Microsoft Walking Away from Yahoo Acquisition

[gifford]

Why do you hate them so much?

Because I live i a world similar to Apple, where i have to innovate to survive. Idea thieving leeches with more money than brains surround me, it's a constant battle of innovation and secrecy over blundering short sighted behemoths.

I also truly believe man-kinds technological progression has been severely handicapped by msft over the past two decades.

 

[Mackan]

because I live i a world similar to Apple, where i have to innovate to survive. Idea thieving leeches with more money than brains surround me, it's a constant battle of innovation and secrecy.

I totally understand you on this one.

I also truly believe man-kinds technological progression has been severely handicapped by msft over the past two decades.

Mankind's technological progression held back by Microsoft? You might want to elaborate in order for me to understand that.

 

[gifford]

I totally understand you on this one.



Mankind's technological progression held back by Microsoft? You might want to elaborate in order for me to understand that.

The adoption of open standards in various technologies has been massively stifled thanks to msft and their monopoly over the years, particularly web tech.
I may have wasted nearly a whole year in total myself, making sure everything works as it should with msft's ***** technologies.
Also, the end game has UNIX based OS at the heart of everything, the quicker msft die, the quicker we can get on with things how they should be.

 

[CalBoy]

Two questions:

How will we be able to tell?

Who cares?

I would have enjoyed the schardenfreude aspects of these two lame ducks getting into bed together, and then watching them be insignificant together, but otherwise this is a non story of epic proportions.

I'm not quite sure why you've quoted me, but I do feel the need to point out that this isn't an altogether insignificant story. The fact that Microsoft has given up is a signal that perhaps it cannot win in everything it would like to simply because it has a mountain of cash.

It's finally proof that you can't do everything poorly and get away with it simply because you have one or two solid products.

Well, let's be fair. Google's search and advertising service were and still are heads and shoulders above Yahoo and MSN. Practically everything else Google has launched has been irrelevant.

Perhaps, but I happen to like Gmail over Yahoo! Mail.

Besides, Google is wise in how it acquires. Google looks forward and buys companies like YouTube while Microsoft chases after Silicon Valley's biggest has-been.

 

[DMann]

Solid Products

It's finally proof that you can't do everything poorly and get away with it simply because you have one or two solid products.

Which solid waste products of MS might you be referring to?

 

[CalBoy]

Which solid waste products of MS might you be referring to?

As much as we all like to bash Microsoft, it does have a few good products.

I, for one, think that Windows handles amazingly well when one considers the sheer number of computers it is currently running on. While I don't care for Windows personally, I think I can appreciate it as a generally good product.*

Microsoft also has Office, and while it isn't the end-all in productivity software, it is pretty good. It's overpriced in my opinion, but that isn't really a factor in determining the general worth of a product.

I also happen to think that Microsoft makes the best mice, hands down. They are very comfortable and all around excellent in build quality.

There are a few other minor and random products I would bring up, but I think the point is made.


*Vista is not necessarily included in this.

 

[k2spitfire88]

As much as we all like to bash Microsoft, it does have a few good products.

I, for one, think that Windows handles amazingly well when one considers the sheer number of computers it is currently running on. While I don't care for Windows personally, I think I can appreciate it as a generally good product.*

Microsoft also has Office, and while it isn't the end-all in productivity software, it is pretty good. It's overpriced in my opinion, but that isn't really a factor in determining the general worth of a product.

I also happen to think that Microsoft makes the best mice, hands down. They are very comfortable and all around excellent in build quality.

There are a few other minor and random products I would bring up, but I think the point is made.


*Vista is not necessarily included in this.

I partially agree. For all the M$ bashing we do, they do make one or two good things. I think that Office '07 is the best example. It is a functional, easy to use (once you make the adjustment from earlier versions) program, that surprisingly has a very intuitive UI. This is my favorite Microsoft program, and while it make lack the asthetic appeal of some of the iWork features, it functions extremely well, in fact, better than iWork in some (rare, i.e. paper's for classes) functions. It actually can create a bibliography for me in the proper format, so i can just put the info in, and it will create/adjust it for me, as well as cite sources, etc. for all the different citations styles (MLA, APA, etc.)
Back on topic, maybe Microsoft will stop trying to buy things up, like Yahoo!, and start innovating-like they actually did with Office '07.

 

[Eraserhead]

I, for one, think that Windows handles amazingly well when one considers the sheer number of computers it is currently running on. While I don't care for Windows personally, I think I can appreciate it as a generally good product.

I think this ability is overrated, the hardware guys do have to get the stuff to work with the OS so it isn't as big a deal as people think. I do like Office 2007 though.

