Apple is now bigger than Microsoft

Apple surpasses Microsoft to grab the title as most valuable technology company, at least in terms of market capitalization.

Apple's market capital passed Microsoft's, puts Apple's market capital at $225.98 billion to Microsoft's $225.32 billion.

Shares of Apple are worth more than ten times their value ten years ago. Apple last had a higher market value than Microsoft in December 1989 but almost went out of business in the 1990s.

Microsoft, under arrogant Steve Ballmer's hands, said that they still make more profit than anybody else and that no other technology companies, including Apple, have managed to match them until now with 94 percent of computers being sold with a Windows OS.

That might change if the likes of Google, Apple and IBM manage to bring down Microsoft's twin cash cows, Windows and Office by convincing people to switch to cheaper web-based alternatives or using other operating systems.

Microsoft has been under pressure all month, as concerns have mounted about the health of the global economy, particularly in the Europe markets, which have taken a beating from an economic crisis in Greece and worries about stability in other countries, such as Italy and Spain.

Those worries, as well as concerns about the companies' prospects in the mobile device market in the U.S., have contributed to a sharp selloff that has pushed the shares down by more than 20% since Microsoft reported results for its third fiscal quarter on April 23.

The biggest corporation of all, however, remains oil giant Exxon Mobil at $278.64 billion. Considering that Apple was $50 billion behind Microsoft a mere two months ago, and the fourth generation iPhone is expected to release in June, and new iPods usually release in September, so the idea of Apple surpassing ExxonMobil this year is not totally out of the realm of possibilities.

Can't beat it, kill it!

Microsoft is proven to be an asshole again!

Goddamned Microsoft with its dirty Bing

Microsoft is struggling with its search technology and market share. This goddamned company is now trying to invade into your Internet browser and change your default search to Bing without your consent.

When you type a keyword into the Location Bar, Firefox does a keyword search of your history and bookmarks. Results are displayed in a drop-down list. If you do not select a result from the drop-down list but just press enter, Firefox takes you to the top Google result for that search by default.

However, by modifying the preference called keyword.URL, you can change this behavior. This is how the dirty Microsoft invades to your browser and changes its default search to Bing.

Now, how should we remove the goddamned Bing and get our Google back?

1. On your Firefox’s Location Bar (a.k.a. address bar), type “about:config”.
2. You will be prompted with yellow triangle warning stated your action might void your warranty. Don’t panic, just click on “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button.
3. On the Filter bar, type “keyword.URL”.
4. Double-click it and replace the string value to http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=
5. Click OK and you’re done!

Here are a few example values for different search behavior:

Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" (default pre-Firefox 2.0)
http://www.google.com/search?btnI=I%27m+Feeling+Lucky&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=

Google "Browse by Name" (Automatically takes you to sites with a clear match, else performs a Google search) (default in Firefox 2)
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=

Google Search (Google search results page)
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=

Hotmail hacked, thousands of accounts compromised

Microsoft confirmed yesterday evening that Hotmail had been targeted by malicious fraudsters in what is commonly referred to as a phishing scam, tricking users into revealing their credentials at fake websites.

Details of accounts were posted on the code snippets website pastebin.com on October 1st. The list only covered names beginning with A or B meaning only a partial list was taken, or that was just a taster of the full list.

The important thing is this looks like a legitimate list of accounts and covers addresses ending in hotmail.com, msn.com, and live.com. At least 10,000 accounts are in the wild.

Microsoft is looking into the claims of a breach, but has yet to confirm whether its service has been compromised. If you have an account ending hotmail, live, or msn, then don’t hesitate and start changing your email service to Gmail today!

Microsoft has never been secured!!!

換湯不換藥的BING

當微軟(Microsoft)遇上谷歌(Google)，還是一貫地以不屑的眼神，以為谷歌小弟弟只不過是另一個網景(Netscape)。這也太小看谷歌了吧！

當谷歌頭也不回地往前沖時，這時微軟的光頭老爺爺才覺悟，谷歌這小伙子可是壯志少年了呀！

微軟的光頭老爺爺以為當下用戶個個傻頭傻腦，還買微軟這一套，換換包裝再上路！

MSN Search 追不上，換個 Windows Live Search ，不行再換個 Bing ！我提議呀，不然用 Rubbish ，比較好聽嘛！

Google Chrome OS, the answer to Microsoft-free computing experience!

