The Associated Press
Is the House of Gates ready to challenge Google?
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Posted 35 weeks 4 days ago
Microsoft-Yahoo: Is there room in the market for anybody else?
It used to be that Microsoft was the biggest name in computing. It used to be that Yahoo! was the biggest name on the Internet. But in recent years, Google is the name that has dwarfed all others. Now Microsoft is attempting a hostile takeover of Yahoo.
Can a combined Microsoft-Yahoo challenge Google and make the Internet competitive again? Or does a merger mark a consolidation of Web power in just a few hands?
Thoughts
I hates me some Microsoft, but...
Submitted on February 4th, 2008 by Monkey RobbLNot only is this none of Congress's beeswax, it's no cause for concern.
Even after the merger, barring a huge strategic mistake, Google will still dominate the search market. Nonetheless, it will be good for Microsoft, who otherwise would probably have been relegated to the permanent #3 position. It's also good for Yahoo!, who will now have access to more resources to be competitive. Finally, it will be good for both customers and the market: a combined Microsoft/Yahoo! will be better competition for Google, which will push Google to work harder and innovate faster.
The biggest downside, in my opinion, is for loyal Yahoo! customers who will now be forced to use Microsoft tools and services in places where Yahoo! offered alternatives. But that's the way the capitalist cookie crumbles, unfortunately.
I love Google...
Submitted on February 4th, 2008 by JoelI have an iGoogle page. Google is where I keep my brain -- schedule, documents, e-mail, etc. I use it instead of Yahoo because it works so well.
Microsoft makes me angry. Yahoo doesn't offer me as much usability as Google. So I'm not sure their combination will do anything except make a big company that alienates me in a variety of ways...