The thudding noise you heard likely came from the Washington, D.C. suburbs as AOL confirmed to tech newsletter Potomac Tech Wire that the former ISP’s XDrive and AOL Photo services were ending.

AOL, dodging rumors of being sold in parts throughout 2008, is shedding two unprofitable units: XDrive and AOL Photos, both of which trail competitors especially since AOL is no longer a walled garden keeping users in the same site.

Meanwhile, one of our favorite video solutions, Brightcove, will be AOL’s video platform of choice beginning in 2009.   AOL is a part-owner of Brightcove, which is run by Jeremy Allaire (yes, that Allaire).

If the company is going to be sold in ’09, they certainly plan to spend Q4 2008 moving assets around to pretty itself up.  XDrive and AOL Photos should be notified of the changes soon, and PTW reports that content is still safe for months.