Years of Search and Destroy Get Microsoft Back to Yahoo

Ballmer says company can be more flexible now in Google fight

(NEWSER) - CEO Steve Ballmer is spinning Microsoft’s failure to acquire Yahoo expertly, telling analysts today that, unburdened by the search giant, the company can be more frisky and adaptable in its fight with nemesis Google, the Wall Street Journal reports. Actions might speak louder than words, though: Microsoft announced yesterday it would give the leader of its online efforts the boot, and restructure. More»

(NEWSER) - Microsoft and Yahoo finally officially tied the knot today, with a 10-year deal to integrate their search and advertising businesses, MSNBC reports. It appears Microsoft won't pay Yahoo up front, which is probably a blow to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who promised she'd only join Microsoft for a "boatload of money." Instead they'll share ad revenue, and Microsoft will pay Yahoo a traffic acquisition fee. More»

Blame Google for the collapse of global financial architecture

(NEWSER) - Microsoft is thrashing Google in new TV spots for its "decision engine" Bing—understandably, since from Microsoft's perspective their rival is single-handedly responsible for the global financial crisis. "While everyone was searching, there was bailing," says an announcer, as images of fleeting Internet memes give way to frenzied traders and foreclosure signs. Apparently, writes Dan Neil in the Los Angeles Times, "the boys and girls at the Treasury were too busy downloading cute squirrel videos to notice the end of civilization." More»

'Decision engine' gives users more control over results

(NEWSER) - Microsoft wants “Bing” to replace “Google” as your verb of choice for Internet search, PC World reports, with CEO Steve Ballmer unveiling the search engine today at a conference in California. Bing—already available for a test run—will be fully rolled out by Wednesday. The runner-up name was Kumo, Japanese for “cloud.” More»

Execs scoff at story of Microsoft dropping $20B on search biz

(NEWSER) - A report that Microsoft will buy Yahoo's search business and give two Internet execs a 30% share is "total fiction," one of the execs tells Kara Swisher at AllThingsDigital. Swisher agrees that the $20 billion deal, reported by the London Times, is likely non-existent. After all, board member Carl Icahn would know about it—and his recent purchase of nearly seven million Yahoo shares "would smack of insider trading" if the purchase went through. More»