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Google: "Microsoft-Yahoo Merger Will Break The Internet"

portfolio.com — It's an unstable situation. But the theoretical issue is the concentration of Microsoft's resources and its history, combined with the very large share that it would have in certain applications —like instant messaging and email—that could be used essentially to break the internet and diminish choice.

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  • skateboard1, on 03/15/2008, -4/+29...and in this corner...
    • mjhamilton, on 03/15/2008, -6/+3...Google will own you!
    • ScottKeeler, on 03/15/2008, -5/+21What they're really saying though is they don't want Microsoft to break the internet before they get the chance to. And as far as I'm concerned Google is broken; it's been successfully SEO hacked. Almost everything I search for now has at least one parking lot/link spam site link on the first search results page, many times there are several. I've even seen links to parking lots ahead of Wikipedia articles on the very subject I searched for.

      Search is just not a priority for Google anymore. They've gotten fat and lazy and could use some real competition.
      • 1timeuser, on 03/15/2008, -0/+8I really agree with that last comment. The merger could actually improve the internet. Competition might stress out the companies, but it almost always improves the product.
        • theaceoffire, on 03/15/2008, -1/+4If you want competition then you hate this idea. By absorbing Yahoo, you no longer have msn search and yahoo search, you have msyahoo search and a major competitor is taken a way.
        • YourMaster, on 03/15/2008, -2/+2That's not necessarily how competition works.

          Let's take a hypothetical scenario:
          Company 1 has 50% marketshare, and Companies 2 through 51 each have 1% marketshare. Company 1 has dominance over the market and can crush everybody.

          If company 2-51 merge, however, and there is no loss of share, then we have Company 1 with 50% marketshare and Company 52 with 50% markshare. No longer is there a clear market dominance.

          Competition can increase even when the number of competitors decreases.
    • Ryosen, on 03/15/2008, -0/+8I think someone is putting a little too much stock in these companies positions compared to the rest of the Internet. Yes, Microsoft holds a very large amount of influence, and yes, Yahoo is one of the dominant search engines. But what, exactly, is expected to happen should they combine? What products of theirs, if merged, will bring about the end of the Internet as we know it? Hotmail and Yahoo Mail? Not likely. MSN and Yahoo messengers? Most people I know use AOL's network and the last thing that Microsoft would do would be to close off their messaging network. MSN/Live and Yahoo search? I don't know what they would achieve together that they haven't been able to do separately. And Microsoft's track record of acquiring companies, while making for a great portfolio, hasn't really achieved much else.

      So, what exactly is the doomsday scenario here?
    • TimDigg, on 03/15/2008, -3/+1Well at least Google isn't so egotistical that aren't afraid of MS/Yahoo merger...as they should

      I honestly expected "Microsoft? ...Yahoo?...merger?...puuuulease we'll whoop that ass!!!"

      but at least management has some sense
    • LukasSmith, on 03/15/2008, -3/+6Google doesn't believe in competition
      http://www.flickr.com/photos/dannysullivan/2144124 ...
    • DrOnion, on 03/15/2008, -2/+3Comrades, do not be fooled by Google. They have the same goals as MS. They are a publicly traded company who answer only to their corporate masters. There is a battle between Google and MS for the internet. Google is currently winning because it has the public's opinion in its favor, but do not be fooled by Google's friendly guise.We already know what MS is up to, but Google is the trickster we must watch out for.
      Comrades, we must turn to non-corporate (pure, if you will) open source and continue to fight the good fight.
    • jabberwolf, on 03/15/2008, -1/+2I'm much more afraid of Google censoring choice and news as they have done in the past and with China.
      I havent seen MS do any such thing, so who am I afraid of? So long as I am still choosing, and there is nothing stoping others from choosing, ... THERE IS NO LACK OF CHOICE even if MS takes over Yahoo !
      • goffy59, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1First off, you're an idiot. Second, you're an idiot.
    • smek2, on 03/16/2008, -1/+1Google is hypocrite, big time!
  • martindale, on 03/15/2008, -22/+4Yahoo merging with anyone will break the internet as we know it today. We don't need corporate monsters gobbling for market share, we need innovation, and the current landscape of competitors is very fragile. Yahoo's been the best innovator for years, and if _anyone_ picks them up, they're likely to be stifled.
    • DeviateSeptum, on 03/15/2008, -2/+31I kind of agree with the point you're making, but "Yahoo the best innovator for years"? Get real. That title has to go to Google and is downright unreasonable to give to Yahoo. Yahoo was on top of things 10 years ago but the last 5 have been all Google.
      • WhiteRaven, on 03/15/2008, -9/+2I agree with martindale. A lot more actual innovation has taken place at (or been acquired by) Yahoo. Of course, this is basically a result of the fact that they simply aren't competitive and they need to find some new killer ap.
    • Zap2, on 03/15/2008, -3/+20You had my digg until "Yahoo's been the best innovator for years"

      That goes to Google...
      • djphatjive, on 03/15/2008, -2/+1Who cares, if anyone can take on Google is would be a merger like that!.
      • SniperGX1, on 03/15/2008, -3/+6Google doesn't innovate, they buy startups and put their name on their products. They haven't innovated for years.
    • GothAlice, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2Flickr and Y!UI. That's about it for me. Both are services/products I use nearly daily. Y!UI powers many of the sites I work on commercially, though truthfully I only utilize the Reset-Fonts-Grids CSS system. The JavaScript title goes to jQuery.
    • thomasprebble, on 03/15/2008, -6/+6Best innovator? ***** that. That title goes to Microsoft. MSN search is awesome and the best thing since sliced bread. Go Ballmer! I believe in you!
  • diggboi, on 03/15/2008, -11/+6Who knew, you were a techie....welcome to Digg....:)
  • Neoanarchist, on 03/15/2008, -7/+44Not that Google is at fault, but this is a direct cause of Google becoming so successful. Microsoft has to compete to stay economically as well as technologically relevant. Granted, I fully submit to the pool of thought that competition is good for the consumer. However Microsoft has to do what they deem necessary, whether or not its a good idea is always debatable.
    • celotil, on 03/15/2008, -17/+8No, Microsoft has to do this because their ego won't let them back off.

