Report: Microsoft eyeing Yahoo deal

Google's plan to buy DoubleClick said to be increasing pressure on Microsoft buy out Yahoo, collaborate on Net software.

The story "Report: Microsoft eyeing Yahoo deal" published May 4, 2007 at 4:04 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[jaspal.m]

Damnnnnn!!!!

Microsoft said earlier when worked cant be dont,,just use money....
Lets seee!!!

And $50billion is DAMNNNN!!!!

[-fjtorres-]

Wow! Two whole years of MS profits...

That's a lot of dough for a bunch of Yahoos. ;-)

[PCCRomeo]

It'd be $50 billion down the drain

Buying Yahoo would be a waste for Microsoft. On their own, both
Microsoft and Yahoo are evil, together, WATCH OUT. It would also
ultimately lead to the demise of the Yahoo brand (yay!!!!!) and
probably end up driving more people to Google (double yay!!!!!!)

[a85]

I'd say...

Google is just as evil as both MS and Yahoo. Google collects just as much, if not more, personal information on its users, stores it almost indefinitely and profits from it. It too bows to the whims of the Chinese censors. It too buys out start-ups where it can't compete, stifling competition. It too has a virtual monopoly on an aspect of computing (search). Show me how and why Google has any more moral standing than MS or Yahoo. I'm sick of people blindly following Google as if it is any different from any of the other multi-billion dollar corporations . Open your eyes.

[Ilgaz]

Google pays you?

Google is a huge fortune 500 company , there is no point
evangelising it and also Google has zero respect to your privacy.

[Serg_1]

acquisition

Why do you think it'll be a waste for MS? Demise of yahoo brand you say? Yahoo already did a lot of damage to their brand and can hardly keep up with MS let alone google ...

[tgrenier]

why compete

I just don't get why MS thinks it has to compete with Google. Goolge is an advertising company and MS is a software company. MS should stick to rich applications and work real hard on conquering the home entertainment space. They should also keep making great tools and software for business. Let Google do search. I would also love to see MS make all their development tools free.

Tom

[tgrenier]

why compete

I just don't get why MS thinks it has to compete with Google. Goolge is an advertising company and MS is a software company. MS should stick to rich applications and work real hard on conquering the home entertainment space. They should also keep making great tools and software for business. Let Google do search. I would also love to see MS make all their development tools free.

Tom

[jessiethe3rd]

Why Compete?

Google and Microsoft are on a collision course. Google is not going to stick with Search, they have already began to develop applications to compete with Microsoft and they continue to but head first into the Enterprise - an area that Microsoft has worked to keep and grow (see Google Search Devices).

[jessiethe3rd]

Why Compete?

Google and Microsoft are on a collision course. Google is not going to stick with Search, they have already began to develop applications to compete with Microsoft and they continue to but head first into the Enterprise - an area that Microsoft has worked to keep and grow (see Google Search Devices).

[Serg_1]

MS vs Google

MS is not trying to position itself as just a software maker any more. It rather sees itself as a media company, and so does google. most of MS's attention now is on how they can effectively compete in the online services arena, such as online advertising etc. Since the role of the web in business and in every day life is only likely to increase, whoever wins this "battle" will be able to profit immensely...

[Mark_Smith]

So the next yahoo.com name will be aargh.com ?

Will be?

[JCPaynye1]

HA- I'm in the process of converting to GOOGLE NOW

at a Frantic pace.... Microsoft take over Yahoo?!?!?! HA! I'm not going to ride on that ship. Already since they started teaming with Microsoft on Messenger Yahoo IM has been soo buggy I had to stop using it all together... Now before the BSD servers get taken out and replaced by Virus ridden Microsoft crap I'm converting to Google for good....

Yahoo's downfall was when they turned off the News forums....

I'm going to switch off all my Yahoo IDs in about a month. And--- will cancel my Yahoo-Prodigy accounts in six months. Merge away.... I wont be a part of it.

[Ilgaz]

Pointless

People use Yahoo because of their multi platform and non
monopolist attitude. As a user since 1998, I'd do same thing
when Hotmail got purchased by MSFT: Cancel my account.

[Serg_1]

hotmail

So you cancelled your hotmail account only because MS bought it? I have used hotmail since before it became a part of MS and have not really noticed any difference either before or after it's been acquired. It seds and receives my email just as good

[TechNewsJunky]

MS buying control of the Internet

The internet is changing Microsoft's business model.
MSN is trailing, Google is releasing FREE web based productivity app.s that compete with Office, and now MS is trying to buy it's way back into relevance in an Internet based software and advertising Business Tech segment.

[tgrenier]

google apps do not compete with MS Office

the day MS OFfice has real competition from Google apps is the day every CEO and CIO says "sure I don't want my data stored by my company, give it all to google."

[tgrenier]

google apps do not compete with MS Office

the day MS OFfice has real competition from Google apps is the day every CEO and CIO says "sure I don't want my data stored by my company, give it all to google."

[Llib Setag]

The MSEmpire Strikes Back...

First MS attempts to "challenge Netscape" as a browser.

Then when they realize that Netscape / HTML would allow for creating word processing documents via the web WITHOUT needing a MS-PC based word program...KILL NETSCAPE.

