'Like Watching Dinosaurs Mate'
As we await what is happening with Microsoft and Yahoo, Aaron Task and I discussed the bigger picture as to what happens next on the internet.
This was all pretty off the cuff stuff (in case you cannot tell) but its how I really feel about the players involved:
That headline was actually spontaneous (I can turn a phrase, huh?)
Ok, feel free to write what a MSFT basher I am (no arguments from me)
Thursday, May 01, 2008 | 10:38 AM | Permalink
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» Ballmer, Yang Agree to See Other People from The Big Picture
Its not you, its me . . . Is that it? After all that sturm und drang, the chase ends like this? Microsoft sweetened its offer to $33, knowing full well that Yahoo was going to stand firm at $37 a share, and reject the sweetened bid. Hence, Ballmer got ... [Read More]
Tracked on May 4, 2008 7:00:12 AM
Comments
Barry you referring to this USA Today news story?
Corporate customers such as Weider are staging a rare revolt over upgrading to Vista, which launched with much fanfare in January 2007. Last week, Microsoft reported a 24% decline in Windows sales in the third quarter. Posted by: Michael Donnelly | May 1, 2008 10:45:12 AM
dude, you have never seen dinosaurs mate. You should speak from experience and not hyperbole.
Dinosaurs get a bad rap for being clumsy and awkward, but have you ever been nailed by a Stegasaurus? Freakin hot!
They aren't as violent as you think. I was with this teradacdyle once and he was smooth as butter. So, before you tell me that dinosaurs aren't fun to watch mate, I suggest you watch some prehistoric porn first.
DONT KNOCK IT BEFORE YOU TRY IT
Posted by: Y! dude | May 1, 2008 10:46:55 AM
Dude, that is freakin' hysterical
Posted by: Barry Ritholtz | May 1, 2008 10:54:27 AM
Buying Yahoo! won't solve Microsoft's problems. They're going after it for the ad platform, search engine, and distribution, but unless Microsoft and Yahoo! both evolve to where things are and jump the curve to where they are going, they will be left behind.
Check out:
Will Facebook become the next Yahoo?
Posted by: Braden Kelley | May 1, 2008 10:59:24 AM
Does anyone have a clue why Microsoft has such a technology gap to begin with?
Microsoft is well known for stealing the intellectual property of smaller companies and then muscling the smaller companies into extinction, as they tried to do to VCSY but FAILED!
There is a lawsuit currently under way that alleges Microsoft has used that typical tactic against Vertical Computer Systems (VCSY). The lawsuit concerns two VCSY patents (6826744 and 7076521) that VCSY used to derive products for the software market. VCSY products presage Microsoft products during the period when Bill Gates was touting Microsoft's XML vision back in 2001 onward.
lawsuit link:
http://www.vcsy.com/press/releases.php?year=2007&month=04&day=20&num=00
Posted by: dab | May 1, 2008 11:04:10 AM
You really need to pay close attention to what the 12 to 16 year olds are doing because that's where the paradigm shifts start.
The company that I work for is spending a lot of money and resources to enhance the functionality of the office telephone, but are completely oblivious to the fact that almost no one under 30 uses anything but a cell phone.
Posted by: dwkunkel | May 1, 2008 11:21:51 AM
Ok - i just sat down at my desk and I see that everything that has been doing well this year is down and everything that hasn't is up.
That's never a stable situation, this afternoon is going to be ugly.
Posted by: Vermont Trader | May 1, 2008 11:32:39 AM
BR - you got a mention in Dave's DAily at ETF digest.. he's one of my favorites..
http://www.etfdigest.com/davesDaily.php
Posted by: Vermont Trader | May 1, 2008 11:48:17 AM
dab -
I live in the Seattle area and MS has been stealing small company tech for years, usually by executing a non-disclosure agreement, stealing the tech, then challenging the smaller company to take on its army of lawyers. Stac Electronics is a well known case where the company actually did sue and won.
Barry -
MS is trying to turn itself into a utility but facing open source software on one side and a customer revolt on the other. I think that technology is in a "slow down and digest" phase right now, smart companies like Google are preparing for the next wave of implementation. That's when it hits the fan for MS.
BTW, I grew up in the NYC area and I love to see guys who look like a steamfitters from Brooklyn talking about high tech.
Posted by: HankP | May 1, 2008 11:50:26 AM
I liked the suit jacket with the jeans and sneaker look.
Of course, I'm just jealous...
Posted by: Mr. Obvious | May 1, 2008 11:54:11 AM
Forget YHOO or MSFT.
The market has begun a ticking time bomb mode.
Posted by: John Borchers | May 1, 2008 11:55:38 AM
BP: You look good. Have you lost weight?
