Microsoft's New Math: 2 + 3 = 1
from the merger-mania dept
Recently, rumors surfaced that eBay was exploring partnerships in hoping to fend off a possible threat from Google. Naturally, Yahoo and Microsoft were thrown out as possible allies. Now, Microsoft may be doing the same dance, with some suggesting that the company has explored some sort of tie up with Yahoo. Possibilities include merging MSN with Yahoo, Microsoft taking an equity stake in Yahoo, or even an outright purchase, though that seems unlikely. Like the eBay rumors, which seemed hard to justify, nobody can find a rational explanation of how merging two search laggards will create a stronger product. What's funny is that many of these same rumors were first floated over 6 years ago, when everyone was scrambling to stop the AOL juggernaut. AOL wasn't brought down because someone created a better ISP; they were brought down because there was a better model out there. At this point, Microsoft might do better trying to figure out what will disrupt the search engine, as opposed to just copying the leader. If Microsoft and Yahoo are considering some sort of marriage, they might do well to look back at the merger between HP and Compaq. Simply combining the second and third players in an industry isn't enough to create a new number one. At least in that case, the companies had actual infrastructure, channel partners, and customers to combine -- in this case MSN could probably merge with Yahoo by unplugging their servers, and setting up MSN.com to forward Yahoo.com. Does that count as a synergy?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Wow...
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Good Point
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Re: Good Point
instead of thinking, they merge, so what happens when they are 2 or 3 steps away from being one global conglomerate dealing from stamped dog tags for the pooch on the net to plasma tvs and cars?
either the damn antitrust laws will finally kick in and force them to actually innovate, or more likely, they will just buy their way past it...
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Merge merge merge
Whats next?
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Re: Merge merge merge
how about Alienware and Dell ?
I fear to see what comes out of that :^S
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Re: Merge merge merge
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Re: Re: Merge merge merge
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Re: Merge merge merge
Mating season? Are you high? These mergers span five years. HP/Compaq in 2001, Sprint & Nextel in 2004, and MSN & Yahoo....never?
When you comment, assume that the people reading your comments are trying to GAIN something. But what can you expect from someone who uses their name to promote another shitty porn site.
Can a MOD rip that comment out? Really, it was just a way to get a link in, and avoid being pulled as advertising.
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Re: Merge merge merge
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Re: Merge merge merge
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We all know
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Re: We all know
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Re: We all know
So gtfo
Tj-
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Agreed Keith
Google is too big I hope for these tricks to work, but Microsoft does have a monopoly on the desktop and it can force its will.
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Re: Agreed Keith
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Re: Re: Agreed Keith
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Microsoft is the leader
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Re: Microsoft is the leader
we'd just be doing it on a Xerox, IBM, or Apple based machine
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Re: Re: Microsoft is the leader
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Re: Microsoft is the leader
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Re: Microsoft is the leader
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Re: Microsoft is the leader
Personally, my dislike for Microsoft, as a web developer, is that they don't play by the standards. Everything I have to do, I have to do twice, once for the standards compliant browsers, and then a special, short bus version for all the Internet Exploder users out there.
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Re: Re: Microsoft is the leader
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MS Innovation
Anyway. I think MS has a better grasp on getting established in its next-generation services than what most people are giving them credit for. Like google, if you build the services, the advertising will come.
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HAHA WOOT GOOGLE!
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Re: HAHA WOOT GOOGLE!
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M$
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MS may be better off
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Re: MS may be better off
trying to build a stable, secure, user friendly OS as opposed to tyring to build new technology."
And just how would that make then more money?
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Huh
They are suppose to open up code in Europe and pay a fine every day they don't, they are getting nailed once again in California for anti-trust and they can't figure out if they want 1 or 50 versions of their OS because they want to figure out how they can best screw the world. Balmer is so focused on killing google that they are investing Billions to figure out how.
Google is an advertising company wrapped up as a search engine. MS should focus on losing its share of Server space, improving costs around office products and making an OS that is secure and affordable. If they don't do that now, 10 years from now the Linux world with Ajax, MySQL and Oracle looking to wrap within Linux will pass them by and we will look back on Windows like we do Ma Bell.
