Or, at least, their corporate merger code names are:

In the case of Yahoo’s merger talks with AOL, which are ongoing, the pair seem to be aiming for a tony image, using the names of two upscale institutions of higher education: Yale University and Amherst College.

Why? Obviously, the first letter of each school corresponds with the name of each company, but BoomTown could not discern the mystery.

AOL is a real dinosaur in the tech world.  I don’t have enough of an understanding of the industry to explain its ineptitude - was the problem a poor business model, bad leadership, an inability to adapt to the changing nature of the internet, or some combination of the three?

In any case, I would prefer if Amherst were compared to Google: trendy, fun, smart, and a participant in the fight against bigotry and injustice.