DailyTech - Ballmer Says Purchase of Yahoo Search Would be Better Sooner than Later

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Internet Ballmer Says Purchase of Yahoo Search Would be Better Sooner than Later
Shane McGlaun (Blog) - December 8, 2008 1:38 PM

22 comment(s) - last by SpaceJumper.. on Dec 9 at 7:19 AM

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; clearly excited.

Ballmer still interested in buying Yahoo's search division

In the world of internet sagas, the biggest and most costly was the Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo that failed ultimately because of Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang. Yahoo repeatedly turned down purchase offers form Microsoft.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said on more than one occasion that his company is no longer interested in acquiring all of Yahoo, but is interested in acquiring the search division. InformationWeek now reports that Ballmer believes that any potential acquisition of Yahoo search would be better done quickly than at a slower pace. Ballmer told The Wall Street Journal, "I think that good ideas are usually better done quickly than slowly, so it would probably be better for both of us, and certainly for Yahoo, if we were to do it sooner than later."

Microsoft hopes that adding Yahoo's number two ranked search service to its MSN and other search portals could be the push it needs to compete with Google in the online search market. Microsoft's MSN search portal is number three behind Yahoo and Google.

While Microsoft has yet to make a definitive offer for Yahoo's search service, speculation is climbing. This is in part pushed by Microsoft's hiring of Yahoo's former VP for search and advertising Qi Lu to head the Microsoft online services unit.

InformationWeek reports that Yahoo's stock price is very much at the whim of speculation at this point. Yahoo stock prices dropped by more than 13% after Ballmer told attendees at a business lunch that he was no longer interested in buying the whole of Yahoo.

Microsoft originally offered to buy Yahoo outright at $31 per share, but ultimately failed to complete the purchase because Yahoo's Yang believed the company was worth far more. The decision not to accept Microsoft's offer ultimately cost Yahoo shareholders $24.4 billion and led to Yang stepping down as CEO.

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Steve looks like...

By LorKha on 12/8/2008 2:06:11 PM , Rating: 6

He looks like he was going to punch a ghost or something.

RE: Steve looks like...

By omnicronx on 12/8/2008 2:38:47 PM , Rating: 2

I think it looks like he needs some Robaxacet

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RE: Steve looks like...

By quiksilvr on 12/8/2008 4:42:17 PM , Rating: 5

He's celebrating because he just saved Microsoft a SH!T load of money thanks to Yang's stupidity. Now they can buy Yahoo for 1/2 the price they offered, maybe even less.

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RE: Steve looks like...

By BruceLeet on 12/8/2008 5:31:42 PM , Rating: 2

It was at a convention, he comes out running as if he was a rockstar shouting at the top of his lungs about how much he loves Microsoft. Ran across the stage two times stopped at the middle with hands on knees panting out of breath.

I've never seen somebody so unfit, I'd just imagine someone who looks half-fit to be able to do what he did and not break a sweat/run out of breath.

He's going to fall over and die in a few years.

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RE: Steve looks like...

By Jack Ripoff on 12/8/2008 7:22:06 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
He's going to fall over and die in a few years.

We're not that lucky...

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RE: Steve looks like...

By atlmann10 on 12/8/2008 11:04:42 PM , Rating: 2

Rofl I find all this talk so funny. I am not a fan boy of Microsoft, yes I use Linux to. My first comp was of course a Commodore then an apple IIe next door neighbor had an Amiga then a trs80. Either way not trying to brag on my computer use here. The thing is Linux is based on Unix which initially ran on a IBM computer. Then there was dos then windows, if Bill gates and Microsoft didn't exist none of this would be here. Yes someone would have come up with something, but it probably wouldn't be like it is now, where comps are a dime a dozen everyone has one or 2 and internet. I used the internet before it was the internet it was just a big text network of BBSes between schools and such. If the PC wasn't like it was the internet wouldn't have existed like it does now. If you guys are so bright that cut it all down why don't you go develop something that is OS X, Windows, and Linux all in one. But you'll probably do it on a PC. Think about that!

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RE: Steve looks like...

By Clauzii on 12/9/2008 3:34:40 AM , Rating: 2

Ballmer IS a ghost :D

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RE: Steve looks like...

By Samus on 12/9/2008 5:52:01 AM , Rating: 2

McCain is a ghost...Ballmer is too big, doesn't fit the profile.

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He's got that right,

By Lifted on 12/8/2008 2:28:06 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
Ballmer told attendees at a business lunch that he was no longer interesting

I agree 100%.

