Here's something truly worthy of griping about when it comes to big business and "monopolies".

AOL in talks to buy AT&T Broadband

Given that just about anyone ever associated with AT&T's cable service has complained about how poor it is, it's not surprising that they would shy away from possibly the best provider of cable in the country (Comcast) to work out a deal with AOL. I apologize to anyone who really likes AOL, but their purchasing of content creation companies and delivery mediums is MUCH more dangerous than one company holding most of the home operating system market and tools like Word Processors, etc. AOL can effectively shut the door on any content they deem unfavorable if they are allowed to continue down this path.

Comcast may have played hardball with Disney over their TV offerings, but in the end, they've been much better at meeting and exceeding a consumer's cable (and high speed internet) needs.

--Dave

This is terrifying. Have we learned nothing? I think it should be illegal for AOL to be in talks with anyone, even its mother.

"As part of the complex deal, AOL would regain full ownership of Warner Bros. film studio and Home Box Office..."

Ugh.

Amanpour

Speaking of AOL... Probably because he hates me (or more likely because he can't be bothered thinking of anyone else to dump this stuff on) our mail room guy always puts the AOL CDs in my mailbox. I notice the latest ones are trumpeting 1,000 free hours in big print, and then the little font says "for 45 days." Let's see, my admittedly retarded math skillz say that you would have to use AOL over 22 hours a day to get that full 1,000 hours. Further proof that Mencken was right.

What kind of retarded ISP system counts how many hours you use anyway? That is so 1995.

AOL is married to Time Warner, you all know that. Well, Time Warner is the daddy of Roadrunner cable modem service. So, technically, AOL is already in bed with Roadrunner. Have I seen any of their influence as a RR customer?

Well, I still have my account... must mean NO. :-)