Category: Google

Breaking: Microsoft & Yahoo Considering Merger

May 4, 2007August 31, 2008 Bob Caswell 8 Comments

Quoting our favorite source of “people familiar with the situation,” the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) claims that executives at Microsoft and Yahoo are in early-stage discussions about merging the two companies to take on Google. Investors seem to be taking this seriously, as Yahoo shares surged in overseas trading because of this news. The company’s market value is now close to $38 billion up from $32 billion earlier this week. So if you want to quantify this rumor, there you have it: the world thinks its worth $6 billion dollars.

Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0, Yahoo

“Google Phone” Rumors: A Compilation of All The Sources

March 18, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 1 Comment

Googlemobile Whether or not Google has a phone in the works doesn’t seem to stop the world from wanting the search giant to have one. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) has a piece out today that discusses the latest wannabe details of the “Google phone.” As of now, that particular WSJ article is listed at the top of the site’s “Today’s Most Popular” section. Here’s a compilation of what we know (don’t know?) about the Google phone:

Gadgets, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News

Comcast Unhappy with Google, Talking to Microsoft for a Better Deal

March 17, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

Comcast is busy negotiating with Microsoft so as to find a potential replacement for Google search on the Comcast.net portal. Comcast is the largest cable operator in the United States with over 24 million cable subscribers and is the second-largest high-speed Internet provider (second only to AT&T). Comcast.net receives around 15 million visitors per month and is one of the biggest non-Google sources of search queries handled by Google. Comcast is currently under contract with Google through the end of this year but appears to be less than satisfied for the following reasons:

Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News

Microsoft CEO Trash Talks Google While Google CEO Eats Lunch Down the Hall

March 16, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 8 Comments

This one’s a classic in the never-ending Google vs. Microsoft saga. Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer met with business students at Stanford University only to bash Google during the Q&A. He said things like, “Google built one very good business. They only have one thing they do. Everything else is sort of cute.” And in response to Google’s growth plan: “They are trying to double in a year… That’s insane in my opinion.”

Perhaps the funniest part of the story is that Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt was close by during the thrashing; he was eating lunch at the business school’s cafeteria.

Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0

Watch out Google! Microsoft’s Live is the New Toolbar on Lenovo Computers

March 14, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 4 Comments

As of yesterday, Microsoft and Lenovo Group have an agreement that Lenovo computers will come pre-loaded with a toolbar powered by Microsoft’s Windows Live. Lenovo is the world’s third largest PC maker and is the first computer manufacturer to formalize an arrangement with Windows Live. Windows Live is also third in its sphere, ranked behind Google and Yahoo in terms of market share.

Which company did Lenovo use prior to Microsoft for default search and toolbar installation? Google.

Computers, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News

Google Apps Premier: Is this the beginning of the new “pick a side” battle?

February 23, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 2 Comments

Googlelogo_11 In its latest effort to diversify revenue sources, Google now has a “Premier Edition” of Google Apps. The $50 per user per year is obviously much cheaper than any Microsoft equivalent. At the same time, though, Google’s spreadsheet program is nowhere near as robust and so far there’s no Google PowerPoint.

So here are major improvements you get when you pay for Google Apps Premier Edition:

Google, Internet, Microsoft, Tech News

The Google Scandal: Keeping $809K of $1.1M of Revenue Generated from Piracy (Allegedly)

February 12, 2007August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell 1 Comment

Googlelogo_5 So our friends at the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) are running multiple stories on Google today with reference to online video. At the heart of the story is the classic clash between Google’s mantra “Do No Evil” and, well, the evil Google is apparently doing.

Perhaps as a result of this alleged evil, talks are back on among media companies to create a YouTube rival, according to unnamed executives involved in the situation. Another form of pseudo-pressure is coming from MySpace, which is likely to announce today a video-filtering system so as to be on the good side of those copyright protectors.

But back to the Google scandal…

Cyberlaw, Google, Media, Microsoft, Tech News

Online Ad Wars: Who will win in 2007? Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft?

December 26, 2006August 20, 2008 Bob Caswell No Comments

Here it is the day after Christmas and major publications plus the blogosphere are already making predictions as to the state of online advertising in 2007. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) discusses Microsoft’s Adcenter and how it is way ahead of its time, the New York Times explains how online ad pricing is rising or falling depending on the specificity of ad placement, BusinessWeek points out why Yahoo’s ad-delivery technology falls short, and Techcrunch adds that the real advertising war is set to begin in 2007 when Google may be forced to cut back on its way-to-high revenue share.

Google, Microsoft, Tech News, Web 2.0, Yahoo