Then JAVA steps in. Write once, run antwhere philosophy. NOT friendly with the MSmonopoly.
MS "developes an alternate flavor of JAVA for Windows..." dillutes & causes problems on web sites with pure JAVA that will now not work with MS-IE...

Enter the DOJ to examine MS under the microscope.

Meanwhile...IT'S THE NET, STUPID is the mantra of the day.

All the while Google is growing & expanding into Web based services, desktop apps, etc., etc....MS Employess defecting to Google...Open Standards developing, Linux & Mac OSX Unix on the rise...

Talk of "live" MS-Apps in the "clouds" that everyone can use start coming from Jurassic Park One in Redmond, but the "MS-PC desktop still has a long & bright future" according to Grand Master Emperor Gates...right.

Today, MS is circling the sharks around Yahoo! just as a "merger" & not because of Google or MS's failure to compete in the open marketplace...right.

Nice knowing you Yahoo! but MSharks do not "merge" with anyone, for it is not within the corperate culture of MS DNA.

Once again MS is attempting to put a "tollbooth" on the Internet & once again the DOJ / EU will be looking into anti-trust, unfair competition, monopolistic actions from Redmond One.

This is not good for Yahoo!
This will not be good for the Netizens.

"The Rebel Alliance must be crushed"...Darth Vadar.

[Sumatra-Bosch]

Perfect! MSFT+Yahoo! = Predictable Disaster !

This should not be better: Microsoft's drooling incompetence meets Yahoo!'s madcap management style. Perfect! You'd have to live on a steady diet of LSD, absinthe and peyote to even imagine the kind of catastrophic disorder would result from this marriage of these dysfunctional institutions. I can't wait! The resulting implosion will create a crater that will stretch from Redmond to Monterey!

[Millerboy]

Microsoft-Yahoo Cooperation (What they should do)

Here's what I would do if I were an executive working for Microsoft or Yahoo: First of all, merging the two corporations is dumb. Both companies overlap considerably for many services, and merging them would stifle competition and maybe even give Google a bigger advantage in innovation. So Microsoft should not buyout Yahoo right now. The best way would be for Microsoft to invest in Yahoo, and for Yahoo to invest in Microsoft. For example, Microsoft could buy 30 percent of Yahoo stock, or 40 percent. Yahoo can do the same, with buying a percentage of Microsoft stock, like 30 percent too. This way, both corporations' future are strongly tied together. Yahoo and Microsoft shareholders would have intertwined visions and goals. Two heads are better than one. If for some reason, in the future, you two want to go separate ways, then just sell off your stocks.

Microsoft has its strengths in their operating system and office/productivity applications. Those are mainly two cash cows among many others. Google is trying to force its way into the market for office applications by offering free usage over the Internet. The "free" part is misleading; Google will probably pay for the expenses of the office applications through ads. So the best thing for Microsoft to establish an early lead in this market and to eventually dominate the market is to offer "Microsoft Office Live" over the Internet FOR "FREE." Make a deal with Yahoo to put Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint on the Yahoo homepage. Of course, these online apps would be on the MSN homepage too. Display ads to get revenues out of this, I would use the similar system that Google uses for Google Gmail. They scan the words that are in emails that people write, and then use that consumer data to display the relevant ads. I would guarantee user privacy by promising to only words and not link the words to any personal data. Such as, label people as numbers and letters, and NOT their real personal names. Or maybe guarantee that the info won't be sold or given out.

Now for the search engines, Microsoft and Yahoo should definitely combine their efforts to develop a better and more accurate search engine that gives results that people want. Do not combine your homepages; leave MSN and Yahoo homepages separate. Maybe do a little bit of combining News websites of MSN and Yahoo, or Autos websites like Yahoo Autos and MSN Autos/Cars. But it's better to leave your respective brands and brand names intact (like MSN and Yahoo properties should stay separate). The only thing that you guys should do is to start a combined effort by Yahoo and Microsoft engineers to develop and improve your search engines. I personally think Yahoo and MSN have good search engines, but just not as good as Google. I would rank them from best to worst, 1) Google, 2) Yahoo, 3) MSN. So MSN maybe should work out a deal with Yahoo to use Yahoo's search engine technology AND to work on a joint project to improve and create a new search engine that both MSN and Yahoo can use. Yahoo and MSN should develop and or improve the advertiser programs for people who want to advertise on the Internet, especially on MSN and Yahoo properties. These things are ideal for Microsoft-Yahoo cooperation in order to compete with Google.

If you do these things, you'll be able to smash Google or at least put Google under pressure. To summarize what Microsoft and Yahoo should do: 1) Do not merge together but maybe both invest in each other, 2) Offer Microsoft Office Live for free over the Internet, 3) Work together on search engine and web/search advertising.

[Orion Blastar]

If you cannot beat them

buy out their competition. If Microsoft cannot beat Google, they can buy out the competitor to Google, Yahoo. Yahoo had the web search engine first, had web mail first, had clubs/groups first, and so on.

Microsoft got tired of trying to create things to compete with Google, so they are buying out Yahoo.

What you don't know is that Yahoo has a contract with AT&T for broadband service, and Microsoft wants a piece of that action as well.