[thelist] AOL wants to buy RH Linux??

the head lemur headlemur at clearskymail.com
Sun Jan 20 11:04:10 CST 2002


According to a Single Source  unconfirmed, AOL is in talks to buy Red Hat,
probably the most recognizable Linux company on the planet.

Holy Panic, Pixelman! The last time I remember this much traffic about a
single web issue was the Web Standards Project Upgrade Campaign. The
comments range from the end of life as we know it, to this will get linux on
the desktop for sure.

AOL on Linux? Get Serious. Linux is an operating system for general purpose
computing machines. It is beginning to receive acceptance as a serious
contender not only on the individual level, but as a robust network level
operating system. The applications that most people use on a computer are
coming online now in Linux versions with the same growing pains that windows
users suffered when they switched from DOS.

AOL is nothing but propriatary software. From the browser itself, (built on
the Internet Explorer core) the  image formats, mail services, instant
messaging and all of the other components that make up the AOL universe. NO
clearer indication of the clash of culture between Open vs Closed Source
computing exists than the Mozilla Project. With AOL's purchase of Netscape,
the Mozilla Project was underway. It didn't take long for the corporate
culture to gut the core of the Mozilla Project. A lot of the best
programmers left the project. It continues, but it's future is uncertain.

Red Hat is a company attempting to make the Linux experience as painless as
the Windows experience has become. Red Hat is a service company just like
AOL. It packages components and sells service for them. Businesswise, this
is an attractive match, as AOL would like nothing better than to be the
Internet gateway for everyone on the planet at 20 bucks a month. Add Red Hat
support for an additional fee of course and investors will weep with joy,
business publications will profile these visionaries, and the face of
personal computing will achieve a new level of world peace and
understanding. Yeah Right!

The average Linux user has a higher level of  geek than an average  Windows
user. The last thing that Linux users would accept would be proprietary
applications that were not able to be futzed with. The last thing AOL wants
to do is allow anybody to futz with it's vision and software.  Just think
back to every attempt to integrate other instant messaging with your AOL
"buddys".

I see this report as FUD from AOL to hammer Microsoft and it's MSN network.

the head lemur
Web Standards
http://www.webstandards.org
Evolt
http://www.evolt.org
lemurzone
http://www.lemurzone.com






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