When everyone thought that Android is the answer Google trying the OS market, Google surprised us with the new OS named Chrome OS.

Poor Microsoft, it gets hit many times since Google incorporated. First Google dominates the search engine market. Then Google enters the Web-based e-mail market. Android invades Windows Mobile's turf. And then Google jumps into the browser market with Chrome. And now, Google has upped the ante yet again with its plans for a new operating system based on Google Chrome.

The new operating system will be an open-source OS initially geared toward netbooks, Google announced in a blog posting, and will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

I love to hear this. If Apple can't kill Microsoft, I hope Google will.

Bill Gates is back as world's richest

The world has become a wealth wasteland. Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. This year the world's billionaires have an average net worth of $3 billion, down 23% in 12 months. Today there are 793 people on the list of the World's Billionaires, a 30% decline from a year ago, down from 1,125 people.

Bill Gates regained his title as the richest man in the world, with $40 billion after slipping to third last year when he was worth $58 billion. He lost $18 billion. Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell nearly 50 per cent in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helu also lost $25 billion and dropped one spot to No. 3.

It was hard to avoid the carnage, whether you were in stocks, commodities, real estate or technology. Even people running profitable businesses were hammered by frozen credit markets, weak consumer spending or declining currencies.

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year's biggest gainer. India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion - 76% of his fortune - as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Now everybody has an App Store

It’s Mobile World Congress week in Barcelona, where the city’s famous pickpockets have dozens of new gadgets to choose from, and the shadow of Apple’s iPhone once again looms large.

Last year, rival cellphone manufacturers used the event to announce their own touchscreen smartphones.

This year, what’s getting the love is the iTunes App Store, with its 20,000-plus applications and half a billion downloads.

Among the announcements making headlines this week:

• Nokia's Ovi Store. An online app and media portal that comes “pre-integrated” on Nokia’s new N97, but will be available for download on a slew of existing Nokia phones come May.

• Windows Marketplace. Along with a new version of Windows Mobile, Microsoft announced Monday that it will open a new Windows Marketplace offering — you guessed it — 20,000 apps, some of which actually run on mobile devices.

• App Store for Symbian. PocketGear, which had previously built its own Palm App Store and an App Store for Windows Mobile, unveiled an App Store for Symbian, the operating system that runs Nokia’s smartphones. How it will compete with the Ovi Store remains to be seen.

• Android Market. Google opened an application marketplace for the Android platform last October, but so far it has only accepted free apps. Look for an announcement from Google this week about how that’s going to change.

• BlackBerry Applications Center. Research in Motion invited developers to submit programs to its forthcoming Applications Center in October. We may be hearing more this week about when that will open for business.

• Palm Software Store. This one went live in December with 2,000 apps and 1,000 free games available for download to both Palm OS devices and Windows Mobile.

Also making news in Barcelona is Adobe, which announced Sunday that it expects to ship a full-fledged version of its Flash player in 2010 that will run on Windows Mobile, Google’s Android, Nokia’s Symbian and the new Palm OS. Steve Jobs had complained that Flash Lite wasn’t good enough for his iPhone. Last we heard, Adobe and Apple were working together to get Flash up to speed, but apparently they’re not there yet.

“We would love to see it on the iPhone, too,” said Adobe’s Anup Murarka, according to a report on CNET.com. “But it’s Apple’s decision on when and how they support any new technology. So we will continue to work on it.”

Microsoft to open own stores, take on Apple

Microsoft Corp announced plans to open its own chain of branded stores as it looks to catch up with rival Apple Inc's successful move into retailing.

The world's largest software company, which also makes the Xbox video game console and the Zune digital music player, did not say how many stores it was looking to open, or when, or which of its products would be on sale.

That is to be decided by David Porter, a former DreamWorks Animation executive, which Microsoft named as its new vice president of retail stores.

Turner, a former Wal-Mart Stores Inc manager, will report to Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner.

