I love FireFox but can someone explain why the Mozilla Foundation feels the need to create a for-profit entity called Mozilla Corp. It's a strange move given the new company insists the software will remain free and that it has no plans to sell shares, do an IPO or "sell out". So why go through the bureaucratic pains of becoming corporate when there is no real need to do so? It's not like the foundation couldn't have split itself into two parts - one dedicated to developing new software; the other focused on policies and relationships with the open-source community. AP reporter Matthew Fordahl points out there is a track record of software projects as such as Apache creating non-profit entities to handle different business issues, which is what the Mozilla Foundation had the mandate to do. A cynic might suggest the powers that be at FireFox want to be seen as "legit" by the software industry so unshackling itself from the non-profit world is the way to go. But what happens if Mozilla Corp. starts to generate large amounts of revenue from providing businesses with advice on how to implement Firefox, Thunderbird, etc. into a corporate environment? Do you think making money might change their minds about selling shares or an IPO? For a good look at the pros and cons of creating Mozilla Corp., check out Glazblog.

Om Malik is quick to report that Vonage is suffering from a huge service outage. Apparently, people can get a dial-tone but can't make calls. As well, Vonage's Web site appears to be down. The complaints can be found on the Vonage Forum. Vonage isn't saying what's going on but it did send a message to customers:
"At this time, some customers may be experiencing difficulty placing outbound calls. Also, access to our website may be slow or intermittent for a short time. Our engineers are aware of the issue and working on a prompt resolution. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."
With the cablecos driving harder than ever into VOIP, Vonage can ill afford to have any service outages and, more important, extensive news coverage of service outages. Maybe it's just me but I'm beginning to get the feeling that Vonage is becoming more vulnerable to competition and this new reality could soon be reflected in its rate of growth. While the company has plenty of cash in the bank after raising another round of private equity, its prospects for an IPO or sale seem to be dimming by the day. Perhaps I'm paranoid but Vonage doesn't have the buzz it once had, and perhaps its time has come and gone. Skype would be wise to learn from Vonage's experience.

I wandered down to lovely Dulles, Va. a couple weeks ago to learn more about AOL's new ( renewed?) focus on becoming a portal/online destination and courting advertisers who are starting to take the Internet more seriously - a.k.a. the dial-up business is shrinking at an alarming clip so we need to jump hard on a new growth engine ASAP. As someone who has rarely used AOL services or content, it was an eye-opener to see the amount of content AOL has online, and how it has been able to leverage the Time-Warner properties. The big challenge facing AOL is growing the online advertising business while carefully managing the erosion of its still-lucrative dial-up unit. My story in the National Post ran earlier this week. It provides a pretty comprehensive view on what's happening. Of particular interest to a hockey-starved Canadian was talking to AOL vice-chair Ted Leonsis about the Washington Capitals and the new labour agreement. He has also a signed Bobby Orr sweater hanging in his office - very impressive!
For another take on AOL's makeover, check out this CNet story.

After a so-so first-quarter, BCE Inc. has bounced back in a major way - at least from a first blush perspective. The company's wireless business added 146K net subscribers - a record for the quarter - while the high-speed Internet business grew by 92K customers to punch through the two million mark. Another highlight was CEO Michael Sabia's cryptic message the company would start in a "very focused way to address the asset structure of the company", which most people will interpret that the sale of BellGlobeMedia will happen sooner rather than later.

In another example of Nortel's bizarre communications strategy, the company took out a full-page, color ad in a Canadian newspaper earlier this week to publicly thank its departing directors for the excellent contributions. Are you serious, Nortel? The board - before it went through a minor overhaul during the last AGM - was at the helm when it approved a lucrative and tempting bonus program; it was there when Nortel went through its embarassing accounting scandal; it was there when the company stumbled through its financial restatement process; and it dropped the ball big-time when they hired COO Gary Daichendt only to have him quit three months later because he couldn't see eye to eye with CEO Bill Owens. So to spend some of its precious cash on a full-page newspaper ad is misguided, especially when the departing directors were already thanked for their contributions at the AGM in June. In many ways, it's like the company is thumbing its nose at shareholders who have had a front-row seat for this corporate car wreck over the past two years.