Microsoft and Yahoo are in the final stages of a deal that would allow users on the two services to exchange messages with each other.
With the merger, the two companies will have captured 44% of market share, and puts them within striking distance of AOL, who has 56% of the market with AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ.
The three major IM providers — Yahoo, Microsoft, and AOL — have long talked about interoperability between their platforms, but there has been little progress made – until now. At the minimum, the agreement will allow users to exchange text messages. Voice messaging was a topic for discussion, but it was unclear whether the two sides had reached an agreement.
If and when this pact is finalized, one has to wonder what will happen to third-party software such as Trillian, which allowed consumers to log in to multiple services with different accounts