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posted by takyon on Tuesday May 12 2015, @10:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the that's-a-lot-of-coasters dept.

Verizon has announced that it will be acquiring AOL for $4.4 billion. Those of us that remember AOL from the dial-up days when all noobs used it might wonder what it possibly has worth that kind of cash today. Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, said:

"AOL has once again become a digital trailblazer, and we are excited at the prospect of charting a new course together in the digitally connected world. At Verizon, we've been strategically investing in emerging technology, including Verizon Digital Media Services and OTT, that taps into the market shift to digital content and advertising. AOL's advertising model aligns with this approach, and the advertising platform provides a key tool for us to develop future revenue streams."

A NPR blog has an excerpt from a paywalled WSJ article which further explains:

"Verizon has said it plans to launch a video service focused on mobile devices this summer. The company has offered few details, but last month Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said the service will offer a mix of paid, free and ad-supported content and won't try to replicate traditional TV.

"The service will feature shorter snippets rather than 30 or 60 minute shows. It also could include multicast programming—a sort of broadcast service that uses cellular airwaves—for delivering live content like sports and concerts, along with on-demand viewing."

NPR also notes:

Many people probably still associate AOL as one of their first Internet service providers. But more than two decades later, AOL is more of a media company: It owns The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, MapQuest and Moviefone. According to the company, it is the fourth largest online property in the U.S. with 200 million monthly visitors to its sites.

What does SN think? Can this deal possibly be worth it?

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by mendax on Wednesday May 13 2015, @01:08AM

    by mendax (2840) on Wednesday May 13 2015, @01:08AM (#182191)

    Those floppies were great. AOL's floppy-sending heyday was when I was in grad school. I worked in the mailroom for the dorms and had to deal with them all the time. Because they floppies were sent as bulk-rate junk mail, there were no forwarding or return privileges for them. Furthermore, they did not ask for notification if the intended recipient had moved. (The post office loved those because they got paid to send those to the sender.) Therefore, all we could do is toss them, or in my case, keep them. (We weren't really supposed to keep them but I like to think of it as recycling.) After I started working in the mailroom I never had to buy another blank floppy disk EVER. I did have to buy labels though.

    As for the CD's when they came out, I used them as colorful coasters for drinks.

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