Gawker
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branding
Microsoft Wants You To 'Verb Up' And 'Bing It'
On Thursday Microsoft unveiled Bing, its new search engine thingie. They're hoping that before long you'll forget how to "Google it" and will instead "Bing it." Unfortunately we think the name reminds us mostly of Sopranos strippers and the guy who knocked up Elizabeth Hurley. Microsoft FAIL! More »
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Comment by nathanst: All I can think of is Chandler from friends. I'm betting Matthew Perry could use a paying role right now. *contemplates the... 5 Responses | Other threads
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predictions
The Next Gadget Gods
This past year, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs began to focus on priorities other than tech. Who will fill their winged sandals and become the new Gadget Gods? [Gizmodo] -
acquisitions
The Unbearable Yahoo-AOL-Microsoft Dance
Someone buy something, please. Our New York sighting of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer with Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock missed one: Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, who'd like to unload AOL. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by macbeach: I can't help but think that any deal involving Microsoft will be challenged legally. Nobody's going to complain as... 1 Responses | Other threads
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nerdspotting
Microsoft CEO, Yahoo Chairman Meet in New York
So much for a new boss ending Yahoo's drama. Why did the company's chairman meet Microsoft's Steve Ballmer at the Time Warner Center Thursday, two days after Yahoo named Carol Bartz its new CEO? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Snarkotron: Even more disturbing scenario: Ballmer's wide stance in an airport bathroom led to a rather awkward "anonymous" rendezvous. more » | Other threads
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failure
Microsoft Preparing to Put Zune Out of Its Misery
When political candidates concede a campaign, they praise the "long journey" and talk about how much they've "learned." In the same mode, Microsoft's CEO has all but said he's given up on the Zune. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by mimigoliath: Aww, I have the 80GB Zune and I love it. 8 Responses | Other threads
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steve ballmer
Microsoft: "We are done with Yahoo"
Microsoft's chair-hurling 800-pound gorilla slammed the door on talk of a renewed Yahoo acquisition deal at today's shareholder meeting in Bellevue, Washington. "We are done with all acquisition deals with Yahoo ... We did our best. We've moved on." In business, this often means: We'll be back. For now, though, Ballmer said he'd rather cut a deal to serve Live Search results to Yahoo users — as a vendor, not an owner. Why can he speak with such confidence? Because he's already snapped up Yahoo's key search engineers.
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By Paul BoutinComment by mew: Microsoft no longer needs to buy Yahoo!. Ballmer probably knew that their original offer would be rejected. By... 3 Responses | Other threads
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stocks
Why founders win
Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like to talk about their hopes of "changing the world." Yes, of course: Changing the world from one in which they are poor to one in which they are fabulously wealthy. The question in the air is whether the founders of companies do a better job at creating wealth, for themselves and their investors, than professional managers. With Yahoo announcing Jerry Yang's plans to step down as CEO, it would seem like a losing time for founders. But Yang is an exceptional case; he took his hands off the steering wheel when Yahoo had a mere five employees, and never really ran anything until he stepped in as CEO last June. Most founders of successful startups eagerly seize power, and have to be forcibly dislodged from the driver's seat. The best never let go. Just take a long-term look at the stock market, and you'll see why. More » -
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quotable
What Steve Ballmer really said about Yahoo
Kara Swisher calls Steve Ballmer's tendency to run at the mouth "executive Tourette syndrome." Funny because it's true! Microsoft's CEO sent Yahoo's stock soaring yesterday with comments that were widely reported as suggesting renewed interest in buying the company. We'll skip Swisher's blah-blah-blah analysis and let you judge for yourself exactly what Ballmer said: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by MichellePhyleus: Well, now google runs from yahoo, who will be the next player? more » | Other threads
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microsoft
Oh, I dunno, maybe we might buy Yahoo after all, or not
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, after he and his underlings spent months saying they'd moved on from the notion of buying Yahoo, says that a deal still makes "economic sense." Yahoo's stock leapt 17 percent, though it wasn't clear from his remarks, made at a Gartner conference in Florida, whether he was talking about a search partnership or a full acquisition. Either way, Ballmer: Make up your frickin' mind. There are 3,500 Yahoos who are about to lose their jobs, not to mention that cushy post-Microsoft severance package Jerry Yang ginned up. Oh, wait, there's more! More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by pleinad: This is what I read from Fools: Nice one, Ballmer. Market mavens fell right into your trap. They think you're serious.... more » | Other threads
