Microsoft says it is more serious this time. Chairman Bill Gates and President Steve Ballmer have generously funded the new plan, formulated in the past six months, in large part as a protective measure for Microsoft's core software business. Internal AOL documents disclosed in Microsoft's antitrust trial indicated that was exactly AOL's intention. In the future, AOL is the next Microsoft. AOL executives say they are prepared for any Microsoft counterattack.
Consumers are our strength.
Defending their turf The squabble between Microsoft and AOL over instant messaging shows how ferociously the online giant intends to defend its turf. Instant messaging allows users to conduct private online chats in real time, without the delays of e-mail. The move outraged AOL, which quickly blocked Microsoft's efforts to let its chatters hook into AOL servers, the computer hubs that coordinate instant-messaging traffic. AOL said it never gave Microsoft permission to access the servers. Microsoft, for its part, called the defensive measures hypocritical, since AOL has lobbied elsewhere for open access to cable-television and other networks.