Microsoft & Netscape, after all these years

I'm just reblogging from Shelly Palmer's Mediabytes for contrast:

MICROSOFT  has made an unsolicited offer of $44.6 billion to purchase YAHOO,<snip>

and then at the bottom

NETSCAPE will be officially retired today by AOL.  All updates and support will stop, as the once industry-leading browser is laid to rest.  Farewell old friend.

So, on the day that Microsoft acquires a Dot-com original, the progenitor of so much search and web technology, AOL retires the browser that Microsoft set out to kill. Just coincidence there.

Microsoft clearly won the Netscape war, notwithstanding the lame DOJ result.  Will it win search?  Will it be able to unseat Google by acquiring all of Yahoo!'s eyeballs?

Time will tell.  Microsoft has a history of making the long play, and the eventual catch-up. We shall see.

Link: MediaBytes February 1, 2008 | MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer Video.