AOL owns 90% of the IM market share. that is over the 50% needed to be accused of having a monopoly. By AOL's continued refusal to allow other companies into the IM market it is participating in unfair and ILLEGAL business practices here in the US. This would not even be an issue if AOL was out of the US, or if AOL DID NOT have a 90% market share. They own their own software (aim) and network. Are software developers out there so inept that they can't write a different protocol and software?
Personally, I don't like AOL, and I don't like Microsoft all that much either. But, why should they open it up? It's a private network. These companies that are whining to use this protocol can't write their own software for instant messaging? And with the gevernment just HAS to get involved somehow. Can't keep their noses out of anything.
I'm all for open source. I like it, but then again I also don't think that an entity should be forced to it.
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AOL owns 90% of the IM market share. that is over the 50% needed to be accused of having a monopoly. By AOL's continued refusal to allow other companies into the IM market it is participating in unfair and ILLEGAL business practices here in the US. This would not even be an issue if AOL was out of the US, or if AOL DID NOT have a 90% market share. They own their own software (aim) and network. Are software developers out there so inept that they can't write a different protocol and software?
Personally, I don't like AOL, and I don't like Microsoft all that much either. But, why should they open it up? It's a private network. These companies that are whining to use this protocol can't write their own software for instant messaging? And with the gevernment just HAS to get involved somehow. Can't keep their noses out of anything.
I'm all for open source. I like it, but then again I also don't think that an entity should be forced to it.