Despite helping to launch the Mozilla Foundation and releasing the code to its AOL Server software, America Online has never been synonymous with open source. But a number of new initiatives could change AOL"s proprietary image, as the company strives to reach a broader audience on the open Web.
Faced with extending its core business strategy beyond its walled garden and rapidly falling subscriber numbers, AOL is looking outward—rather than inward—to bolster its arsenal of content and services. Specifically, AOL is enlisting the open source community to take over a number of projects. First on the list are two popular visualization plug-ins found in Winamp, AOL"s digital media player that is used by over 60 million people worldwide.