“A year ago, the company largely functioned as a consumer
Internet service provider. But its market muscle has grown
considerably since then.”
“The company’s acquisition of Netscape and the resulting
software deals with Java developer Sun Microsystems have
transformed the company into the potential to become a desktop
power broker. By virtue of the Netscape acquisition, for instance,
AOL has inherited an equity stake in Red Hat, the biggest Linux
vendor and a company that has received investments from computing
powerhouses Intel, Oracle, and IBM, among others.”
…
“The results of these investments and programs is impossible to
gauge at the present.”