Microsoft

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Ex-AOL Chief Seeks Funds to Buy Yahoo

$30B difficult to raise amid recession

(Newser) - After months of advising both Microsoft and Yahoo on a failed deal, former AOL chief Jonathan Miller is trying to put together a bid for Yahoo himself. The venture capitalist is asking private investors to help him amass the $30 billion needed to acquire the struggling, $10-a-share search engine group,...

$20B Yahoo Search Deal 'Total Fiction': Exec

Execs scoff at story of Microsoft dropping $20B on search biz

(Newser) - A report that Microsoft will buy Yahoo's search business and give two Internet execs a 30% share is "total fiction," one of the execs tells Kara Swisher at AllThingsDigital. Swisher agrees that the $20 billion deal, reported by the London Times, is likely non-existent. After all, board member...

Ballmer Quashes Yahoo Bid Rumors; Open to Partnership

Microsoft 'done' with acquisition attempts, even after Yang's resignation

(Newser) - Steve Ballmer quashed the rumor that Microsoft would make another offer to buy Yahoo now that Jerry Yang has quit as CEO, CNET reports. “We are done with all acquisition discussions with Yahoo,” the chief executive said today. “We did our best; we’ve moved on.”

For Yahoo, Question Is: Who's Yang's Yin?

The next Yahoo CEO will have to take the Web portal in a new direction to sate Wall Street

(Newser) - Yahoo’s successor to CEO Jerry Yang could come from outside the Internet industry, as long as he has a strong operations background and the decisiveness to break the company’s culture of indecision, reports the Wall Street Journal. But even before hiring a CEO, the company needs to decide...

Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening
Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening
ANALYSIS

Yang's Departure Gives Microsoft New Opening

Analysts see 'beginning of the end for Yahoo' as CEO steps down

(Newser) - Investors are hoping Jerry Yang’s departure will lead to renewed talks with Microsoft, BusinessWeek reports. “This is probably the beginning of the end for Yahoo,” said one. “Microsoft will probably come back with an offer.” Microsoft has repeatedly denied interest in reviving a deal, but...

Amazon Leads Charge Against Clamshell Packaging

(Newser) - Stories of angry and even injured customers have inspired companies to ditch sealed clamshell packaging for easy-to-open alternatives, the New York Times reports. Amazon leads the pack, working with suppliers to ship products in plain cardboard boxes ahead of the holidays. Even some offline companies, which rely on clamshells to...

$148M Loss Bites Into Crocs
 $148M Loss Bites Into Crocs 

$148M Loss Bites Into Crocs

Demand for colorful clogs tanks

(Newser) - Crocs, the maker of hugely popular colorful plastic clogs, suffered a $148 million third quarter loss on a 32% drop in demand in Europe and the US. The Colorado-based company has shuttered a factory in Canada, will close another in Brazil next month, and has amassed extensive unsold inventory, reports...

Microsoft Likely to Provide Verizon Search

Software giant outbids Google as competition goes mobile

(Newser) - Insiders say Verizon Wireless is likely to pick Microsoft as the default search provider for its mobile phones, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Verizon had also been in talks with Google to provide the service, but Microsoft’s guarantee of about $600 million in annual ad revenue—about twice...

Amazon Fights 'Wrap Rage' With Less Packaging

Less bubbly stuff, fewer twisties better for impatient consumers, planet

(Newser) - Amazon.com has heard the exasperated sighs of customers digging through yards of bubble wrap and undoing twist tie upon twist tie to find that one tiny memory card. The online retailer today introduced “Frustration-Free Packaging,” by which it aims to make its shipping friendlier to both recipient...

Google, Yahoo May Ditch Talks on Ad Alliance

Unwilling to compromise, the Web giants may dissolve negotiations

(Newser) - Google and Yahoo's potential partnership is on the rocks. The two sides are still searching for a middle ground on an advertising deal, but both sides could walk away from the talks as early as next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The main stumbling block is a consent decree,...

