Loading ...I used instant messaging back when ICQ was an independent company and the only one available. (My number is 1127xx). When AOL bought the program it went down hill faster than a greased elephant. Those of you who have been on THE LIST for a few years remember when I started looking for a new IM program and finally decided MSN Messenger was the best alternative because it was what IM’s were supposed to be - SIMPLE. Instant message, send a file.
There has been talk in the industry for few years of making the IM programs all use a “standard” - like email does. It doesnt matter what email program you use, I can use Outlook to send email to you and you can read it with Eudora. Its a standard. When the FCC approved the AOL-Time Warner merger, it said that if America Online wanted to offer video-conferencing and other advanced instant-messaging features over Time Warner’s cable lines, it first had to enable its instant- messaging users to communicate with users of rival services. The intent of the condition was to prevent America Online from widening its dominance of the instant-messaging market by exploiting its access to Time Warner cable systems.
America Online isn’t required to make its messaging system interoperable with others, but the FCC’s merger approval included what it considered to be incentives for the company to do so. It also required AOL to file progress reports on its interoperability efforts every six months. The most recent report, filed last week, disclosed the company’s new direction - which is NONE. Odigo? the company you keep trying to put out of business? As John Stossell would say, “Give Me a Break.” To say AOL sucks is an insult to things that truly do suck. [Comment on this Post]