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microsoft
Microsoft looking to avoid Instant On
An Engadget tipster took snapshots of a Microsoft survey that popped up on his Vista screen. The survey probes the customer's interest in an "Instant On scenario," in which the customer would sacrifice some applications or features in exchange for an eight-second boot time and much, much longer battery life. Aftermarket products like SplashTop already exist. Dell will ship you an instant-on laptop right now. So why doesn't Microsoft just buy SplashTop? More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by CaliforniaCajun: Gee, this "instant on" feature sounds very much like what happens when I open the lid of my Mac Book... 2 Responses | Other threads
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software as a disservice
Ballmer confirms "Windows Cloud" operating system
Windows Cloud, outlined briefly by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at a conference in London this morning, is a separate project from Windows 7, the successor to Vista. Ballmer didn't say much, claiming he didn't want to spoil the official announcement. But he made it clear that sorry, no, Microsoft won't be moving to a fully browser-based version of its Office applications. Rather, Windows Cloud will let road warriors do what Ballmer called "light editing" at, say, a public Internet workstation or kiosk. Ballmer dubbed the concept "software plus services," as opposed to a full software-as-a-service product. Sounds like the plan is to do just enough to keep Office customers from switching to Google Docs. (Photo by AFP/Artyom Korotayev)
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By Paul BoutinComment by gkanapathy: It would be more cloudful if, instead of a stripped-down client, Windows Cloud were a server optimized for EC2. Seeing... more » | Other threads
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microsoft
Steve Ballmer and ex-sidekick get lowball bonuses
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his online services lieutenant Kevin Johnson couldn't finish the Yahoo merger negotiations they started on January 31. Microsoft's annual filings reveal the pair will pay for their failure with their bonuses. Johnson, who left the company in July, was promised a bonus between 97 percent and 100 percent of his salary and will earn only 97 percent. Ballmer, who was promised a bonus between 100 percent and 200 percent of his salary, earned a 109 percent bonus. Oh, to be a mediocre CEO and failed strategist at Microsoft: Though it's down a bit from last year, Johnson still earned $6.8 million in total compensation. Ballmer pulled a total of of $1.35 million on the year and still owns billions worth of Microsoft stock. (Photo by AP/Sarbach) -
earnings
Ballmer flips, admits Microsoft will take a hit
"Financial issues are going to affect both business spending and consumer spending, and particularly ... spending by the financial services industry," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told reporters at a news conference in Oslo earlier today. That's a reversal from his claim last week that tech sector worriers were probably watching too much CNBC. On the last day of the sales quarter, the always-bouncy Ballmer was refreshingly blunt: "Whatever happens economically will certainly effect itself on Microsoft." (Photo by AP/Erlend Aas)
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By Paul BoutinComment by macbeach: "Whatever happens economically will certainly effect itself on Microsoft." This is the first I knew that English was not his native... more » | Other threads
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lists
BusinessWeek scrapes Techmeme for its latest list
Loic Le Meur! Gabe Rivera! Joi Ito! Don't feel bad if you've never heard of them. BusinessWeek.com's latest 25 Most Influential People on the Web is a mashup of billionaire powerbrokers with a randomized handful of those folks you run into at that same little tech conference that happens under a different name every month. I'm guessing they left out TechCrunch's Michael Arrington to create buzz. If you don't want to click through 27 pageviews on BusinessWeek's site, here's the entire list in alphabetical order: More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by newtonke: I think it is much more the people 'behind' those people you should watch. If your a gagbillionairre, or your... more » | Other threads
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microsoft
Bouncy Steve Ballmer sees "buoyancy" in tech
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a meeting of Silicon Valley civic leaders yesterday that despite Wall Street's woes, the tech sector continues to thrive. "Our industry is not immune to what goes on in the global economy. And yet as I travel, given the current circumstances, people still see a certain buoyancy in the market," Ballmer said. Microsoft doesn't report its quarterly earnings until next week. More »
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Comment by michaellamb: I work in IT and while clients are being a bit cautious, they're not cutting back. IT already got hammered... more » | Other threads