I agree that if they want to merge Yahoo search with MSN, that all they are doing is redirecting traffic and not improving anything. SIMPLY MAKE IT BETTER AND THEY WILL COME.
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Re: Huh
There is a reason MS dominates desktop OS markets and that is due to usability. You can do anything in windows that you can do in linux. Having used both, i feel that it's easier to do in *nix. I guess my point is that *nix and win are equivalents. They both have their problems and they both have their strengths. It just comes down to personal preference. But I'm not going to stop pirating my OS because I don't like the company's ethics. I'm sure they don't like my ethics either. so we're even :P
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Re: Re: Huh
... *nix = win
Apparently i type faster than i think :(
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Not Surprising
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2+3=1
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Re: We all know by Dante
I'm waiting your examples of MS's world class creative innovations with bated breath.
Dish 'em, fanboy...
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Blah Blah Blah BLAH!
:P
Microsoft does occasionally innovate. Believe it or not, they did a lot to bring an operating system to the 'masses', one that was fairly user friendly (Outside of the constant crashing!).
In a way, the guy (The True - #7) is correct when he says that 'you wouldn't be here'... I would rephrase it to say that 'most of you' wouldn't be here...
MS does a lot to abstract the inner complexities of computer HW by way of introducing outer complexities via their software... It ain't perfect and it is a trade off, but it is, apparantly, what millions of users 'want'... Contrary to what you conspiracists wish to beleive, there are alternatives out there, and people are beginning to embrace them, but it ain't happening in droves!
Yet...
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RE: Blah...
Microsoft is the same way - they take emerging ideas and actually turn them into products that people want to and can use. MS Office saved the Macintosh. Even Visual Basic was pretty amazing. (I taught financial analysts programming - wow - try that on *nix). And their integration across Office Products is really great.
They brought the PC to the masses, which is a remarkable achievement. *nix is still an abysmally antiuser operating system geared towards hypergeeks.
Anyway - MS's main competition is SONY, iPod, Motorola, cable, and BlackBerry, NOT Google. MS will become increasingly less relevant as people move away from traditional keyboard/mouse/monitor devices to devices more geared towards usability by normal folks.
If anything, MS's greatest flaw is that it's locked the world into this paradigm for far more years than needed by making the PC so easy to use. It's kind of like the US not wanting SmartCards because our credit card system is so mature.
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Combining 2nd and 3rd
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I have to agree... After talking with a friend about this just this last week - I couldn't think of Anything Microsoft's actually done that's original....
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Re:
NOTE: Uses Windows XP / Fedora & DSL Linux on home machines HAHAHA
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new OS
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Re: new OS
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Re: Re: new OS
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Re: Re: Re: new OS
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Innovate, Inihilate
MS knows this. And they have ID'd Ad revenue as a priority. They have the resources to effectively attack Google where it hurts the most: ad dollars. Microsoft is a seasoned warrior. They are accustomed to entering the battlefield late and with dull swords. As the day progresses, their swords get sharper and their strategy improves... They march on, taking no prisoners.
With 95% browser market share, analysts declared Netscape "the computing revolution... an unstoppable force"
We know the rest of this, and similar stories...
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Google, AOL repackaged?
1) Apple already has a great OS / HW model - no need for Google to continue to mimic things already in market (granted they do some better).
2) Remember Netscape = that small company that essentially ignited the commercial aspects of the Internet - they had >90% market share, >70M installed clients, >$500M in rev and still got killed by M$ (note: I am not a fan or share holder of M$ - just stating a fact).
3) One has to seriously think beyond the hype and look at what Google is really innovating - it's not email, maps, instant messaging, search, blogs, directories, news, photos, etc. They did a good job with advertising - but beyond that Google has been simply re-packaging AOL, Yahoo, MSN services in AJAX - in my opinion, not a strong long term strategy.
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i totally agree...
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Microsoft is the epitome of monopolies.
I hope I spelled that right :-)
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Like windows, but not microsoft?
And once you get it installed, drop by my blog and thank me. Adios.
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HP/Compac Merger
-Actually merging the 2nd and 3rd did in fact create the new number 1. The HP/Compaq merger did in fact overtake the number one at the time, Dell, and now remains the Number one in the industry.
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