AOL In Talks With Microsoft to Merge Online Divisions, Says WSJ 143
Ian Lamont writes "Microsoft executives are reportedly meeting with their AOL counterparts to discuss combining the two companies' online divisions. No one from either side is willing to comment, nor has the structure of the supposed deal been worked out.
The original unconfirmed report comes from the Wall Street Journal (password-protected). A few months ago there was talk about AOL teaming up with Yahoo, but that never materialized." The free excerpt at the WSJ link above seems to say about as much as this Bloomberg wire report which refers to it, and the above-linked story at The Standard; this Reuters story indicates that AOL is still courting or being courted by Yahoo!, too.
Nothing (Score:5, Insightful)
No one from either side is willing to comment, nor has the structure of the supposed deal been worked out. The original unconfirmed report comes from the Wall Street Journal (password-protected). A few months ago there was talk about AOL teaming up with Yahoo, but that never materialized.
Translation:
We know absolutely nothing because nobody is talking about the unconfirmed idea that supposedly sort of was talked about some time ago.
WTF?
Re:Hooray (Score:2, Insightful)
IM (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm sure AOL's IM portion is lucrative. With MS messenger and AIM, and already existing compatibility with yahoo networks, that pretty much leaves no-one else (with any significant market share).
I predict their first marketing maneuver... (Score:4, Insightful)
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/nothing/microsoft-aol.asp [snopes.com]
Life imitates an urban legend. Shit.
Re:Microsoft after e-mail accounts (Score:5, Insightful)
Culture Match (Score:5, Insightful)
What better way to secure your future than merge yourself with a failing online business (AOL)? WTF is MS thinking these days...
Maybe they figure they are a better culture match than with Yahoo. AOL was about lucklaster ads, controlling user experience, inconsistent interfaces, sneaking your products into every device, and closed standards. A match made in heaven!