Online services

Update 11:30 a.m. PDT: Added more details about the cash back program and comments from Overstock.com CEO.

REDMOND, Wash.--Microsoft still wants to be all things to more people in search, but, in the short term the company would settle for just getting people when they want to buy stuff.

The company's big search news, as previously noted, is a program that gives customers cash back when they use Microsoft's Live Search as the starting point when making a purchase.

"The one you'll see us particularly invest in in a major way is … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--Microsoft's Live Search cash back program may be a new business model for Microsoft, but the underlying economics have actually been used outside the company for some time.

Bargain hunter sites, such as FatWallet, also offer cash back programs using much the same model that Microsoft is employing with its program.

In both cases, the referring sites get a certain percentage of the sale and give part or all of that money back to consumers.

Sites like FatWallet tend to appeal toward hard-core bargain hunters. One of the questions that looms over Live Search cash back is … Read more

Updated 11 p.m., with details from Microsoft's Live Search site.

REDMOND, Wash.--Microsoft is looking to buy its way into search, and I'm not talking about Yahoo.

The software maker plans on Wednesday to launch a cash back program to those who buy things after using its search.

Microsoft has details of the program up on its Web site, including a list of frequently asked questions.

"We want to earn your loyalty and reward it with cashback savings for your everyday online shopping," Microsoft said. "We are 'The Search That Pays You Back!' " … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--Republican strategist Cyrus Krohn wasn't the only elephant in the room at Microsoft's ad conference on Tuesday.

Indeed it was the other one--Yahoo--that loomed largest inside the walls of the Microsoft Conference Center. At least three Microsoft executives spoke about the company's online business but none addressed discussions with the Internet pioneer.

But with CEO Steve Ballmer dodging eggs in Europe and the heads of Microsoft's online business all gathered here, I wonder who it is that's doing the talking with Yahoo?

Well, I guess that's what having thousands of employees is … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--Filmmaker James Cameron sees the world in stereo. So does everyone else, though, and that's exactly his point.

"When you are viewing in stereo, which is what we do," Cameron said, "more neurons are firing. More blood is pumping through the brain."

Cameron has been a big proponent of making movies in 3D, but he said that the digital projectors going into movie theaters are capable of showing more than just movies. Cameron's talk came as part of Microsoft's Advance 08 advertising conference, which runs through Wednesday.

"That digital image … Read more

REDMOND, Wash.--On the eve of Microsoft's Advance 08 advertising conference, I thought I would offer up my take on three catch phrases that I expect will come up during the two-day affair.

1. "Search should be more than 10 blue links"

This is Microsoft's typical answer to why it thinks it can still catch Google in search. The truth of the matter is that search is already more than that. There's already product search, image search, blog search, news search, academic search, medical search, and a whole assortment of specialized search types. That said, … Read more

Although better known for her other child, necessity is also the mother of negotiations.

Yahoo has spent the better part of four months rebuffing Microsoft's advances, while the software maker declared on May 3 that it was moving on. But on Sunday, the two confirmed that they are still trying to work things out.

So why has this taken on the flavor of a bad celebrity relationship? Well, it turns out the list of potential partners for either company is fairly small. As I pointed out last week, Microsoft may have talked a tough game, but its search share … Read more

As a guy who spent a decade in Silicon Valley, Stephen Elop says he, too, had his doubts when he first heard about Microsoft's "software plus services" strategy.

"The initial impression of that, as an outsider, is 'Is that just a cheesy way of saying we are going to hold off as long as we can," said Elop, who was an executive at Macromedia and Adobe Systems before joining Microsoft earlier this year.

But, if Elop was initially skeptical, he's now an ardent believer. In an interview in San Francisco last week, the president … Read more

Yahoo late Thursday posted a letter in response to Carl Icahn's move to unseat the company's board of directors.

The letter can be briefly summarized as Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock telling Icahn "Nuh-uh."

But, since some people like details, the full letter (sans dozens of exclamation points) is below.

Dear Mr. Icahn:

We are in receipt of your letter with regard to your intention to seek control of Yahoo's board of directors.

Unfortunately, your letter reflects a significant misunderstanding of the facts about the Microsoft proposal and the diligence with which our board evaluated and … Read more