AOL/Netscape - is Microsoft now off the hook?

Does the AOL/Netscape share deal mean that Microsoft has been let off the hook? Naturally, Microsoft would argue that it does.

You need to be a big player to succeed in the browser market and this consolidation will make it hard for the rest of the industry. Sun, which is getting the business side of Netscape's custom, must be laughing as it gets further fingers into the e-commerce pie.

What does this mean for the Net? Already consumers and industry watchdogs have started wringing their hands - the AOL/Netscape/Sun alliance is undoubtedly partly in response to Microsoft's dominance. However, as these two titans battle over the Net, it should be remembered that there will be atrocities in the war, the most feared being the adoption of closed standards. It will also leave an ever-diminishing space in the sector for new companies.

The internet is blossoming into a widespread transactional business medium and that means a lot of money in cyberspace. But the business of making business happen on the Web is where the real pot of gold lies.