Posts Tagged with ‘microsoft’

Yahoo is turning out to be the Hillary Clinton of the web these days: running a campaign to save itself that is on its last legs and refusing to stand down and let the more stable web candidates win. It doesn't help matters that it is being pursued in the most schizophrenic manner possible by Microsoft, or that its own shareholders have long since had it with the shenanigans on both sides.
It is hard not to grow increasingly bored [...]

Twitter and tech news sites lit up like a Christmas tree with the news that Microsoft was pulling their bid for Yahoo. Game over. Money's off the table, Jerry.
And while MG Sigler thinks that there will be fallout for Ballmer , I think Ballmer made the right decision, and one I wish he'd done even earlier. Yahoo has spent its time since the bid grasping at straws to try to increase its possible valuation. The deal with Google for [...]

As I've pointed out many times before, many Web 2.0 "apps" are merely features that could be added to existing products on the market. There seems to be a tendency to build these small extensions since they have a lower entry point, cost less money, and have a more obvious exit plan: get bought by the company whose app you are enhancing.
So when Xobni's near-imminent purchase by Microsoft seemed all but signed on the dotted line, it all made perfect [...]

You would have thought that companies involved in selling digital media (especially those with DRM content) would have learned a lesson after the fiasco Google went through when the company decided to close its video marketplace. That was last August, when Google abruptly cut off access to the videos that many customers had rightfully purchased or rented. Then, after heavy internet criticism, all customers received an apology and full refunds.
Schizophrenic Microsoft must not have heard about that news story however, [...]

Yahoo is pulling out all the stops in its quest to either prove it can compete with the big boys like Google or at least convince Microsoft that they are worth more than the initial bid before turning themselves in for their Micro-Borgification.
Their latest move appears to be a release (or possible resurrection) of a long-rumored framework somewhat similar to Google Gears. Right on the heels of their official external launch of Fire Eagle comes Yahoo BrowserPlus, At the present [...]

Rumors started circulating earlier in the week, but today, Microsoft confirmed to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that it purchased Seattle-based Farecast at a rumored purchase price of over $75 million USD. Farecast has also confirmed the sale on their blog.
Farecast is a nifty little application that attempts to help you judge when the best time is to buy your airline tickets. They are also beta testing a version that does the same for hotel rooms. By entering your travel [...]

Skewz is the latest entry in the political news aggregation space, a sector that is getting way too crowded, even for a U.S. election year.
Skewz is designed to be Digg with a political slant; users can submit stories, and then others can vote on the purported political slew, using the U.S.-centric blue (for very liberal) to red (for very conservative) scale. Based on the ratings for articles, you can also see how a media outlet skews overall.
As Anthony Ha [...]

… in hating New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.
Brodsky, a Democrat representing a Westchester County District, is sponsoring a bill that would limit the ability of companies to collect information for targeted advertising. Joining Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft in opposing the bill are AOL, Comcast, eBay, EDS, and Facebook.
Jim Halpert, general counsel for the State Privacy and Security Coalition, claims that the bill "is unnecessary, most likely unconstitutional, and would have profound implications for the future of Internet advertising and [...]

Microsoft continues to prepare for its planned acquisition of Yahoo and a generally increased web presence, now buying Rapt, makers of ad management software. This news comes hot on the tail of Google's Ad Manager announcement. This is the latest in a series of acquisitions that declare ad revenue as the latest battle ground for internet heavy weights.
Microsoft already offers a program called Atlas Publisher Suite that has ad management and ad marketplace components. Adding Rapt will bring this [...]