Microsoft = Evil Part Deux

[CDN_Merlin]

Microsoft Places $44 Billion Bid For Yahoo
2:22 PM - Gary McLean - 9 Comments
Someone wants to Yahoo really bad:

Software giant Microsoft has made an unsolicited $44.6 billion US bid for Internet media company Yahoo! Inc.

Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, offered $31 US a share in cash or stock for Yahoo!, a 62 per cent premium over the stock's closing price Thursday.

\"We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market,\" said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

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[Sllik]

Methinks a certain mega-corporation is becoming concerned over the threat of Google's growing power.

[d3jake]

"We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.

Translation: We're getting screwed out of the market and we need to buy a part of it.

[Sirius]

Ish.

They're trying to consolidate their position against Google, basically, and the easiest way of doing that is buying Yahoo.

Haven't worked out how this is \"evil\" but hey, people will think what they want to think.

[TIGERassault]

Haven't worked out how this is "evil" but hey, people will think what they want to think.

It falls under the usual "a big company is an evil company" mode of thinking.

[CDN_Merlin]

You think MS buying Yahoo would be good? I highly doubt that. Another Oil fiasco with that.

[mistercool2]

I realize anything can happen in the bussiness world these days, but it's hard for me to immagine Microsoft being threatened by anything less than a major depression (which it would probably survive), nuclear war, another ice age or the earth being sucked into a black hole. Sooo ... I'm wonderin' ... maybe the only logical motivation here would be greed. Which would apply to Yahoo as well if the offer is accepted. Whatdayathink?

[Krom]

This isn't the first time Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo.

[Warlock]

I think its funny there's buy outs like this all over the place but when its a big well known company people make a big deal.

Eh I just say go MS

[DarkHorse]

Looking at how relevant Yahoo is now, I'd say it's wasted money.

[Krom]

Eh I just say go Google

I fixed this for you.

[TIGERassault]

Sooo ... I'm wonderin' ... maybe the only logical motivation here would be greed. Which would apply to Yahoo as well if the offer is accepted.

I think that Microsoft is trying to make money. Because that's what businesses do. Saying that they're doing it out of greed is like saying people are selfish for staying alive because they're polluting the environment: it's true, but it's in a really, really negative light.

[Duper]

I've heard a lot about this on the news the last couple of days. Congress is ready to block the sale if it looks like it might happen.

MS is hurting in the search engine department getting something like 2% of Search engine usage. They want the extra business that they would get through this merger to make up for that loss.

[mistercool2]

I think that Microsoft is trying to make money. Because that's what businesses do. Saying that they're doing it out of greed is like saying people are selfish for staying alive because they're polluting the environment: it's true, but it's in a really, really negative light.

trying to make money ???

I'm pretty sure that most people don't see greed in a positive light.

[Sirius]

Most people don't see big business in a positive light, either. It doesn't obviate the need for it.

And no, I don't think Microsoft buying Yahoo is necessarily a particularly good idea - wait a couple years and Yahoo would be pretty much dead - but I also don't think it's going to be harmful for Joe Public.

[Duper]

MS would own Flikr. :\\

[mistercool2]

Most people don't see big business in a positive light, either. It doesn't obviate the need for it.

Whether or not we actually need big business is a topic for another discussion, but let me just say this -

When we look at it with our eyes open and our minds clear, we can see many aspects that need to be eliminated or changed. It's a matter of perception.

[TIGERassault]

When we look at it with our eyes open and our minds clear, we can see many aspects that need to be eliminated or changed. It's a matter of perception.

Congratulations! You are officially a hippy!
In other words, cut out all that pseudo-bullcrap, we all know you're just saying it to make it look like your point is more valid than others.

[Top Wop]

Goodbye Yahoo.

Micro$oft has the opposite effect of the Midas touch, everything they touch turns to crap.

[TIGERassault]

Micro$oft has the opposite effect of the Midas touch, everything they touch turns to crap.

