Why MicroHoo Won't Kill Google

(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»

Social networking site beats Google, Yahoo, YouTube combined

(NEWSER) - The average American Facebook user spent 7 hours surfing the site last month, more time than users spent on Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Microsoft/Bing, Wikipedia and Amazon combined, according to the latest Nielsen numbers. You read that right: combined. The number represents a staggering jump, Mashable notes. Just last June, the average user spent only 4 hours and 39 minutes on the site. More»

Apple looks to cooperate with Microsoft as Google rivalry heats up

(NEWSER) - In a sign of just how tense Apple’s rivalry with Google has gotten, the software giant is in talks with archrival Microsoft to make Bing the primary search engine on the iPhone. The negotiations have been underway for weeks, sources tell Businessweek. “Apple and Google know the other is their primary enemy,” says an anonymous Apple insider. “Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle.” More»

Media could gain from brewing bidding war

(NEWSER) - Microsoft is offering News Corp and other media companies money to yank their content from Google’s search engine and list it instead on Bing. The offer, likely prompted by a threat from Rupert Murdoch to remove content from Google, “is all about Microsoft hurting Google’s margins,” said one publisher. But it's also good news for media providers, who could find themselves the object of a bidding war for copy, reports the Financial Times . More»

Search firm now holds information for less time than Google, Microsoft

(NEWSER) - Yahoo will shorten the amount of time it will keep users’ personal data, Stacey Higginbotham reports for GigaOm. The firm will scrub page views, ad views, and search data after 90 days, though it will keep data flagged as suspicious for twice as long. Google and Microsoft recently proposed changes to data-retention times, but Yahoo’s 90-day window goes further than either. More»