In other news..
Ok so everybody has been watching and waiting to see what happens next in the whole big Yahoo! Microsoft thing. I have to admit I understand the reasoning behind wanting to merge but I think it will utterly fail in the long run. Here's my opinion.
Microsoft is feeling the pressure from Google's online presence. They have so many distributed online applications and offer so much content and resources at little or no cost people will be attracted to it. Now Google doesn't have anywhere near the Network presence that Yahoo! has and Microsoft is a mere shadow in that department. I think it has to do with Google's corporate strategy. They create an environment where creativity is encouraged and things mosey on in a comfortable environment akin to home developers. If a developer doesn't have to worry about money and can just plug away at their project they will get more done and it will be a better product. Deadlines should be a guideline not a standard way to set schedules.
Microsoft's corporate structure is more rigid and less flexible. Its more like a corporate structure of the last century then of the current one. I'm not saying it doesn't work but there are obviously better ways to do things. Microsoft has been so focused on the whole OS and application platforms that they dismissed. From everything I have read and I am by no means an avid business reader, I feel like Microsoft's arrogance is what gets them in trouble each time. Look at Linux. Ok not much to look at but I can assure you they are keeping close tabs on it now. I remember reading an article where Steve Balmer was talking about linux and said they weren't worried about Linux in the server field. Now look at their latest version of Server 2008. Comes with a completely stripped down command line version only. And is very scriptable. Why? Because while a GUI is nice it isn't necessary in a server environment. And most admins like the fact that with a command line system while there are several ways to accomplish the same tasks it will create a better sense of structure because you have to write out what you want it to do. Also because you have the option to script the hell out of it it may mean that Server 2008 will become a better OS and more secure.. But I digress.
Google when it finally started developing apps and buying up little companies did one thing that was key. They made everything available to the public because when it comes down to it Google is an ad based company. It gives them a level of maneuverability that the other company's don't have. You look under all the apps that Google has available and then try to find similar Online apps and you will come up short.
For Microsoft to even be able to compete on the same scale as Google they need Yahoo! user base and kernel of Online applications. Otherwise it will be very difficult if not impossible to catch the Google Juggernaut.
Now Yahoo! doesn't want to loose their individuality in this process. Yahoo! has a strong Online web presence. They have a huge amount of web traffic each day and it's the starting point for so many users, including myself. What do I worry about? I worry about my Yahoo groups pages, and My messenger client, and the look and feel of my homepage. If Microsoft takes over then they will be forced to combine or convert the user base.
Microsoft's big hurdle will be change. No one likes it and they will bleed a lot of customers from Yahoo! to Google or other Web portals before they go to Microsoft's Live Portal. People use Yahoo! because they like what Yahoo! has done and is continuing to do. Providing innovation with minimal changes that affect users. Yes I know that when they took over Groups that there were some debacles with the system but I think they have finally worked them all out or people have stopped complaining about them. People will put up with a lot of junk sometimes if they can get what they like.
I just spent 10 minutes on the live.com page. I came away thinking. "eww!" and quickly closed the browser. It's more like a proof of concept then an actual web portal. It, ugly and very clunky compared to the other sites. The screen reader feature is nice but it only reads the damn Live.com page if you follow a link to another page it doesn't work. I like having some things read to me sometimes. It allows me to actually work on something else while staying engaged with the world.
Microsoft would benefit from the merger but would suck the life that is Yahoo! out of it creating yet another boring useless web portal. I don't think I like where it's going. Given a choice of Live over Google's ipages I'll take Google. At least I can skin it to my heart's desire. Now if someone would make a free RSS reader I would be happy :) OR even cooler! Make it so that it would convert my RSS feed's into MP3's and sync with my Zune! That would rock!
Microsoft is feeling the pressure from Google's online presence. They have so many distributed online applications and offer so much content and resources at little or no cost people will be attracted to it. Now Google doesn't have anywhere near the Network presence that Yahoo! has and Microsoft is a mere shadow in that department. I think it has to do with Google's corporate strategy. They create an environment where creativity is encouraged and things mosey on in a comfortable environment akin to home developers. If a developer doesn't have to worry about money and can just plug away at their project they will get more done and it will be a better product. Deadlines should be a guideline not a standard way to set schedules.
Microsoft's corporate structure is more rigid and less flexible. Its more like a corporate structure of the last century then of the current one. I'm not saying it doesn't work but there are obviously better ways to do things. Microsoft has been so focused on the whole OS and application platforms that they dismissed. From everything I have read and I am by no means an avid business reader, I feel like Microsoft's arrogance is what gets them in trouble each time. Look at Linux. Ok not much to look at but I can assure you they are keeping close tabs on it now. I remember reading an article where Steve Balmer was talking about linux and said they weren't worried about Linux in the server field. Now look at their latest version of Server 2008. Comes with a completely stripped down command line version only. And is very scriptable. Why? Because while a GUI is nice it isn't necessary in a server environment. And most admins like the fact that with a command line system while there are several ways to accomplish the same tasks it will create a better sense of structure because you have to write out what you want it to do. Also because you have the option to script the hell out of it it may mean that Server 2008 will become a better OS and more secure.. But I digress.
Google when it finally started developing apps and buying up little companies did one thing that was key. They made everything available to the public because when it comes down to it Google is an ad based company. It gives them a level of maneuverability that the other company's don't have. You look under all the apps that Google has available and then try to find similar Online apps and you will come up short.
For Microsoft to even be able to compete on the same scale as Google they need Yahoo! user base and kernel of Online applications. Otherwise it will be very difficult if not impossible to catch the Google Juggernaut.
Now Yahoo! doesn't want to loose their individuality in this process. Yahoo! has a strong Online web presence. They have a huge amount of web traffic each day and it's the starting point for so many users, including myself. What do I worry about? I worry about my Yahoo groups pages, and My messenger client, and the look and feel of my homepage. If Microsoft takes over then they will be forced to combine or convert the user base.
Microsoft's big hurdle will be change. No one likes it and they will bleed a lot of customers from Yahoo! to Google or other Web portals before they go to Microsoft's Live Portal. People use Yahoo! because they like what Yahoo! has done and is continuing to do. Providing innovation with minimal changes that affect users. Yes I know that when they took over Groups that there were some debacles with the system but I think they have finally worked them all out or people have stopped complaining about them. People will put up with a lot of junk sometimes if they can get what they like.
I just spent 10 minutes on the live.com page. I came away thinking. "eww!" and quickly closed the browser. It's more like a proof of concept then an actual web portal. It, ugly and very clunky compared to the other sites. The screen reader feature is nice but it only reads the damn Live.com page if you follow a link to another page it doesn't work. I like having some things read to me sometimes. It allows me to actually work on something else while staying engaged with the world.
Microsoft would benefit from the merger but would suck the life that is Yahoo! out of it creating yet another boring useless web portal. I don't think I like where it's going. Given a choice of Live over Google's ipages I'll take Google. At least I can skin it to my heart's desire. Now if someone would make a free RSS reader I would be happy :) OR even cooler! Make it so that it would convert my RSS feed's into MP3's and sync with my Zune! That would rock!