Microsoft to unload Slate

Apparently Microsoft is trying to unload Slate. On the one hand, this might be an effort to shed unprofitable businesses (although who would want to buy?). Or it might be due to articles like this:

For the American public, Microsoft finds itself in much the same role AT&T found itself in the early '80s. Its service is a great enabler of commerce and personal communication. It enjoys universal name recognition and near-complete market penetration. And yet it is not beloved. Customers know it doesn't always provide the best value or the best product; they often use it because they have no other choice. On the other hand, the company generates cash reliably.

Or maybe it's articles like this:

Meanwhile, all-conquering Internet Explorer has been stuck in the mud for the past year, as Microsoft stopped delivering new versions. The company now rolls out only an occasional fix as part of its Windows updates. Gates and company won the browser war, so why keep fighting it?

On the one hand, it's great that Slate is so independent but at some point, one can imagine the powers that be deciding that they could get the same sort of publicity from, say, Slashdot and get the same results without having to pay for it! It seems like this is following a more general trend of shedding the unprofitable businesses (which some will see as a encouraging sign) mostly to do with MSN. Interestingly Search looks like it's going to be a massive money pit for Microsoft (they have a lot of catching up to do with Google, Yahoo and the rest) but that is a big initiative.