Everyone hates micro-soft, of course. But you have to love it too. Sure the boys from Redmond, Wash., play the heavy in every market they dominate, from PC operating systems to desktop software. But when they're the underdogs, as they are in video games and handheld PCs, they have proved to be scrappy fighters and real innovators. And that translates into better products and choices for consumers.
Now Microsoft is about to release a new version of its online software, in a market dominated by America Online, a division of the company that publishes Time. And in the process it has done something not even Ted Turner could do: awaken AOL from its slumber and force it to offer its most inspired revision in years. I like MSN 8 better because it's smarter and cheaper. But the new AOL is also pretty cool. There's a lot of fluff in AOL 8--like 1,000 buddy icons, sounds and patterned backgrounds for instant messages — but there are enough real improvements to keep longtime members from jumping ship.
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