Google just issued a statement about Microsoft’s bid to buy Yahoo! The basic tone is rather aggressive (maybe even paranoid?):
The openness of the Internet is what made Google — and Yahoo! — possible. A good idea that users find useful spreads quickly. Businesses can be created around the idea. Users benefit from constant innovation. It’s […]

I am still trying to make sense out of Microsoft’s unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo. The fact that Techmeme is overrun with stories about this (looks almost like the iPhone announcement) doesn’t help in getting a clear picture either.
Judging from Yahoo’s own press release, it looks like they are seriously considering this offer:
The Company said […]

(via Paul Thurrott) Sometimes Microsoft gets stuff right and today, the best blogging client for Windows out there, Live Writer, has come out of beta. If you have the betas installed already, it should show up in your latest batch of updates, but otherwise, you can find more info on the MS Support Page.
There are […]

Microsoft’s Zune start to look like it might actually have a chance in the marketplace. Today Microsoft unveiled that it has partnered with a number of artists to create custom designs for the Zune that can be further customized online:
“We’re bringing the entire category to the next level by empowering consumers to play a role […]

I Feel for Live

November 2, 2007 |

Sometimes (just sometimes) I feel bad for Microsoft. Last week they announced improvements to their Live search engine. And to their credit, these days live returns results that are pretty much on par with Google, it’s image search is pretty, the maps are spectacular (it might be the online mapping product that uses RSS in […]

So Microsoft is talking to Facebook about buying a stake in the company…
To me, it doesn’t really matter, as I will not join any of these networks until I can get my data in and out of their respective silos and take it with me to another service.
As for this deal then: While Facebook […]

While a lot of people are wondering why Apple released Safari on Windows, I have been playing around with the browser for a while now.
My first observations is a very simple one: my underpowered Dell 700m with an old Pentium M and running Windows XP runs Safari great. It is snappy and at least just […]

While the blogosphere is still buzzing with news about a possible Yahoo/Microsoft merger, the reality is that both companies have long stopped talking to each other and decided to move on seperately.
Marketwatch broke the news:
Talks between Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. over a possible combination are no longer active, according to a media report late […]

… and nobody really cares or will ever notice. In fact, I still have to meet somebody who actually uses live.com at all, let alone a relatively obscure feature like product search. That’s a shame, because a lot of features on live.com are superior to Google’s (maps.live.com is basically a better Google Earth in your […]

Vista Backlash?

February 28, 2007 |

Chris Pirillo is having some problems with Vista. Of course, the things he complaints about are mostly incompatible software and drivers (HP drivers that are known not to work yet - my 1020 Laserjet is still waiting for a Vista driver). Maybe he should have done a bit more research before upgrading.
I “upgraded” my machine […]

Because there are never enough DRM schemes out there, Microsoft today announced PlayReady.
DMWmedia asks the right question:
PlayReady is definitely designed for interoperability, but what about “Playsforsure” and Zune’s own DRM system built upon the same Windows Media technology portfolio? Will PlayReady interoperate with “Playsforsure” and Zune’s “Playformyown?”
Who at Microsoft makes these inane decisions to pile […]

If you want to see a good run-down of the different opinions regarding the Microsoft laptop giveaway/loaner program, just read the comments on Scoble’s blog.
Here is my basic stance:
If it was a loaner to begin with - it’s fine with me.
If it was meant to be a gift - it was a bribe and unethical.
Overall, […]

Microsoft cites performance issues as a main reason for delaying Office 2007. I would have to agree with that. In testing the latest Beta version, it seemed sluggish and as if it was eating up more resources than Office 2003 did. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I think this is going to […]