Gawker: valleywag, david sobeski

Microsoft's exiles

Owen Thomas — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:33:34 EST

Before the formal takeover offer came, an informal Microsoft takeover of Yahoo was already underway, thanks to Yahoo's hiring of several executives from the software giant. Some have even speculated that Microsoft has encouraged this poaching, using its ex-employees as plants to keep track from the inside on Yahoo's progress. And Microsoft has, in turn, hired its share of Yahoos. How will they fare if Microsoft's $44.6 billion offer goes through?

Scott Moore Moore is the golden child of this merger. Before joining Yahoo, he had a long career running Web properties at Microsoft, including Slate (before the Washington Post bought it), MSN, and MSNBC.com. No one's better suited to bridge the company's cultures. Moore was recently promoted to run Yahoo's whole media group; I wouldn't be surprised to see that expanded to include MSN as well.

David Sobeski Suspicions run strong over the executive who runs Yahoo's Seattle-area office. Alas, his job's not nearly as secure as Moore's. His latest project is DataOS, a large-scale, distributed Web operating system meant to undergird Yahoo's properties. Given Microsoft's propensities for favoring its own technologies, DataOS isn't likely to have a long runway. But if Sobeski lands a top engineering job inside Microsoft, that will just strengthen rumors about why he took the job at Yahoo — some think he's been a Microsoft plant all along.

Gary Flake Formerly Yahoo's head of research, Flake joined Microsoft in 2005, and now runs Live Labs, the company's Internet-software R&D effort. Flake's an obvious candidate to run a combined research team.

Dickerson draws short straw, takes over for Gatz at Yahoo

Nicholas Carlson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:20:53 EST

As we reported first, Yahoo's Scott Gatz confirms he's leaving. Chad Dickerson will move from the Yahoo Developer Network to take over running Advanced Products. This is hardly a promotion for Dickerson; we hear he had a falling out with his boss at the developer group, ex-Microsoftie David Sobeski. Dickerson is now in charge of someday making Fire Eagle a real product. He also gets to work oh so closely with professional conference attendee Salim Ismail. And that brings us to our career advice for Dickerson.

Next time, throw paper. According to the World RPS society, it's got a 3.73 percent advantage over rock or scissors.

Is Yahoo's David Sobeski a Microsoft spy?

Owen Thomas — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 13:39:04 EST

I'm hearing an incredible rumor about David Sobeski, the former Microsoft general manager now opening a Seattle-area office for Yahoo, and I'm not sure whether to believe it. Whispers from well-placed Yahoos are that he took the job under "false pretenses." Translation: They think he's a spy for Microsoft, planted at Yahoo to learn the company's secrets. The new office is to work on something called "DataOS," the technical underpinnings for Yahoo's large-scale Web operations. Microsoft is playing catch-up with Google in Web-based software, and getting hold of Yahoo's technology would be one way to take a massive leap. There may be nothing to the allegations. But if Microsoft hasn't placed a corporate spy at Yahoo yet, I'd have to say I wonder what's taking them so long.