You may choose not to use AOL / Netscape at home but soon the choice may not be your"s at work. I mean, have you seen the beta of AOL 8? :S
America Online is quietly gearing up to sell its Internet software to corporate customers.
A division called AOL Strategic Business Solutions will package various Internet server software products developed by the company"s Netscape unit for sale to businesses. One of the primary products offered will be a version of AOL Instant Messenger, customized for corporate use by adding security for private, internal communications.
Another of the products weaves together AOL"s calendar, address book and Web site hosting services, according to the unit"s web site. A third service allows companies to offer on their own Web sites content from AOL Time Warner, such as CNN news feeds, and AOL Web services, such as MapQuest.
The division already has a major partner, Hewlett-Packard, which is including version 6 of the Netscape Directory Server along with its version of Unix, said Ram Appalaraju, HP"s director of marketing for the product. Directory servers are useful for tasks such as storing username-password combinations.