Sapphire Wolf hates you now! Have a nice day.

[Sirius]

If you thought Microsoft was bad, TW, you should see EA... >.<

[Top Wop]

Im well aware of EA too.

[mistercool2]

Congratulations! You are officially a hippy!
In other words, cut out all that pseudo-bullcrap, we all know you're just saying it to make it look like your point is more valid than others.

I'm not trying to deceive anyone and my "bullcrap" is pretty much based on facts.

As for trying to make my point more valid - isn't that what everyone does here? I'm not trying to one-up anyone or prove anyone wrong, I'm just offering my thoughts, ideas and concepts. Sorry if you don't see it that way.

In regards to calling me a hippy, I could take that as a compliment. Although I don't use or condone the use of drugs, the original hippies were very intelligent and more evolved intellectually and emotionally than alot of the people on this planet were then and are now.

[Jeff250]

Microsoft + Yahoo will just serve as another platform for entrapping people into using Microsoft technologies. Unlike Google, Microsoft doesn't care about making cool stuff for its own sake. For Microsoft, it's only useful insofar as it helps them secure some position in the market. These new Microsoft services will probably require SilverLight or Internet Explorer or Vista or some other crap, so these services will be nothing more than a front for entrapping people into using other Microsoft technologies, such as Windows.

Consider Internet Explorer, Microsoft's last big \"contribution\" to the Internet. As soon as they had a large enough portion of the Internet developing exclusively for Internet Explorer quirks mode, they had everything they wanted--an Internet that you need Internet Explorer to experience, and ergo an Internet that you need Windows to experience. Development on Internet Explorer ceased. Internet Explorer users were revealed to be merely the tools that they were. And the evolution of a more open Internet was hampered.

So will a Microsoft + Yahoo merger be harmful to Joe Public? Without some convincing reason that this will somehow be the exception, most definitely yes. Aside from being just another front with which it will alienate its user base and restrict their choice, Microsoft will probably still be impeding the evolution of Internet technology as a whole. Of course, whether Joe Public will be aware of this is another story...

[roid]

Jeff250 summed up most things i wanted to say.

It's a strange situation, when it comes to Microsoft i can't think of many situations where what THEY want has been anything but the opposite of what I want. So the very fact that Microsoft WANTS Yahoo means that i hope they don't get it.
Coz when Microsoft gets it's way - it's always bad news for consumers. Compare to Google, oh Google i <3 you so.
When Google gets what it wants the skies rain with beer!

Google doesn't want Yahoo

[Sirius]

Jeff - Google isn't a small part of the market. Microsoft + Yahoo still isn't enough to get any kind of a stranglehold.

[JMEaT]

Google. MS. Meh I say.

Yahoo is lame however.

[Sergeant Thorne]

Coz when Microsoft gets it's way - it's always bad news for consumers. Compare to Google, oh Google i <3 you so.
When Google gets what it wants the skies rain with beer!

Google doesn't want Yahoo

Hehe.

As much as I have liked Google, I suspect that Google is turning into another Microsoft. There may be some cosmetic differences, but the question is, how is their business going to avoid being based on greed? I believe that greed it at the root of the whole problem, any other agendas are just icing on the cake. When greed is at the wheel, the needs of the customer take a back seat to profits in all decisions. I think it is stating the obvious to say that when a company is based on stocks, it is automatically based to the same degree on greed.

[CDN_Merlin]

Greed is the root of all evil. IBM just bought Cognos (Client MGM Software) and things like this are always based on making your own company the only place a client needs to get stuff.

[Jeff250]

Jeff - Google isn't a small part of the market. Microsoft + Yahoo still isn't enough to get any kind of a stranglehold.

It doesn't take much to get a strangehold. For example, how small of a percentage of the Internet being only renderable in Internet Explorer quirks mode would it take so that you wouldn't any longer "need" Internet Explorer? If, suppose, just 2% of the Internet was only renderable in Internet Explorer quirks mode, would you still need to keep Internet Explorer (and Windows) around? Or would you be comfortable to commit to not ever using it again? (I'm not comfortable doing so with respect to whatever the real statistic is... I still keep IE around in wine, not Microsoft's intended response, but still...)

