Microsoft (MSFT) has aQuantive, but will it matter?

The wait is over -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has finally completed the purchase of advertising company aQuantive as of this week. Now that the $6 billion purchase is over and done, it's time for the results to be under the microscope: How long will it take Microsoft to use this new muscle against powerful foe Google (NASDAQ: GOOG)? Or let's rephrase that -- will it even matter?

As of Monday, aQuantive was officially a "Microsoft wholly-owned subsidiary" and the board disbanded. Oddly, this deal has received a fair amount of attention, but not really enough since it is the largest-ever acquisition by the world's largest software company. Is Redmond placing a bet on its future here outside of operating systems and office productivity software? That seems fairly clear.

Will internet advertising outside of Google's successful and unobtrusive model work wonders like all these recent advertising acquisitions make it appear? The further infiltration of advertising into our online lives will only spur many forms to obliterate it. Firefox, a worthy web browser alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, already has tools like AdBlock Plus and FlashBlock that can almost completely eliminate online advertising. Will Google's DoubleClick purchase and Microsoft's aQuantive buy be busts due to consumer backlash against so much advertising on the internet? We'll check back in 2010.