AOLinux: Possible reality or really impossible?

Kelly McNeill writes, “As most of us have come to realize, Microsoft’s Hailstorm and .NET are direct threats to AOL, and GPL software has become a direct threat to Microsoft. It seems therefore rational that AOL should consider an open-source route to counter Microsoft’s Internet strategy. AOL, working in partnership with Linux-Mandrake, could produce a scaled-down version of the OS branded specifically for AOL, but with an interface redesigned to be similar to AOL 6. With so many excellent open-source applications available and pre-installed on Mandrake, AOLinux would have a range of functionally that people come to expect on a Windows machine. Let’s explore the reasons why AOL should indeed create a GNU/Linux-based AOL OS.” The column’s at osOpinion.