RE: He's got that right,

By BZDTemp on 12/8/2008 4:27:35 PM , Rating: 1

Me 2. I meet him not long ago at a Microsoft Virtualization (hmm, not sure that is the correct spelling) seminar in Copenhagen. There he came across like some sort of PowerPoint talk plug-ins giving only cliches and PR speak of little real value. Time would have been better spent reading a brochure.

Still I must admit to being biased. Simply speaking I am feed up having to pay a computer tax to Microsoft. Even if choose to run Linux part of my regular tax will end up in the pockets of Microsoft and I simply feel they don't deserve it.

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RE: He's got that right,

By KernD on 12/8/2008 6:22:48 PM , Rating: 2

"part of my regular tax will end up in the pockets of Microsoft"

WTH are you talking about?

I bought a new computer this year, and only and strictly the price of the OS, which is Vista, went to Microsoft. If I had chosen another OS, 0$ would have gone to them.

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RE: He's got that right,

By Clauzii on 12/9/2008 2:23:40 AM , Rating: 2

I think he's referring to the governmental installations of Windows in schools, public offices, libraries etc., for which MS seems to have monopoly, and for which every taxpayer in DK are paying.

A few schools are working to use Linux where it makes sense, but it takes time to find/develop the apps needed. But a step in the right direction, I think.

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RE: He's got that right,

By BZDTemp on 12/9/2008 4:47:03 AM , Rating: 1

You are exactly right. I think it's safe to say every tax payer in the western world is indirectly giving money to Microsoft.

Sure much of their software is decent and some of it even good but their pricing is based very much on them practically having a monopoly on operating systems and office applications. Just look at what happen to their prices when there is actual competition for example when a big municipal announces they consider Linux.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technolog...

Or look at the price dumping Microsoft does in third world countries. Knowing there is little money meaning Linux is a obvious choice Microsoft sells their stuff at much lower prices than we get. Surely they would not do that if it did not make business sense so why must we pay a premium :-(

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Yahoo on the cheap

By chmilz on 12/8/2008 3:05:38 PM , Rating: 5

Well at least MS won't have to fork over $24B. The term "fire sale" comes to mind...

Yahoo is going to kill Microsoft Live

By SpaceJumper on 12/9/2008 7:19:04 AM , Rating: 2

I think MS Live will be MS dead.

off to see the wizard

By codeThug on 12/8/08, Rating: 0

RE: off to see the wizard

By surt on 12/8/08, Rating: 0

By surt on 12/8/2008 4:04:37 PM , Rating: 0

If detroit's cars were like vista (with apologies to the classic version):

You can buy parts for it at Walmart, but somehow they never fit quite right, or you have to go buy a part that Walmart doesn't carry to make the part you originally bought fit.

Every third time you park it somewhere besides home and work, it will fail to start until you call AAA.

In order to keep it from running out of gas, you buy a bigger tank, but that takes more gas to haul around, so you buy a still bigger tank....

If you give a stranded motorist a jump, both of your cars will cease to work.

If you don't drive it for a month or so, the internal electronics reset and you have to tow it to a dealer to get it to run again.

Your CD player interferes with your left turn signal. Every time you turn left, the CD player switches to track one. It's not a big problem, and you can work around it, but no one knows why it happens. Everything you do to fix it makes it worse.

Every time you go to Mega-Lo Mart, you can't find your car again, because it looks like every other car in the lot.

Touching the door makes it automatically open, with or without a key. It does this at odd and embarrassing times - usually when you are showing it off to other people and bragging on how secure it is.

The warning light panel has 438 different symbols and requires a written manual (which was not included in the purchase) to interpret properly.

Well ... what do you know, Detroit cars ARE like vista!

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Ballmer is just another hetero who...

By on 12/8/08, Rating: -1

RE: Ballmer is just another hetero who...

By TennesseeTony on 12/8/2008 6:43:53 PM , Rating: 1

LOL! I clicked your screenname, and out of a dozen or so posts, your highest rating is a zero!

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RE: Ballmer is just another hetero who...

By wordsworm on 12/8/08, Rating: 0

RE: Ballmer is just another hetero who...

By Etsp on 12/9/2008 2:32:38 AM , Rating: 3

No, that wouldn't matter much at all. He gets rated down because he's a troll in every single one of his posts. It has nothing to do what what his name is (as it's not a name meant to impersonate another user...)

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RE: Ballmer is just another hetero who...

By brandonicus on 12/8/2008 7:12:30 PM , Rating: 1

quote:
Financial crysis will never stop unless we find another incentive besides money.

Other incentives? Fruit Baskets perhaps?

I know Microsoft has a bad reputation and money may be the cause of evil doings, but I am not sure I understand what your talking about. Did you want microsoft to give yahoo something besides money for their search division? I'm not sure that would fly.

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"We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk." -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs