I live in DC near AOL's hq and in earshot of the MS trials. You can't go to lunch here without hearing guys in suites (business people, not techies like us) gossiping about what's going to happen After The Trial.
1) After 2 more years of trials, Microsoft gets broken up, and as expected Windows and MS Office quality goes down (even worse!?!). The problem is that they are still the most popular OS and Office products, because competetor's products are still lacking. Windows and Office prices go up because it's now more expensive to develope as separate companies. This opens the doors to competitors, as we'd hoped from the begining.
2) AOL is the new big company, with Sun at it's side, which by this time has bought Apple. Apple machines are the clients, Sun's are the servers, and AOL is platform (not the OS, which becomes a term of the past as the OS becomes more and more hidden, like on VCR's and console systems.) The thing is that AOL is not realy competing with Microsoft - they don't make any of the same things (no AOL OS, no AOL office suite, no AOL dev suite). But people don't care - they buy anything with AOL/Sun/Apple's name on it because it's "Not Microsoft." (That's part of the ad campaign.) Oh yeah, and AOL changes their name to AOL Worldtech, and eventually just drops the AOL part. Worldtech's logo is next to Sun's logo on their servers and Apple's logo on their clients. They make a big deal how they don't own the server or client market, they are just partners, but in fact they do.
3) AOL Worldtech IS the new monoloply, but you would never know that. Why? Because you use it. That means you see their news pages, and unlike MSNBC which prints stories about the trial with an "anti-Microsoft" tone to them, Worldtech would never print anything like that on it's online papers. They also suggest the same things to NYTimes, CNNonline, and all the other news services that use Worldtech to get to customers. The slang question "Whats' your Worel-T address?" replaces "What's your internet address?" as Worldtech stops using the word "Internet" and replaces it with "Worldtech's networks" - they might not own the Internet, but they own most people on it, and browsing the web is impossible without hitting a Worldtech page, site, or other connection.
--
palmsizethis@hotmail.com
Okay, I'll have a go. Of course it's late, and I'm hyper on caffine, but I'll answer anyway.
:)
a) AOL aquiring Mozilla means that they'll use it, otherwise why the hell do they want it. And if a stack of AOL users already use IE, that means that they have to support them. So they allow choice. People on AOL may be given the oportunity to use either. Ideally they would have a choice when they first installed whatever AOL gives them, with no preference between them.
b) Consumers get to choose. Choice means that there is competition. Competition can lead to improvements (or it might just lead to more marketing to promote the inferior. Am I the only one who can't stand the Rolling Stones anymore. Not that I liked them much to being with...)
c) If AOL starts offering Mozilla, then AOLusers are no longer confined to IE, which means a few million people (potentially) using Mozilla not IE.
d) I'd allow the deal, on the condition that AOL doesn't try to use Mozilla to force people onto their service. I'm happy with my ISP. I took a stanley knife to the AOL CD that was sent to my house to prevent an idiot^H^H^H^H^Hmy brother from installing it. Keep mozilla.org going, and I'm happy.
I'd include a few other people as "major players". I'd start with the Apache team. As the only server that grew its market share, and still with over 50% of the market, they have to be a major player. I'd include others, but I'm a touch blasted (sorry).
At least you didn't suggest that AOL will take over the world. Or that they belong to the illuminati. Just who the hell are the illuminati? I just want a T shirt with "I'm with the conspiracy" in big letters on it. Just to see if I get conspiracy freaks to react.
The freemasons are making me end this comment now.
Colin Scott
Final Year Computer Systems Engineering Student
Colin Scott If you build it, they will be dumb...
At least now we can wait for March for /. to merge the AOL and Netscape content icons...*grin*
What do you mean "in three years' time"? I thought that was supposed to be the outcome as soon as the deal closed!
If Sun open-sources java, and walks about with Netscape's software, then they would have a big peice of the commercial open-source software "puzzle". Hopefully they don't screw it up, this could be a big chance.
Force Recon Half-Life TC: Check it out
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