As much as I have liked Google, I suspect that Google is turning into another Microsoft. There may be some cosmetic differences, but the question is, how is their business going to avoid being based on greed?

Here's what they can do: recognize (or continue recognizing) that not being evil is marketable and cool.

Here's what you can do: not support corporations that alienate and make tools of their user base.

[Sirius]

Oh, so you're not talking about trying to strong-arm Google out of the way so much as attempt to force the Windows/IE platform?

I would just like to note, though, that attempts to do that can easily backfire. As a more extreme example, if the DBB decided to only render in Opera, it would die overnight because no-one would really want to switch.

Microsoft and Yahoo are bigger, of course, but people can still choose to go to other sites because most of their services have competition. Search, e-mail, ... whatever other stuff they do - I don't really keep track any more.

[Strife]

I was actually reading about this yesterday at work. Google is fighting this because they are saying they will have another business venture like when microsoft was pushing their own software to be used in their operating system... and got fined highly for it. At this point google owns about 60% of the internet search market and Microsoft buying up yahoo could be good or bad. I highly doubt Yahoo will become a more efficient search engine when/if MS buys them out... I would expect to see more advertisements and a slower more bulky homepage for searching. Sort of like a Vista version of yahoo right now. They did offer them more/share than their stocks are currently worth by quite a bit. Yahoo would be stupid to pass up the offer because no one will be able to make an offer like that.

[WillyP]

Microsoft is like in the end of 'The Jerk' when Naven said was leaving and said 'All I need is this (one thing), I don't need anything else... except this (one other thing... and another thing... and another...) and that's all I need.'

[TIGERassault]

I'm not trying to deceive anyone and my "bullcrap" is pretty much based on facts.

Anyone that has his mind completely clear is, well, dead.
Anyone that has his mind clear of biasness only sees what is there and hardly percieves anything else, yet alone thinks of whether something needs changing or eliminating.
So I can't, for the love of God, think of any possible way that having your eyes open and your mind clear is good for knowing what needs changing unless it's, like I said, pseudo-bullcrap.

These new Microsoft services will probably require SilverLight or Internet Explorer or Vista or some other crap, so these services will be nothing more than a front for entrapping people into using other Microsoft technologies, such as Windows.

Y'know, I never actually found a Microsoft-owned site that was only viewable with IE.

[CDN_Merlin]

Ever try using MS update? Only works in IE.

[Krom]

Microsoft update is excused from requiring support from other browsers, it never worked in an alternate browser to begin with. It makes perfect sense that the site for updating Microsoft software only works on the Microsoft browser.

[Topher]

Ever try using MS update? Only works in IE.

Vista no longer uses the browser for Windows update.

[roid]

ello ello MS-Topher

[mistercool2]

I'm not trying to deceive anyone and my "bullcrap" is pretty much based on facts.

Anyone that has his mind completely clear is, well, dead.
Anyone that has his mind clear of biasness only sees what is there and hardly percieves anything else, yet alone thinks of whether something needs changing or eliminating.
So I can't, for the love of God, think of any possible way that having your eyes open and your mind clear is good for knowing what needs changing unless it's, like I said, pseudo-bullcrap.

Anyone that has his mind clear of biasness only sees what is there and hardly percieves anything else

If you think about it enough ... you'll see that, in a way ... you answered your own question.

BTW ... thanks for opening MY eyes. After giving it some thought I realilze now that I was trying to impress everyone. Not so much with what I said but how I said it. I'm not gonna make any excuses but I'll try to keep that kinda stuff to a minimum.

[TIGERassault]

If you think about it enough ... you'll see that, in a way ... you answered your own question.

...I'm going to be polite here and say that your vagueness isn't doing you any favours.