Personally I think this is a good move for Microsoft, Yahoo! wasn't a good fit.

 

[ruinfx]

Two questions:

How will we be able to tell?

Who cares?

I would have enjoyed the schardenfreude aspects of these two lame ducks getting into bed together, and then watching them be insignificant together, but otherwise this is a non story of epic proportions.

learn how to quote, thanks.

 

[surferfromuk]

I partially agree. For all the M$ bashing we do, they do make one or two good things. I think that Office '07 is the best example. It is a functional, easy to use (once you make the adjustment from earlier versions) program, that surprisingly has a very intuitive UI. This is my favorite Microsoft program, and while it make lack the asthetic appeal of some of the iWork features, it functions extremely well, in fact, better than iWork in some (rare, i.e. paper's for classes) functions. It actually can create a bibliography for me in the proper format, so i can just put the info in, and it will create/adjust it for me, as well as cite sources, etc. for all the different citations styles (MLA, APA, etc.)
Back on topic, maybe Microsoft will stop trying to buy things up, like Yahoo!, and start innovating-like they actually did with Office '07.

Exchange is the only truly smart product MS make which is singularly why they continue to dominate the business world - everything else is trash when compared to Apple's alternatives.

Incredible but true - MS maintains it's empire on email servers - and in turn that's why people buy windows (and Office) so they can connect to their email using Outlook. Everything else follows...

If Apple got Calendar, mail and contacts working on OSX with Exchange natively in a seamless manner - the last true obstacle to OSX as an realistic enterprise desktop client would disappear. Right now it 'sort of works for mail only' and the only proper method is with Entourage but that just perpetuates the Office monopoly.

Let me repeat that for APPLE - Make OSX 'Mail', 'iCal' and ' Address Book' integrating SEAMLESSLY to an Exchange Server and you WILL gain massive enterprise desktop share - and better do it quick because all your new iPhone users with Active sync are quickly going to want to switch until they find Office is once again their only way forward for email connections to an exchange server.

 

[Eraserhead]

Exchange is the only truly smart product MS make which is singularly why they continue to dominate the business world

No that isn't true, its mostly down to inertia. Though Apple will be adding Exchange support to 10.6 (well unless they really did just buy it for the iPhone) so we shall see.

The other issues with Enterprise are poor hardware warrantees (compared to Dell et al) and inability to support the old OS on new hardware for a short time.

 

[mogzieee]

Thank God. Yahoo! is far too good of a site to be eaten up by Microsoft.

 

[chiggywawa]

This is good, but I think that this is only the start. I think that Microsoft will try again, once Yahoo!'s stock plunges even further. My bet is that it, unfortunately, will happen.



When they do take over, then we will all be saying, "they are who we thought they were!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzpA4cWjhgs
(watch the clip, and substitute Yahoo! for coors light...)

i think you're right, but hopefully not. and if you're not, then we'll be hearing steve ballmer yelling, "we let them off the hook!" (love those coors light commercials...)

 

[dgb2n]

As much as everyone wants to celebrate this as a loss for microsoft, the real losers on Monday will be Yahoo shareholders and MSFT will head back over 30 again.

I've traded MSFT on and off for years, in and out in the trading range between around 28 and 33. Pretty reliable with little downside risk given the cash cow that windows and office are.

Right before earnings came out, I got nervous, particularly considering the Yahoo bid, and sold around 31.5. Earnings were weaker than expected and market feared that they would overpay for Yahoo and it tanked again back to 28.

Not that there is any real wisdom on wall street from this but the concensus seems to be that even at 31 per share, MSFT will be unable make Yahoo work for them. Net properties have a way of disappearing as quickly as they appear with the wrong leadership and its pretty clear MSFT would have been the wrong leadership.

 

[50548]

It's about time Ballmer stops wasting time. He should have been fired for Vista. He needs to stop wasting time and money.

MS has a great pool of talent. If there was real leadership, MS would be innovating not copying.

No, MS sucks in terms of talent...if they had one, we would see a lot of innovative products over the years...and they haven't come up with ANYTHING really worthy of praise in the last 20 years.

As for the deal, too bad it didn't work for MS...if accepted, this transaction would have accelerated MS's burial in the graveyard of irrelevant companies...

 

[chagla]

No, MS sucks in terms of talent...if they had one, we would see a lot of innovative products over the years...and they haven't come up with ANYTHING really worthy of praise in the last 20 years.

http://labs.live.com/photosynth/

one example.

 

[Tallest Skil]

That's XP and Vista only. FAIL.

Wait... that's a different thread...

