AOL and MSN: Duel at 8
BusinessWeek | at | by Mike
Spam and smut blocking, along with personalized Web experiences for users, are the big themes in tuned-up Internet access services from America Online and Microsoft. MSN, with 9 million subscribers, nips at AOL's heels with new members-only software such as Money (for online bill payments), Encarta Online for reference, and Picture It for digital photography. A welcome MSN 8 addition is an e-mail module, closely mimicking Outlook Express, that contains terrific antispam controls and preview panes. Also offered are its first-ever parental controls, which strive to keep kids safe while online. MSN 8 also has a new, highly configurable My MSN start page, while AOL 8 offers new emoticons and sound options for AIM, as well as six new but fairly similar Welcome pages.