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superficial
Power geeks do not age well
As the seasons change and we settle into autumn, I'm reminded once more that yet another year will soon pass and that we're all getting older. Or at least, the old people are. Check out the images below, picturing tech luminaries in their youths juxtaposed with more recent photos. You might find yourself in disagreement with the English poet John Donne, who wrote: "No spring, nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face." More »
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Comment by ScalaWag: Andreessen's transformation is the most monstrous. 3 Responses | Other threads
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antitrust
Microsoft is pushing reporters, ad agencies, and lawmakers on Google-Yahoo deal
The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to share documents with California attorney general Jerry Brown's office regarding a possible antitrust suit against Google. Both federal and state lawyers are targeting Google over its deal to sell some of Yahoo's search ads. California's investigation comes at the behest of state assemblyman Joel Anderson, who wrote in a letter to Brown's office: "We're talking about giving (Google and Yahoo) over 90 percent market share — nobody else on the Web has a database like that. Who can compete?" If Anderson's concern sounds familiar, its because in recent days big advertisers, small advertisers and federal lawyers have expressed similar concerns with similar wording. That's because it's all coming from the same source: Microsoft and its CEO Steve Ballmer, who's still bitter about Google blocking its Yahoo acquisition. Says one trade reporter also subject to the Seattle company's lobbying efforts: More » -
quotable
Valleywag mangles Marc Andreessen, and we think he likes it
PALO ALTO — Thursday night in a Crowne Plaza hotel, with an Elks Club banquet roaring next door, Netscape cofounder, Ning king, and Facebook board member Marc Andreessen sat down with Portfolio writer Kevin Maney for a Churchill Club interview. This wasn't exactly what Andreessen had planned. Back in May, he wrote on his blog that he planned to stop speaking in public: "Used to be, if you wanted to get a message out into the market, you would give a talk at a conference, a reporter would write down some of what you said and mangle the rest, and you'd call it a day.... Mid-year resolution #1: No more public speaking. Mid-year resolution #2: More blogging." Two weeks later, he stopped blogging. Here follows a thoroughly mangled version of his comments. Marc, you have no one to blame but yourself. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Shadowlayer: Marc must believe that someone else will pay the big wages of NYT's journalists, just like someone else is paying... more » | Other threads
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stocks
Yahoo share price below where it was when Microsoft made its offer
The markets closed yesterday with Yahoo shares worth $19.11. It was the second day in a row Yahoo shares closed below the $19.18 they were worth on January 31, the day before Microsoft made its $31 per share offer public. "Your proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo," wrote Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on April 7. Yang must feel the same way about his current shareholders. -
Tech Tyrants
The 10 most terrible tyrants of tech
Here's to the screaming ones. The chair-throwers. The death-threat makers. The imperious gazers. The ones who see things differently — and will stare you down until you do, too. They're not fond of rules, especially those outlined by the human-resources department on "treating your employees with respect." And they have no respect for conversational decibel levels. You can cower before them, hide from them, quote them behind their backs, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they're so damn loud. They've worked at Google. Apple. Microsoft. AOL. They've ruled the industry — or they've failed, loudly. Below, we present you tech's 10 most tempestuous bosses — the ones who scream different. While some see them as sociopaths, Valleywag sees genius. More » -
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Comment by kittiegeiss: i nominate ballmer for Most Likely to Fail to Kill Sergey and Brin Due to Monologuing Long Enough for Them... more » | Other threads
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Eric Rudder
Microsoft heir apparent looks for life after Windows
Looking past the fail that is Vista, Microsoft is working on a next-generation operating system codenamed "Midori." Eric Rudder, a senior vice president at Microsoft whose name has been floated as Microsoft's next CEO, will be developing the new OS. Shockingly from a company known for slogging away at version after version of its existing software, Midori won't even be based on Windows. Programming for Midori will also be different, designed for many kinds of devices, from cell phones to server farms. More »
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Comment by TheRoyalScam: The only person that seems to be floating Eric Rudder's name as the heir apparent to Steve Ballmer is...Eric Rudder. Apparently... more » | Other threads
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steve ballmer
Jon Miller drops out, so who's getting the top online gig at Microsoft?