Posted by: Dave | May 1, 2008 12:04:53 PM
Hmm. Barry, I hate to contradict you because you're usually on the money. But you are wrong on this one. I don't like Microsoft for my own reasons, but they are dangerous and smart and nasty and they will hit back. So here is my take:
The Last time I checked dinosaurs ruled the world for more than 140 million years. That's a long time. One dinosaur I know still reigns the desktop which is still the dominant platform in the world. So lets not get too excited yet. Sure, cloud computing is coming but we have not entered the chasm yet. Also 75% of web 2.0 is hype!!! Pure screment actually. So stop paying too much attention to Blodget and his bloated numbers.
Social networks are flat already and some are even declining. You get the users and than what? Donde esta la mula?
Also this deal is not so much about the ad platform or search engine,and distribution. That war is over. The next battle is over mobile web and pervasive computing...Check out what they are recruiting for at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, etc. And pay attention to the small shops they are buying. Ballmer and his boyz have a lead in mobile operating symtems, but no one is paying attention to that and they are fine with that. Ask Sony how much attention they paid to the Xbox.
Everytime I listen to Googles's Eric Schmidt I just laugh because he is still bitching about the spanking he got from Microsoft back at Sun Microsystems. He doesn't get it and thats dangerous for Gooogle. It's like George Foreman never understanding why he lost to Ali. The truth is on the innovation and techology side Google already peaked. What they have now is a solid brand and a Britney-like fan base. Ironically, Yahoo's search technology is in par with Google but it's too late.
So, my point here: Wall Street analysts and technology journaliss follow the herd when it comes to the technology curve.
Posted by: Max Zeledon | May 1, 2008 12:23:16 PM
Yaoo,MSFT,GE,some other conglomerates etc got into industries sectors they know little about and can't manage.(cretins)
Mickey D's ,CAT,etc stayed within their plan and thrive globally.
Msft,yhoo,ge, are more like coprolite**
than the real thing lol
definition of **coprolite** for the unwashed =
fossalized dinosaur shit. lol
Posted by: ez | May 1, 2008 12:47:30 PM
@ ez: "Yaoo,MSFT,GE,some other conglomerates etc got into industries sectors they know little about and can't manage.(cretins)"
You are a funny dude. Yahoo was a search engine from the start? What do you suggest is their area expertise sport?
I also remember Netscape being way ahead of the before getting killed by IE (that's internet explorer for you techno deficient humanoids). Oh, wait but the cretins were not playing unfair. No one on Wall Street gave a shit about fairness back then.
Posted by: Max Zeledon | May 1, 2008 1:06:17 PM
boring balding clueless dinosaur geldings
Posted by: Bob A | May 1, 2008 2:30:32 PM
I don't know if it means big money, but Yahoo+MS would be a huge news player.
Yahoo has the #1 news site, MSNBC is a huge news site. Yahoo has the newspaper consortium and MS has the nbc partnership.
MSNBC also owns newsvine, MS has part of facebook, Yahoo has delicious and now buzz etc. MS has a advertising contract with Digg. They could make a big play in the social news area as well.
Do you think a combined YHOO/MSFT could make a bid for the AP? (I have heard this idea around)
Also it will take a while, but combining their advertising pool will definitely drive up the CPC bids on both Yahoo and MS search ads.
Posted by: tom pitts | May 1, 2008 2:39:19 PM
They stick the freakin 'butterfly' on my.yahoo and I am outa there so fast.
Posted by: Bob A | May 1, 2008 2:48:10 PM
Barry,
You say YHOO and MSFT the dinosaurs, and the sexy stuff is blogging.
Um, who owns the #2 and #3 advertising networks on blogs?
Posted by: seamus | May 1, 2008 4:23:17 PM
Well aside from the obligatory MS bashing, with which I'll concur for various reasons, a YHOO/MSFT net merger would IMHO be a disaster. The cultures and tech bases are incompatible, the offerings over-lap and compete. Yhoo in particular has a huge portfolio of potentially valuable offerings which have been left to lie fallow and are grossly under-developed. They have two major problems. One is what's next which they've been very confused about. The other is executing well on what they've got. Net net this is a disaster in the making. Let me offer up a more detailed discussion that goes thru the evolution of the Web from a general B2C viewpoint that fleshes out some of these arguments: http://tinyurl.com/yotu2l
Posted by: dblwyo | May 1, 2008 4:47:23 PM
The marginal cost of producing an operating systems is $0. MSFT has a LONG way yet to fall, and it couldn't happen to sleazier folks.
Posted by: Spud | May 1, 2008 7:18:05 PM
h-m-m-m,
Sounds like Cramer watched your interview and decided to do a segment on Mad Money about selling "old tech" ( dinosaurs ) and looking for new ( or sexy ), innovative tech stocks ????
jb
Posted by: jb | May 1, 2008 8:19:57 PM
What business connections do Yahoo and MaBell have?
Posted by: Greg0658 | May 1, 2008 9:45:54 PM
That reminded me of this Economist cover:
http://neilperkin.typepad.com/only_dead_fish/images/2007/05/20/economist.jpg
Posted by: Dave | May 2, 2008 1:16:09 AM
