Could Micrahoosoft! take on Google?

Columns & Opinion, Internet
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Will Head writes…

Word on the internet is that Microsoft is lining up a bid for Yahoo in an attempt to take on Google once and for all.

The software company is apparently ready to slap down hard cash for Yahoo, and perhaps even more importantly it’s willing to make it feel special in the process.

The two have been in talks before, but in the past Microsoft has apparently lacked a sense of urgency – something that now appears to have changed.

According to those in the know, Yahoo could cost around $50bn to purchase.

This has all been spurred on by Google’s recent takeover of DoubleClick, which didn’t have a very shiny, consumer friendly image before but that will presumably change now it’s being subsumed into the Google mothership.

But would the deal really give Microsoft that much of an advantage over Google? Even with the two companies combined, according to the numbers that would only give them 27 percent of the search advertising market. That’s not even half Google’s 65 percent share.

While it makes some sense for Microsoft, it doesn’t seem like Yahoo would get that much out of it. Just at a time when it’s decided to try and sort out its product offerings so there aren’t overlapping options – like closing Yahoo Photos and concentrating on Flickr instead – throwing everything in with Microsoft’s varied online activities could just complicate things further.

Which search engine will they go with? Or blogging platform? Or IM service? Or [insert duplicated function here]. It just seems a bit like it would create a sprawling mass different products, with employees on both sides claiming that theirs is better and the other one should be cancelled.

Will Head
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One thought on “Could Micrahoosoft! take on Google?

  • Kevin Rose was wrong to give into the mass protest of DIGG members, simply because the law is the law and by his actions has demonstrated that he prefers to embrace arnarchy instead.
    Manufacturers who find their secrets exposed, instead of trying to close the gate after the horse has bloted, should change their products protection system, now that that it has been tested and found not to be secure, instead of whinging on and lashing out websits where it has been posted, the harm has been done.
    Perhaps in the interests of copyright protection there should a mandatory legal requirment to filter postings for potentially illegal material my website owners, and those who don’t comply shall be shut down without the expense of court action by an appointed ombudsman.
    People who do not respect the law should not be permitted to eat of the milk and honey of civilised society, but some clearly want to have their slice of cake and eat it too.

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