Posted by flyingdutchman at 5/3/08 10:01 p.m.

Bring competition by buying up the competitors. Ya, right, Steve. You've convinced me that all you are is a big giant goliath ready to gobble up anyone you think should be yours.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/3/08 10:29 p.m.

I'm curious to know who leaked this internal email to you, Todd. I don't think it's very ethical on their part, or yours, to air internal company laundry to the public.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/3/08 10:33 p.m.

Like Ballmer thought sending an email to 30,000 employees would somehow remain "private."

By the way, which department do you work in at Microsoft? The Jehovah's Witness division?

Posted by billyT at 5/3/08 10:41 p.m.

If you want to really do some good acquisition:

WHY NOT BUY OUT CLAY BENNETT?

Not just the Sonics, I mean BUY CLAY OUT COMPLETELY??

Posted by Arty Ziff at 5/3/08 10:52 p.m.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/3/08 10:29 p.m.

I'm curious to know who leaked this internal email to you, Todd. I don't think it's very ethical on their part, or yours, to air internal company laundry to the public.

----

In the market for more chairs, Steve?

Posted by eagles2k3 at 5/3/08 11:04 p.m.

This was the right decision. Yahoo's stock price will plummet on Monday and it will be much easier to buy them later. They are a dying company.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/3/08 11:22 p.m.

this is the best move this time. Yahoo!'s days as a stand alone company are numbered. One way or the other, it will be subsumed by other internet players. The trial advertising partnership with Google is already an admission that Yahoo! cannot compete on its own. The talks with other companies also conveyed the same message. In the end, the losers will be Yahoo!'s shareholders.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/4/08 12:06 a.m.

The main problem is the fact that a lot of people are forced to work with Microsoft's software at work. The result is a backlash from these people when they have a real choice.
Me for instance, I refuse to use anything Microsoft at home, I firmly believe it is a through and through evil company with not a shred of moral ethics. So, whatever they come up with on their websites: no thanks, I'll use somebody else's search engine!
Microsoft has also managed to alienate the people that were helping others to use their products. And I'm talking about the computer nerds that helped out world+dog to install/use/reanimate Windows on their home computers. We're all using other things now. And we have the power to change a lot of people over if we offer them the free help they used to get before.

Posted by Bud 03 at 5/4/08 12:31 a.m.

I like yahoo, have used them for e mail, much better than my friends who have used msm....My DR said to start eating an apple a day, after having sooo much fun on Vista an apple will work.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/4/08 3:41 a.m.

Balmer did nothing wrong - why do I say? He screwed with one of his ad competitors (yahoo) made them look like dog sh*t; smoked out Google and finally nothing like getting the troops at msft at least moving again..they have been lame competitors since the DOJ bullshit... Balmer had nothing to lose and a ton to gain on the competitive strategy side..finally good to see Yahoo get competitive or at least hitting the proverbial gym..

This was doomed from day 1

http://techwatch.reviewk.com/

Posted by SRM at 5/4/08 5:00 a.m.

Yahoo stock will now plummet, Goggle will buy Yahoo . . .

Posted by unregistered user at 5/4/08 7:00 a.m.

http://network-strategy.blogspot.com/2008/05/microsoft-yahoo-one-chapter-closed-but.html

Todd: Good coverage on the story.

Venkat

Posted by unregistered user at 5/4/08 7:35 a.m.

Local virtual communities will continue to grow and will grow its own search engine by tagging. A human compiled search engine with higher relevancy.
Internet Protocol for peace

Posted by Hightechman at 5/4/08 7:50 a.m.

Dear Steve: You have have served our company long enough it's time to go. We've been through 55 re-org's and none have made us better. You;ve brought in top level manager after top manager from IBM, to Adobe, to Oracle and have yet to produce "real" leadership.
We've bought little companies and tried to move them into our stack -with minor success. There no "pop" in Microsoft - not now and not in the last 5 years. You've asked us to read "Good, to be great"- we're in the Doom Loop- the doom loop is characterized by reactive decision-making, an overextension into too many diverse areas of concentration, following short-lived trends, frequent changes in leadership and personnel, loss of morale, and disappointing results.

Steve, think about it.... You are standing in the way of making Msft great.

Okay?

Posted by wolfshead at 5/4/08 9:06 a.m.

I remember the first time I was rejected. I'll never forget her...I was heartbroken...*sniff*

Posted by unregistered user at 5/4/08 12:09 p.m.

I can think of a few late cycle venture backed companies that are definitely in the "doom loop" and for that matter a few local vc's as well. Microsoft is not in a 'doom loop". While true a company this large will be prone to regular reorgs as the organization breathes in and out people, ideas, themes, styles, technologies and companies, it does not mean the company is reacting foolishly. A previous post smartly identified the ability for microsoft to discover other agenda's in the market place, in particular with google, but with others including newscorp, aol, etc. One little thought here is that google may eventually overplay its position in the word of ads and may come under anti-trust/anti-competitve scrutiny which will become a headwind for them, and a potential advantage for microsoft in the next 5 years - and microsoft is now filled with a bit more knowledge of how the market will react. BTW, the letter from Balmer to yahoo was highly rational, logical in approach, whil Yahoo's response was lacking - a tough position for Yahoo's board to now justify rejecting the offer in favor of what (no clear value creation other tha for google).

Posted by unregistered user at 5/5/08 5:43 a.m.

"Microsoft has also managed to alienate the people that were helping others to use their products."

They did?

"And I'm talking about the computer nerds that helped out world+dog to install/use/reanimate Windows on their home computers. We're all using other things now."

We are?

"And we have the power to change a lot of people over if we offer them the free help they used to get before."

Yes, so far the people I have helped upgrade to Vista 64 bit have been very happy, and have told me "Why is everyone so down on vista?"

All I can tell them is "Fanbois"

Posted by unregistered user at 5/5/08 3:29 p.m.

Repeat again, Msft is in the Doom Loop. And all the Lieutenant, Colonels and Generals are in denial.

There no POP at MSFT. It wasn't Vista or Office 2007.

Look at MacIntosh. Steve Jobs has excited the world with his shops and products. Ipod, Iphone, MacAir book even the mini-Mac. You go into their store - large sign-
Ask a Genius- pick up a phone.

Nobody thinks of asking a genius when then call MS Premier Support and Services. MSFT has lost the "hearts and minds" of the 16- 22 yrs. Wait five years - those nerds will making enterprise decisions next. It's only a matter of time - that CIO's, CTOs and CEO see little in long agreements with MSFT.

Msft is over extended. Morale is low and everyone is looking for a better place to work. It's no longer One Microsoft Way.