The long-rumored move to open stores comes as consumer spending is under severe pressure due to the recession, which has already pushed electronics chain Circuit City into bankruptcy. A similar attempt by computer maker Gateway to open its own stores some years ago was not successful.

Microsoft, bruised by the poor reception of its latest Vista operating system, is facing increased competition from Apple, which is eating into the personal computer market and dominates the personal digital music player market with its iPod line.

Apple's stylish stores, now numbering more than 200 worldwide, have been crucial in attracting customers in recent years.

Bill Gates's Daughter?

Someone sent a picture of a lovely girl claiming that she is Bill Gates’s daughter. Many of my friends received the same email too and everybody thought that this is real. The picture has been widely distributed and obviously we have been fooled by the original mailer.

The fact is...

Bill Gates has three children...

* Jennifer Katharine Gates, his daughter born in 1996
* Rory John Gates, his son born in 1999
* Phoebe Adelle Gates, his daughter born in 2002


Well, you might be wondering who is this girl then...

To date, some said she is Alyson Stoner and some said Rachel Leigh Cook. I'm not sure which is the one. What do you think?

===================================

Hackers Compromise Legit Web Sites to Target Microsoft IE Flaw

Microsoft reported a significant increase in the number of users infected with malware targeting a vulnerability in Internet Explorer widely reported last week. The flaw affects all supported editions of IE.

Hackers have begun compromising Web sites to infect vulnerable computers with malware that exploits a zero-day flaw in Internet Explorer revealed last week.

Microsoft reported a significant increase in the number of infected users over the weekend, and researchers at Trend Micro estimated about 6,000 sites had been infected. The move is a shift in tactics for hackers, who had been relying on rogue Web sites to propagate their malware.

"Based on our stats, since the vulnerability has gone public, roughly 0.2 percent of users worldwide may have been exposed to Web sites containing exploits of this latest vulnerability," according to a posting on the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) blog. "That percentage may seem low, however it still means that a significant number of users have been affected. The trend for now is going upwards: we saw an increase of over 50 percent in the number of reports today compared to yesterday."

So far, the compromised sites have run the gamut, ranging from a popular search engine in Taiwan – now reportedly clean – to various pornography sites.

“We recently found a Web site in Hong Kong that serves various content including adult entertainment,” according to the MMPC blog. “Users who hoped to watch that content, became target of those attacks: specifically, the exploit dropped Trojans that we detect as Trojan:Win32/VB.IQ.dr and Trojan:Win32/VB.IQ.”

Other compromised sites included a Chinese sporting goods site with a traffic rank of close to 7 million. According to Trend Micro, the site contained HTML code that directed users to a remote site with malicious script. The final payload is a worm detected by Trend Micro as WORM_AUTORUN.BSE. Other exploits that also lead to the worm are HTML_IFRAME.ZM, JS_DLOADER.QGV and HTML_AGENT.CPZZ, according to Trend.

“Obfuscated JavaScript in the HTML Web pages are also detected as JS_DLOAD.MD, the same malicious script found to exploit the zero-day vulnerability in IE7,” Trend Micro’s Mayee Corpin wrote on the company’s security blog.

Exploits for the zero-day, which affects all versions of Internet Explorer (IE), began to proliferate last week shortly after Microsoft’s monthly Patch Tuesday release. The vulnerability lies in the way the browser handles DHTML Data Bindings.

The best way to get rid of this is to switch to another Internet browser and stop using Internet Explorer (IE).

I'm recommending Mozilla Firefox. Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite, managed by the Mozilla Corporation. Firefox had 20.78% of the recorded usage share of web browsers as of November 2008, making it the second-most popular browser in current use worldwide, after Internet Explorer.

Firefox uses a sandbox security model, and limits scripts from accessing data from other web sites based on the same origin policy. It uses SSL/TLS to protect communications with web servers using strong cryptography when using the https protocol. It also provides support for web applications to use smartcards for authentication purposes.

The Mozilla Foundation offers a "bug bounty" to researchers who discover severe security holes in Firefox. Official guidelines for handling security vulnerabilities discourage early disclosure of vulnerabilities so as not to give potential attackers an advantage in creating exploits.

Because Firefox has fewer and less severe publicly known unpatched security vulnerabilities than Internet Explorer, improved security is often cited as a reason to switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox. The Washington Post reports that exploit code for critical unpatched security vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer was available for 284 days in 2006. In comparison, exploit code for critical security vulnerabilities in Firefox was available for 9 days before Mozilla shipped a patch to remedy the problem. Symantec in their statement, saying that Firefox still had much fewer security vulnerabilities than Internet Explorer, as counted by security researchers.

With more than 15,000 improvements, Firefox 3 is faster, safer and smarter than ever before for safe Internet surfing.
To download the software, go to http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

For portable version of Firefox, visit http://portableapps.com/ to grab one.

10 Tech Kings of Cash

1. Hewlett-Packard - Palo Alto, Calif.
Cash and Equivalents: $14.8 billion

2. Apple - Cupertino, Calif.
Cash and Equivalents: $11.9 billion

3. IBM - Armonk, N.Y.
Cash and Equivalents: $9.8 billion

4. Microsoft - Redmond, Wash.
Cash and Equivalents: $9.0 billion

5. Dell - Austin, Texas
Cash and Equivalents: $8.6 billion

6. Oracle - Redwood City, Calif.
Cash and Equivalents: $8.5 billion

7. Google - Mountain View, Calif.
Cash and Equivalents: $8.4 billion

8. EMC - Hopkinton, Mass.
Cash and Equivalents: $5.5 billion

9. Cisco Systems - San Jose, Calif.
Cash and Equivalents: $5.2 billion

10. Intel - Santa Clara, Calif.
Cash and Equivalents: $3.7 billion

Microsoft attempts to sour Apple's laptop launch

Tactics reminiscent of a close presidential race seem to be popping up in Microsoft Corp.'s rivalry with Apple Inc.

Just a few weeks ago, Microsoft, tired of being the butt of Apple attack ads, launched a positive series of commercials highlighting the diversity and coolness of Windows users. But then in the hours before this week's product announcement from Apple, Microsoft went negative.

A Monday evening e-mail from Microsoft's outside PR firm titled "Why You'll Find Better Value in Windows PCs than Macs" aimed to deflate anticipation that that Apple might unveil a cheap-by-Apple-standards $800 laptop. (The rumors were off by $200).

Microsoft laid out its talking points - among them that Windows PCs come with more power and features for lower prices, while Macs are even pricer than they look because they don't come with enough software.

In true political style, Microsoft trotted out a hidden "Apple tax," an extra $1,000 or more Microsoft says people switching from PCs to Macs must pay to "rebuy" software and hardware for their new system.

And what's more, "Macs, due to their high upfront (prices), won't sell in a more conservative market."

(Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's CEO, did not pop up to say he approved the message; the e-mail suggested journalists attribute the quote to "a Microsoft spokesperson.")

On Tuesday evening, the Microsoft camp followed up with a colorful chart akin to a post-debate fact-check, showing Windows PC configurations similar to Apple's new MacBook and MacBook Pro models at comparable, or lower, prices.

"Bottom line: you're going get a great Windows Laptop with a lot more, at a lower price than any MacBook. Period," the agency's e-mail read.

To push the political parallel even further: If Microsoft's message is aimed at "swing voters" who might be tempted by a Mac, the software maker might not be speaking their language.

Apple's decision to keep its Mac prices at $1,000 or more indicates the company doesn't think economic turmoil will stop its target customers from buying a Mac. Nor does Apple believe Mac users would give up the simplicity of their machines for the ability to do some tinkering under the hood on a Windows computer, as Microsoft suggests.

I appreciate the UNIX underpinnings that make the Mac, well, just robust. I like the fact that I'm working on it 30 seconds after I turn power on and 3 seconds to turn it off. I can also do anything on my Mac that I can do on a PC - right out of the box. OpenOffice and many other free software titles out there allow total compatability with my PC. Many people buy a Mac because they don't want to hear about sluggish response due to spyware and virus scanners and the usual PC plagues.

Microsoft is a marketing company, not a software company. I see eye-candy (Vista) but no substance. I've heard it said that Microsoft needs no R&D dept. - they have Apple. Please, I don't want to sound like a Microsoft basher. I'm not. There is room enough for 2 or more players.

