Internet service providers Earthlink and Mindspring. And the deals may suggest a boost for AOL since the feud began, but not everyone commenting at ZDNet's website is rushing to defend AOL.
ZDNet News reports AOL has signed deals with the two ISPs to offer co-branded versions of its popular AOL Instant Messenger, a week after signing a deal with Apple to launch a Mac version of the software.
It's the latest salvo in a feud which kicked off when Microsoft made its own instant messaging system interoperative with AIM. AOL claimed Microsoft was "hacking" into its servers, essentially, while Microsoft and others blasted AOL for not opening up its codes.
Earlier this week, AOL - which had tried numerous blocking maneuvers that were unblocked by Microsoft Messenger in turn - began kicking Microsoft Messenger users off AIM, showing them advisories that they were using "unauthorized software."
But the battle has been a boost for AOL so far, ZDNet News says. AOL spokeswoman Tricia Primrose told ZDNet AIM's user base has jumped from 40 million to 43 million, with message volume jumping from 430 million a day to 475 million. AIM and ICQ, another hugely popular instant messaging service that AOL acquired recently, dominate the instant messaging terrain so popular with Net surfers.
AOL may have resisted allowing other companies to break into its market at first, but of late they've been hinting they might work with others to produce a common instant messaging standard. They've also said they want to work with Microsoft to resolve the instant messaging dispute and standards.
The AOL/Microsoft instant message feud has drawn considerable comment at ZDNet's Web Site, where not everyone thinks AOL is on the side of the angels.
A Canadian software engineer sees it as "Microsoft crying foul when AOL is playing fairly," but a Texas web developer sees it as less AOL protecting its protocols than AOL trying just to stop Microsoft from taking a piece of its action.
"(AIM) came out," the developer says, "but the developers knew that they couldn't write a client for every platform. So, they published 'How To Write Your Own IM client.' What followed were Java clients, TIK/TCL clients, OS/2 clients, etc. Yahoo! came out with its client, with little to no fanfare. Microsoft came out with theirs and, suddenly, it's 'OH! WE CAN'T HAVE THAT!'"
