The future of the web may lie in whether Microsoft Corp.'s bid to acquire Yahoo Inc. turns hostile, a possibility that could become reality any day.
For the average internet user, at stake is how the web will evolve over the next few years. In an initiative called "momentous" by industry observers, Yahoo fully embraced the Web 2.0 movement Thursday by throwing open all of its platforms to outside developers. The company is, in effect, going to let the public shape its various offerings, including e-mail, instant messaging and other online services.
"It's been a long time since I've been able to bring Yahoo together with the word 'exciting,'" said Karsten Weide, an analyst for research firm IDC in California. "This might be a sea change for the internet. It could be the end of the web as we know it."
