[thelist] [NEWS]-AOL reportedly in talks to buy Red Hat

[N.D.]

http://news.com.com/2100-1001-819243.html

WASHINGTON--Media and Internet titan AOL Time Warner is in negotiations
to acquire Linux distributor Red Hat, the Washington Post reported Saturday,
citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter.

The talks were fluid and it was unclear how much AOL, which runs the biggest
U.S.
Internet service provider and the second-largest U.S. cable television
system, would
pay for Red Hat, the newspaper said.

Red Hat is the leading distributor of Linux, which unlike software such as
rival
Microsoft's Windows operating system, is an "open source" platform that
anyone can change to suit their needs.

Spokespeople for the three companies declined to comment on the
negotiations, the newspaper
reported. Linux has gained growing favor with businesses, especially to
power the heavy-duty
server computers that dish up Web pages and run corporate networks. The
attempted acquisition
is the latest indication that AOL is seeking alternative software to that
made by rival Microsoft,
the maker of Windows which runs 90 percent of the world's personal
computers,
the Washington Post said.

To counter Microsoft, AOL could couple its Internet service with Red Hat's
operating system
technology and could be configured to override Windows while launching a
version of Linux,
sources told the newspaper.


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