Former AOL CEO Jon Miller, reportedly Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's favorite to lead the company's new online division, withdrew his name from consideration yesterday because he'll soon be joining Yahoo's board. So if not Miller, who's going to take on the task of saving Microsoft by building its presence on the Web? The top names under consideration: More » -
microsoft
Ballmer's reorg memo, the 100-word version
Did Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer really need 1,300 words to say the company has to do better against Apple and Google, with or without Yahoo? No, but he just can't help himself. A version you could get through before Microsoft's next reorg, below. More » -
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By Paul BoutinComment by Spy from the Land of Rainpeople: @mrfomoco: Proving this is impossible. I used to have a pretty good example of good vintage of Microsoft software, but... more » | Other threads
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steve ballmer
"The success of Windows is our number one job"
Shhh, don't tell Kara Swisher, but we kicked back and let Murdoch's most ruthless mommyblogger ferret out the full email from Microsoft's CEO about the pending shuffling of jobs across the company. We'll just link to it from our pedicure seats at the Valleywag spa. Ballmer name-checks Apple, Google, and Yahoo among the company's main targets. -
mergers
AOL dealmakers meeting with Microsoft, taking calls from Yahoo
An AOL team of negotiators is in Seattle right now, trying to sell the business to Microsoft for a price somewhere between $10 billion and $15 billion. An AOL source told Silicon Alley Insider the probability that a deal gets done on this trip is "low/medium." Perhaps in an effort to speed the proceedings and ignite a bidding war, another source told Reuters that AOL-Yahoo merger negotiations — on since April — "have taken on new urgency." If such a bidding war goes down, bet that AOL goes to Microsoft, which has more cash than Yahoo. More importantly, CEO Steve Ballmer will refuse to get left at the altar by Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang again. More » -
nerdfight
Yang and Bostock can't agree on whether to sell Yahoo search
Do Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock disagree on whether Yahoo should ever sell its search business to Microsoft? Citing several sources, BoomTown's Kara Swisher says she knows what Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang wants, period: More »
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Comment by Tim Faulkner: The above quote is Microsoft's bizarre evidence for claiming they put the deal together last minute (Thursday evening), in good... more » | Other threads
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yahoo raid
Icahn files replacement Yahoo board slate with SEC
Corporate raider Carl Icahn made his proxy fight for control of the Yahoo board official today, filing an alternative slate with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The slate includes nine of the ten names Icahn already put forward in a letter to Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock. Bob Shaye, former cochairman and co-CEO of the recently defunct New Line Cinema, is no longer on the list. The filing includes a letter from Icahn to Yahoo shareholders in which Icahn urges them to vote for his slate because "Steve" — as in Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer — told him it would grease the wheels for a deal: "If a new board consisting of my nominees were to be elected,Microsoft would be willing to enter into discussions regarding a transaction immediately." Icahn's proposed slate and its members brief bios, below. More »
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Comment by dalejo: @MtkgDiva: Sometimes it is about getting the people you feel best for the job. more » | Other threads
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yahoo raid
Microsoft not doing much to disprove Yahoo's "confusing and erratic" charge
Wait a minute: Now Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo again, provided the current board gets dumped? We could have sworn we heard Microsoft executives from Steve Ballmer on down talking about how the company had moved on. Right. If this is moving on, then Julia Allison is over Kevin Rose. I'm starting to believe Jerry Yang's version of the deal.
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By Owen ThomasComment by michaellamb: I don't think MSFT comes out smelling like roses in this. If you want to take the playbook on a... more » | Other threads
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yahoo raid
Yang eyes AOL to save his job
Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang spent the holiday weekend with his company's Goldman Sachs advisers, devising a plan to present shareholders during the company's annual meeting on August 1. The goal: Craft an alternative to a company breakup or buyout at the hands of Microsoft, which would likely come at the cost of the entire Yahoo board's jobs, including Yang's. To escape such a fate, Yang and his bankers zeroed in on Time Warner, hoping to acquire its online property AOL in exchange for $10 billion worth of Yahoo stock. It's an old plan, brought up again last week after first surfacing in April. More » -
search
Yahoo is Google's bitch, with or without search
Why is Jerry Yang clinging so desperately to Yahoo's search business, when Microsoft has made no secret of its willingness to buy it for billions of dollars? Sheer stubbornness, it seems. Heather Hopkins, an analyst at traffic-trends researcher Hitwise, has run the numbers, and found that Yahoo Search, while a decent standalone business, doesn't contribute much to the rest of Yahoo. Google accounts for far more traffic to almost all of Yahoo's properties. Ah, but perhaps that's where Yang's stubbornness comes from. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by bozoclown: sheesh - get your facts right. Between owned & operated and off network, Search is way more important to... more » | Other threads