Apple appeals to a certain segment who appreciate the system aspects. PCs appeal to those who want to tweak their system.

People do buy things based on marketing, but Apple just turns their customer insanely. Hardware is hardware. All things being equal, what's left. I don't think Microsoft has the vision to be innovative anymore. Too much inertial for a big company to overcome. Apple still continues to surprise me. Certainly, their choice of OS swayed me. The Apple ads play to that without hitting below the belt.

You do get what you pay for.

Browser Wars - On the Mac

Mac Browser Market Share

The browser battle on the Mac is between Safari and Firefox. Safari dominates, but Firefox has a much larger share on the Mac than Windows. However, Firefox share has been relatively stable.

iPhone Tops Windows Mobile Devices in Web Browsing

Operating System Market Share

I've been tracking iPhone usage since its launch. Total web browsing on the iPhone has topped the web browsing on all Windows Mobile devices combined. The iPhone has had a dramatic rise in usage share in its short time on the market. Is this due to a better user interface? Larger screen?

Internet Browser Market Share

Internet Browser Market Share Trend

Internet Browser Market Share by Version

Internet Browser Market Share Trend by Version

Yahoo and Microsoft Both Lose Market Share to Google

Search Engine Market Share

Burn ISO images to CD or DVD with Microsoft tools

If you use Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista, you'll be able to burn an ISO image to a CD or DVD by using a pair of command-line tools. These utilities, called CDBURN and DVDBURN, are not third-party freeware — they're part of Microsoft's own Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.

This toolkit is itself available as a free download and doesn't require Windows Genuine Advantage validation. The tools it includes are designed to help administrators streamline management tasks such as troubleshooting operating system issues, managing Active Directory, configuring networking and security features, and automating application deployment.

Both CDBURN and DVDBURN use the built-in IMAPI CD Burning COM Service to burn images to CD and DVD. This is the same service used by Windows Media Player, so it needs to be enabled and working properly in order for these programs to function.

How to use CDBURN:

Usage:
cdburn <drive> -erase [image [options]]
cdburn <drive> image [options]

Options:
-erase Erases the disk before burning (valid for R/W only)
-sao Writes the image out in "session at once", or cue sheet, mode (default is "track at once")
-speed Speed of burn, or 'max' for maximum speed
-imagehaspostgap Use if your image already contains a 150 sector postgap

The [image] must be provided unless the -erase flag is set.
If both an image and -erase are provided, the media will be
erased prior to burning the image to the disc.

How to use DVDBURN:

Usage: dvdburn <drive> <image> [/Erase]

CDBURN and DVDBURN have the same limitation: They can only burn from an ISO image; they can't work from a collection of files. As an intermediate step, you can use Alex Feinman's tool ISO Recorder to build an ISO image from files in a directory.

You've got Gmail!

Gmail is the fastest-growing online e-mail offering in an increasingly competitive market.

If you use online e-mail programs, chances are you've added Google's free Gmail to the mix. Since leaving "by invitation only" status in early 2007, Gmail has seen its usage rise 47%. It's the fastest-growing online e-mail offering.

Microsoft and Yahoo dominate webmail. They're virtually tied for the top spot. In February, the most recent statistics available, they had 256.2 million and 254.6 million users, respectively, according to researcher ComScore Media Metrix.

Google is No. 3, with 91.6 million users. No. 4 AOL, the company that first popularized Internet mail in the 1990s, has 48.9 million.

Apple and Microsoft prepare to go head-to-head in the first British Technology Awards

Considering the pure power associated with their combined market dominance, it’s perhaps no surprise to note that Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are leading the way on the recently announced shortlist for the inaugural British Technology Awards.

With Apple’s iconic branding attached to hot-selling products such as the iPod music and media player, MacBook Air computer, and the touch-screen iPhone, the Cupertino-based technology specialist looks to be a sure-fire hit with the Brits, bagging a total of 11 nominations across the event’s 13 categories.

Meanwhile, Redmond-based software behemoth Microsoft follows close behind with 9 nominations that reflect a popularity built solidly around the company’s powerhouse Xbox 360 videogames console, its Windows Vista operating system, and Windows Media Player 11.