Microsoft Offers Early Peek at Vista's Successor

(Newser) - Microsoft offered an early look today of its new operating system, designed to smooth out the kinks of the much-maligned Vista. The company gave programmers test software of Windows 7, which CEO Steve Ballmer is pushing to release next year, CNET reports. Those with an early look have generally praised...

Sick of Waiting for PC to Boot Up? PC Makers Hear You

Look to cut start-up times to 20-30 secs

(Newser) - As instant communication becomes the norm, computer users are quickly getting fed up with slow start-up times—and PC makers are focused on reducing the wait, the New York Times reports. To fight Windows’ slow load time, manufacturers are turning to programs that bypass the operating system so users can...

Microsoft Releases Emergency Security Patch

Unplanned patch addresses critical weakness

(Newser) - Microsoft has discovered a Windows security vulnerability dangerous enough that it's released an “out-of-cycle” security patch for the first time since April 2007, reports the Tech Herald. The weakness could allow a computer worm to spread malware around networks.

Rally Fizzles to Mild Losses
 Rally Fizzles to Mild Losses 
MARKETS

Rally Fizzles to Mild Losses

Traders worry non-financial stocks may still feel recession's bite

(Newser) - Stocks closed lower today after an earlier rally died down as worries about consumer-discretionary and tech stocks overcame investors’ faith in global actions to quell the credit crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow, up nearly 400 early, ended off 76.62, to 9,310.99. The Nasdaq, especially...

Google, Yahoo in Talks to Avoid Antitrust Case

Online ad deal may be capped to avoid further scrutiny

(Newser) - Google and Yahoo are working to settle any antitrust issues arising from their proposed joint online ad venture, the Wall Street Journal reports. Google has offered a cap on the volume of ads it sells Yahoo, which may be willing to continue selling search ads to avoid lengthy legal battles...

Wal-Mart Relents, Will Continue DRM Support

(Newser) - Wal-Mart has backed off plans to shut off its DRM server, at least for now, Wired reports. The retail behemoth had warned online music store customers of the upcoming shutdown, which would prevent customers from moving any files they’d already bought. Now, after public outcry, Wal-Mart is relenting—just...

Market Meltdown Reshapes Forbes Rich List

Buffett bumps Gates in redrawn rankings of world's wealthiest

(Newser) - The mortgage meltdown has certainly hit middle-class Americans hard but hasn't spared the uber-wealthy, Bloomberg reports. Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson’s net worth shed $4 billion between Aug. 29 and Oct. 1, for instance, while Warren Buffett overtook Bill Gates, whose net worth declined $1.5 billion, as...

6 Ways to Make Vista Suck Less
 6 Ways to Make Vista Suck Less 

6 Ways to Make Vista Suck Less

Get over it; Windows' new platform can be made livable

(Newser) - Windows Vista may be clunky, but Stephen Williams is sick of hearing complaints about it. He runs down six easy ways to make Vista more bearable in the New York Times:
  1. Turn off the user account control feature. Windows will finally stop asking your permission to do everything.
  2. Add memory.
...

PC to Mac: Who's Square Now?
 PC to Mac: Who's Square Now? 
ANALYSIS

PC to Mac: Who's Square Now?

Microsoft's $300M ad campaign fights 'snooty' Apple

(Newser) - Apple's ads have long painted Microsoft users as square, but the PC has effectively stood up to the cool kids in the company's $300 million campaign, writes Farhad Manhoo in Slate. "Even if they are a little saccharine, the core message of Microsoft's ads—that Apple is snooty—should...

Bailout, Oil Send Dow Down 372
 Bailout, Oil Send Dow Down 372 
MARKETS

Bailout, Oil Send Dow Down 372

Traders nervous about long-term effects

(Newser) - Stocks plummeted today as uncertainty over the cost and long-term impact of the Wall Street bailout plan spread and oil surged, MarketWatch reports. Treasuries and the dollar fell as traders worried the bailout’s cost could affect the government’s status as a borrower. The Dow closed down 372.75,...

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