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Gobble Gobble Gobble (11/24/98)
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Yep, it really happened: AOL couldn't wait until Thanksgiving to stuff their collective face, so they gobbled up a browser company as an appetizer. They announced that the deal has been finalized, and they're buying Netscape for a little over $4 billion in stock-- and Sun gets a piece of the pie, too. Read more about it in this Reuters article.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Netscape becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL, Netscape shareholders will have their stock converted to AOL common stock, and Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale will join the AOL board of directors. There are no real clues as to what will happen to Netscape's management and development structure, which we hope will remain largely intact; our biggest fear about this whole deal is that development of Navigator will suffer. As for Sun, AOL agrees to buy half a billion dollars' worth of equipment and services over the course of the next four years, while Sun will pay AOL $350 million in "licensing, marketing, and advertising fees." And one of the most interesting things about the AOL-Sun agreement is that AOL will use Java to create a version of AOL that runs on a set-top box-- and competes directly with Microsoft's WebTV. That could be a huge boost for Java, and a huge pain in the butt for Microsoft.
Meanwhile, according to a Wired article, both Microsoft and the government are claiming that the Netscape buyout strengthens their positions in the "Redmond Justice" case. Microsoft says it just shows that it has plenty of worthy competitors out there, while the government claims that Netscape sold out to AOL because Microsoft's antitrust tactics gave it little other choice for survival; "What you see here is essentially an exit strategy for Netscape," says David Boies. Whatever. All we know is, this deal could change the landscape pretty significantly when it comes to browser share, Java, and a slew of other factors. Isn't it neat how the tech world can shift drastically so quickly?
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SceneLink (1174)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 11/24/98 episode: November 24, 1998: AOL is probably picking little bits of Netscape out of its teeth right now, as it wonders if it has room left for pie. Meanwhile, Apple readies something big to do with wireless Internet access, and iMacs continue to make their presence felt all over the tube...
Other scenes from that episode: 1175: Piecing the Puzzle (11/24/98) Lots of sites out there have picked up on the story that Apple has quietly filed to register "My Apple" as a service mark for something it's got up its sleeve. Apple certainly isn't saying what it is, though, and most of the people reporting this tidbit aren't going out on a limb to guess what it means... 1176: Star of the Show (11/24/98) Now there's yet another article out there on how Macs and Apple equipment show up on so many TV shows-- NewsWeek's a little late with their offering, but it's still a good read. You know the phenomenon, of course; if you manage to watch an evening of network television without ever catching a glimpse of a Mac or two, you're either not paying attention or you have really unusual taste in your program choices...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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