Organised by publisher Incisive Media, the first ever British Technology Awards will offer a slightly different flavour of content than traditional technology industry bashes.

Specifically, the event will play host to an Internet zeitgeist award that will be decided between social networking phenomenon Facebook, video-sharing Web site YouTube, and online TV content catch-up service the BBC iPlayer.

Similarly, Apple’s iTunes Store will be up against the likes of innovative videogame Guitar Hero for the Music Technology award, while the BBC iPlayer will be taking on Sony’s PlayStation 3 videogames console and Sky for the Home Entertainment award.

Furthermore, all of the event’s gongs will be awarded based on votes cast entirely by Britain’s everyday gadget-lovers. According to Incisive, consumers are the primary focus, which is why all the categories will be voted for exclusively by the general public.

Other categories worth looking out for include Gadget of the Year, which will no-doubt see the Apple iPhone attempting to beat off the likes of the Nokia N95 and BlackBerry Curve for top honours, and Best Gaming Technology, which throws Nintendo’s Wii Fit into the ring alongside Guitar Hero, the Sony PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft Flight Simulator X.


Voting on the shortlist is open now, and the proud winners will be unveiled this coming October. The full list of categories and nominees is as follows:

Gadget of the Year
Apple iPhone
Apple iPod Touch
TomTom Go 720
Nokia N95
BlackBerry Curve
Fujifilm F100fd
Archos 605
Slingbox

Best Music Technology
Apple iTunes
Windows Media Player 11
Audacity
Play.com
Guitar Hero
Ion USB turntable
Creative X-Fi
Napster

Business Technology of the Year
Asus Eee PC
3G USB Modem
BlackBerry Curve
Panasonic ToughBook
Vodafone USB 3G modem
Intel low-power Xeon quad-core processor
HP Compaq ultra-slim dc7800 PC
Microsoft Windows Server 2008

Best Home Entertainment Technology
BBC iPlayer
Nintendo Wii
Freeview
Sky
Panasonic Viera HDTVs
Sony Bravia HD LCD TVs
Sony PlayStation 3
Microsoft Xbox 360

Best Kids Technology
Nintendo DS
Windows Vista parental controls
Advent Kids laptop
Scalextric Digital
Hornby DCC trainsets
LEGO Mindstorms NXT
Fisher Price Kid Tough digital camera
Bebo

Most Stylish Technology
Apple iPhone
Apple Macbook Air
Sony Vaio TZ
Acer Ferrari ultra-portable laptop
Canon SX100 IS camera
LG Viewty
Dell XPS One
Samsung LE series LCD TVs

Best Gaming Technology
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo Wii Fit
Sony PS3
Microsoft Xbox 360
Microsoft Flight Simulator X
Nintendo DS
Guitar Hero
Sony PSP

Best Mobile Technology
Apple iPhone
Nintendo DS
BlackBerry Curve
Nokia N810
Asus Eee PC
Sony PSP
Google Mobile
Samsung Q1 Ultra

Most Indispensable Technology
Google Maps
BT Broadband
Apple iPod
BBC iPlayer
Sky
Apple iPhone
Virgin Media
Facebook

Technological Innovation of the Year
Apple iPhone
Windows Vista
Intel Core 2 Quad processors
Apple MacBook Air
Asus Eee PC
Adobe Photoshop Express
Belkin Wireless USB Hub
Google Docs/Apps

Best Online Technology
BBC iPlayer
Skype
You Tube
Facebook
Google Docs
Windows Live
BT Digital Vault
Pinnacle PCTV to go

Retailer of the Year
Amazon
Play.com
John Lewis
Ebuyer
Tesco Direct
PC World
Maplins
Argos

Greenest Technology of the Year
Bye Bye standby
Toyota Prius
Windows Vista
Lexus LS600H
Fujitsu Siemens Scenicview P22W-5 ECO
G-Wizz
Oneclick Intellipanel
Apple OS X

===============================

Updated: And the winners are...

Yahoo-Microsoft battle bolsters Google

Microsoft Corp.'s attempt to take over Yahoo Inc. has become so tortured it may help Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc. grow stronger, undermining Microsoft's main reason for pursing the deal in the first place.