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mergers
The five weeks Yahoo wants us all to forget ever happened
In a presentation filed with SEC earlier this week, Yahoo's board tried to convince Yahoo shareholders that "the record casts doubt on whether Microsoft was ever committed to a whole company acquisition." But Yahoo shareholders don't buy it. You shouldn't either. Why? Remember the five weeks between when Microsoft made is offer public on February 1 and March 10, when Yahoo execs finally agreed to meet. One major shareholder tells us: More »
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Comment by longtailwagsthevalley: this is actually spot on - nick, when did yhoo announce the poison pill severance package? was it within the... more » | Other threads
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deals
Microsoft looking for a third to get in on the Yahoo action
Microsoft's latest plan: acquire Yahoo's search business and convince either Time Warner or News Corp to snatch up the rest. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo board chairman Roy Bostock had a meeting scheduled Monday to discuss the plans, but Ballmer called it off at the last minute, reports the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo sources took the cancellation to mean Ballmer couldn't persuade News Corp's chairman Rupert Murdoch or Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes to do the deal. They're probably right about Bewkes. Word has it he's hoping Yahoo will buy Time Warner's AOL, not the other way around. As for Murdoch, he's been willing to hand over MySpace for Yahoo stock since at least last year, but perhaps like us, he's wondering why anyone would make a move for Yahoo shares right now, when they don't seem to be going anywhere but down. (Photo by xamad) -
jerry yang
Cowed Yahoo board members' wishlist of Yang and Decker replacements
Yahoo shares are almost below $20 in morning trading and as the company approaches its August 1 annual meeting, Yahoo's directors have finally begun to fear for their jobs and their reputations. They're negotiating with Yahoo's major shareholders and, along with agreeing to renew talks with Microsoft and approach AOL for acquisition, some on the board are offering to promote CEO Jerry Yang into a non-executive chairmanship and fire Yahoo president Sue Decker. Reporter's reporter Kara Swisher reports that shareholders and some board members have already come up with a wish list of names for the top jobs. More » -
jerry yang
Yahoo CEO tries to convince shareholders Microsoft never wanted to merge
Perhaps you remember the morning of February 1, 2008, when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made public his intentions to purchase Yahoo at $31 per share. Or maybe you recall Ballmer's angry letter on April 5, demanding Yahoo answer to Microsoft's offer. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and the Yahoo board of directors would prefer you not. According to a shareholder presentation the group filed with the SEC — part of its campaign against Carl Icahn's alternative slate — Yahoo's board wants Yahoo shareholders to believe that "the record casts doubt on whether Microsoft was ever committed to a whole company acquisition." More »
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Comment by andrewlsteele: The Microsoft recruiting ad on this post is a nice touch... :) more » | Other threads
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online advertising
Ballmer quashes Facebook rumors, says its search or bust for Microsoft' online efforts
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the Financial Times that people who think Microsoft would be better off giving up on search and acquiring a company such as Facebook instead. People who say otherwise "don’t understand what they’re talking about." More »
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Comment by G2GdoB2B: @jamalystic: I think there's still room for companies in the search engine industry but I don't think anyone can take... more » | Other threads
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yahoo raid
"Oh Jerry, It’s No Longer Your Baby" — the 100-word version
New York Times columnist Joe Nocera's open letter to Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang over the weekend nicely captured Yahoo shareholders' rage over the whole Microsoft mess. But will they stop fuming long enough to read all 1,500 words? A version they'll be able to finish before their lawyers get done filing the next shareholder lawsuit, and Yang will be able to finish before the next top executive's resignation letter hits his inbox, below. More »
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Comment by Valleygrrl: "As to Carl Icahn, if he told me I was on fire, I would probably check whether I was, just... more » | Other threads
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stocks
Fatalistic shareholder tired of calling for Ballmer's head on a Vista platter
The anonymous blogger behind the MSFTextrememakover blog is hanging up the keyboard after his 100th post, and urges shareholders to divest their holdings in the software leviathan before it's too late. He cites the dismal release of Windows Vista contrasted with the polyanna positivism of upper management as one sign that the leadership in Redmond has its head in the sand — and no one is more culpable than CEO Steve Ballmer: More »
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By Jackson WestComment by ThatKid: Another interpretation is that despite Microsoft being the most reviled tech company in the world and having everyone claim "Microsoft... more » | Other threads
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