 

[chagla]

The adoption of open standards in various technologies has been massively stifled thanks to msft and their monopoly over the years, particularly web tech.
I may have wasted nearly a whole year in total myself, making sure everything works as it should with msft's ***** technologies.
Also, the end game has UNIX based OS at the heart of everything, the quicker msft die, the quicker we can get on with things how they should be.

dream on.

some people can't grasp the fact that osx *just doesn't work* in a corporate/business environment. how is microsoft preventing you from doing what you want to do? if you want to see microsoft disappear, then make something that offers better than microsoft eh. maybe they're doing something that apple can't, maybe they have something that apple doesnt?

i mean really, they must be doing something right when they have a huge market share. thank you. thier products and technologies might have some glitches (and what doesnt? Leopard? ) but they are improving. so thing's aren't as bad as you make it sound.

 

[G58]

Doh!

Why do you hate them so much?

 

[Queso]

Shame. Microsoft would have hobbled itself with this deal, and any slack the dropping of Yahoo's OSX services would have caused would quickly have been taken up by Google.

A lot of posters above seem to think Microsoft will in the end swallow Yahoo anyway. That depends on Microsoft's own situation staying as dominant. Just remember that Windows revenues are tanking year-on-year, whilst Mac share is rising and Linux share is growing exponentially. Microsoft themselves may not be in a position to launch another bid in a year's time, even if Yahoo is worth less.

 

[G58]

I think, looking at the big picture, it's totally insignificant.

M$ failed to matter around 2005. People have just worked that out.

Yahoo is ***** in a bucket - it stinks.

The fact that they found each other is only interesting in the sense that two mangy dogs would be attracted. You might look out of curiosity, but ask yourself, would you watch them mating?

There we are then.

I'm not quite sure why you've quoted me, but I do feel the need to point out that this isn't an altogether insignificant story. The fact that Microsoft has given up is a signal that perhaps it cannot win in everything it would like to simply because it has a mountain of cash.

It's finally proof that you can't do everything poorly and get away with it simply because you have one or two solid products.


Perhaps, but I happen to like Gmail over Yahoo! Mail.

Besides, Google is wise in how it acquires. Google looks forward and buys companies like YouTube while Microsoft chases after Silicon Valley's biggest has-been.

 

[Cameront9]

This takeover bid didn't really make sense from the start. The only service that I see of Yahoo's that still has any value/relevance is Flickr. (And for that reason I didn't want to see MS buy them and screw it up!). But I still don't understand Microsoft's desire to buy them. What advantages over Google would they give them?

Sucks to be a Yahoo stockholder but this might end up being a good thing.

 

[G58]

Oh look, a bottom posting Nazi. What a refreshing change. I haven't hunted your sort for years. I thought they were all extinct.

For your information, there are two ways to post replies using quotes. I prefer this one. You prefer yours. That's fine. That's called choice - freedom of choice in fact.

If you want to be rude, read my posts, I know how to be rude too.

Now be nice and play nice please.

learn how to quote, thanks.

If you want to find out how good, and simultaneously irrelevant Office is, try NeoOffice or OpenOffice.

They're the same thing but open source, so constantly updated by developers and of course completely free!

I partially agree. For all the M$ bashing we do, they do make one or two good things. I think that Office '07 is the best example. It is a functional, easy to use (once you make the adjustment from earlier versions) program, that surprisingly has a very intuitive UI. This is my favorite Microsoft program, and while it make lack the asthetic appeal of some of the iWork features, it functions extremely well, in fact, better than iWork in some (rare, i.e. paper's for classes) functions. It actually can create a bibliography for me in the proper format, so i can just put the info in, and it will create/adjust it for me, as well as cite sources, etc. for all the different citations styles (MLA, APA, etc.)
Back on topic, maybe Microsoft will stop trying to buy things up, like Yahoo!, and start innovating-like they actually did with Office '07.

 

[50548]

dream on.

some people can't grasp the fact that osx *just doesn't work* in a corporate/business environment. how is microsoft preventing you from doing what you want to do? if you want to see microsoft disappear, then make something that offers better than microsoft eh. maybe they're doing something that apple can't, maybe they have something that apple doesnt?

i mean really, they must be doing something right when they have a huge market share. thank you. thier products and technologies might have some glitches (and what doesnt? Leopard? ) but they are improving. so thing's aren't as bad as you make it sound.

So you really think MS has never used its market power to twist, impose or block access to its proprietary standards, right? Have you ever used Internet Explorer and its IE-only websites? Thank you.

 

[Digitalclips]

It's about time Ballmer stops wasting time. He should have been fired for Vista. He needs to stop wasting time and money.

MS has a great pool of talent. If there was real leadership, MS would be innovating not copying.

...that would be a first!