This to be a very advantageous situation for Google. The longer this gets dragged out, the better for Google. Yahoo signaled it is bracing for a protracted battle late Wednesday when an announcement and a media leak provided a glimpse at its labyrinthine search for alternatives to Microsoft's bid of more than $40 billion.

The options include an experimental advertising alliance with Google that could lead to a broader partnership and, according to published reports, a combination with the online operations of Time Warner Inc.'s AOL. Google also owns a 5 percent stake in AOL.

As part of the AOL deal, Time Warner would get a roughly 20 percent stake in the merged entity in return for a substantial sum of cash that would help Yahoo buy back some of its stock at a price well above Microsoft's offer, which was initially valued at $31 per share.

This is the first time that we have seen real feasible alternatives that could derail the Microsoft deal.

Some other analysts doubt Yahoo will succeed in thwarting Microsoft but believe it could force the world's largest software maker to raise its offer as high as $35 per share, or about $50 billion.

For its part, Microsoft has indicated that it may lower its offer if Yahoo doesn't accept the current bid by April 26.

But Microsoft made that threat before the details about Yahoo's alternatives with Google and AOL emerged.

Although Microsoft has plenty of money to up the ante on its own, the company may draw upon another deep pocket.

Under this reported scenario, News Corp. would contribute the Internet's top social network, MySpace.com, and some cash in a Yahoo takeover. The proposed deal would put three of the Web's most popular sites -- Yahoo, MySpace and Microsoft's MSN -- under the same umbrella.

In another ironic twist, Google could benefit if Microsoft and News Corp. buy Yahoo because it already has a long-term contract to show ads on MySpace.

The reported negotiations to bring together some of the world's largest Web sites underscores the Internet's maturation as a business sector. As consumers spend more time online, the smart money is following them -- and now there's a mad scramble to latch on to the prime properties in this promised land of future profit.

The most likely outcome here is that a few players will become more and more dominant on the Internet.

The stakes are so high that News Corp. and AOL might decide to join forces if their latest negotiations with Microsoft and Yahoo don't pan out.

Google has emerged as the Internet's most profitable company so far, primarily by showing relevant text-based ad links alongside the billions of search results that it churns out each month.

Propelled by its success in search, Google built up a vast computer network that hosts a wide range of free services -- many of which threaten to make Microsoft's software less vital to consumers and businesses.

Microsoft believes Yahoo's franchise will give it more weapons to retaliate against Google and reverse the losses that have plagued its online division.

But it's looking less likely that Microsoft will be able to realize its goal of completing the Yahoo deal by the end of this year.

If Yahoo continues to resist, Microsoft probably will have to take its bid directly to shareholders -- an acrimonious process that is typically settled at the target company's annual meeting. Yahoo doesn't have to hold its annual meeting until July 12.

And a deal done that late in the year isn't likely to emerge from antitrust regulators' purview until 2009, according to experts.

Yahoo may be able to rally support from its shareholders by pointing to the possibility of a long-term partnership with Google, which some analysts believe could boost Yahoo's cash flow by 25 percent to 35 percent.

Google, too, could make more money from the alliance. Anything that Google can do to keep Yahoo from going to Microsoft is good for Google.

If Yahoo turned over all its search-driven advertising to Google, it would face intense regulatory scrutiny that would be difficult to overcome, analysts predicted. Google controls 59 percent of the U.S. search market followed by Yahoo at 22 percent and Microsoft at 10 percent, according to comScore Media Metrix.

For now, Yahoo is allowing Google to show advertising links alongside no more than 3 percent of its U.S. search results and only for two weeks.

Microsoft already has signaled that it will strenuously object to antitrust regulators if Google sells search ads for Yahoo on a full-time basis. But a regulatory review might hurt Microsoft more than Google because it could mean waiting even longer to own Yahoo.

If Microsoft is able to pull off the Yahoo takeover, melding the two organizations will be difficult, especially if the deal is hostile or includes a third party like News Corp.

The more complicated a deal gets, the more difficult it becomes to satisfy all parties, and the more complicated the (post-deal) integration gets, the more it favors Google.