Microsoft to buy Yahoo?

ryanhellyer · #1 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 11:28 PM

It seems that Microsoft is making a serious bid to buy Yahoo!

http://www.lse.co.uk/InternetNews.asp?ArticleCode=5i6gbpl9nfp0qld&Artic leHeadline=microsoft_makes_$42b_bid_for_yahoo

If this goes ahead, I wonder what effect it will have on the web as a whole. I hope that Microsoft doesn't ruin the search engine heavy weight in the process.

Ducani · #2 (**permalink**) 02-01-2008, 11:38 PM

That would be an interesting thing to see. I think Google would however still rain as search engine king.

D.

ryanhellyer · #3 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 05:26 AM

It seems to me, that just by purchasing it, Microsoft will devalue Yahoo! There is a general dislike of Microsoft and I can see it doing nothing but harm for them if Microsoft takes them over. And Microsoft isn't exactly known for their stellar ability to provide online services. Hotmail is well behind other email providers and MSN search isn't a patch on Yahoo or Google IMO.

Willemina · #4 (**permalink**) 02-02-2008, 06:15 PM

I thought they would buy google, not yahoo. I think google is much better than yahoo. But yahoo is better than microsoft/msn/live so at least it is an improvement.

What will happen to hotmail and the other microsoft websites? Will they become yahoo sites, or will the yahoo sites become windows/microsoft/hotmail/live or something like that? Or will they just keep them as seperate companies?

ryanhellyer · #5 (**permalink**) 02-03-2008, 03:09 AM

I assume if Microsoft does manage to buy Yahoo! that they will leave it as it is initially and work behind the scenes to improve the company rather than absorbing them into the MSN network. If they differentiate Yahoo! mail and Live mail/Hotmail enough they could have two separate services which offer slightly different options to corner a little more of the market than they are at the moment by competing with each other. Or at least that's what I'm guessing they'll do.

Some integration between the logins for each service wouldn't go amiss. And in particular a combination of the services offered by Yahoo! messenger and MSN would be great. MSN is the best IM service by far, but Yahoo! has some great extras bundled with their IM program as well which would be nice to have on MSN. I particularly like the music/online radio service built into Yahoo! messenger.