      Google got where it is today by simply doing three things, using 1) open standards and technology to, 2) pander to a collection of advertising groups, while 3) growing a service industry tailored to the target market of said advertising groups, i.e. the public at large.

      Microsoft got where it is today by relying on laziness of the public at large. They got exclusive contracts for supplying their own OS on the computers of the largest PC retailers, and restricting any other competing OS's, and used that to lever first DOS, then Windows, into the home of every person who bought a personal computer from the likes of Dell, Gateway, Sun, IBM, Acer, etc, and the general public didn't give a flying ***** how the computer worked, just that it DID work, most of the time.

      I've used (in chronological order) Commodore BASIC (on Vic-20 and C-64), CP/M, DOS 5 & Win 3.0, DR-DOS & Win 3.1, MS-DOS & Win 3.11, OS/2 Warp 3.0 (Blue Box), Win 95, OS/2 Warp 4, Win 95 and Debian Linux (dual-boot), BeOS, Windows 2000 and Debian (dual-boot) and Mac OS 9 (at work), Windows 2000 & Gentoo & Mac OS X.1... right up to today where I'm running an MBP with OS X Leopard (for work) and Windows XP SP2 (for games).

      You know what? Windows would have to be the only OS I've ever used that _needed_ more hardware with each new version in order to run just as well as it's predecessor.

      Microsoft have a problem. It's a multi-billion dollar problem, and it'll take a ***** of programming (or a pair of huge balls) to solve. Microsoft's biggest problem, is Microsoft.
      • execute85, on 03/15/2008, -0/+4Interesting. Where's that open search standard and technology. Oh, it's 100% proprietary secret sauce.

        I like Google a lot, I use almost all of their services. But they aren't any less even than the rest of the companies.
      • allfatherblack, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2So what youre saying is that Microsoft is primarily responsible for the evolution of PC hardware and I should be thanking THEM for the fact that one can finally buy a computer that wont become out-dated in less than 3 years? THEY are the reason the computers perform more functions, faster, and cooler than ever before? And really, if you think about it, every evolution that directly or indirectly occurred because of improved PC hardware could then be "blamed" on MS. ***** what youre kind of telling me is that Pixar and Peter Jackson should be thanking theyre lucky ***** stars that MS came onto the scene and put indirectly computers in their hands capable of making the art those respective producers wanted to make.
      • strictnein, on 03/15/2008, -0/+3"You know what? Windows would have to be the only OS I've ever used that _needed_ more hardware with each new version in order to run just as well as it's predecessor."
        What are you talking about? Mac OS X definitely needed more power than OS 9, which needed more power than OS 8.
    • demonicume, on 03/15/2008, -7/+3inaccurate "Microsoft has to do what they deem necessary". since when has any company used that thinking? thats defensive thinking. most companies are aggressively offensive - which is completely different. Once again, M$ is attempting to take over the world.
    • xatx2, on 03/15/2008, -3/+4brin wall and gang are just being ***** crybabies because they wont have a monopoly on internet advertising anymore. yeah, the deal will break the internet as we know it today, the internet as ruled by one advertiser in google.
    • NorthKorea, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1heh.. you went straight from cp/m to dos 5?
    • allfatherblack, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2By forcing better hardware for newer OS'ess MS kind of inadvertently required the advancement of our respective technologies. So what youre saying is that Microsoft is primarily responsible for the evolution of PC hardware and I should be thanking THEM for the fact that one can finally buy a computer that wont become out-dated in less than 3 years? THEY are the reason the computers perform more functions, faster, and cooler than ever before? And really, if you think about it, every evolution that directly or indirectly occurred because of improved PC hardware could then be "blamed" on MS. ***** what youre kind of telling me is that Pixar and Peter Jackson should be thanking theyre lucky ***** stars that MS came onto the scene and indirectly put computers in their hands capable of making the art those respective producers wanted to make.
  • eminiguy, on 03/15/2008, -18/+4I am against this merger. And I approve this message... ;)
  • BigManOnCampus, on 03/15/2008, -22/+4I agree, a Yahoo with blue-screens-of-death is a broken internet.
  • Phocion55, on 03/15/2008, -33/+99Hasn't Microsoft already broken enough of the Internet already with Internet Explorer?
    • doshomik, on 03/15/2008, -12/+16Yeah and they are now fixing with IE8
      • thomasprebble, on 03/15/2008, -12/+13Your nativity is hilarious.
        • execute85, on 03/15/2008, -2/+17Can you post a picture? I'd like to see his nativity. Complete with baby Jesus and the wise men.
          • goffy59, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1So mythological figures.. What about Medusa?
      • askthequestion, on 03/15/2008, -4/+2hahaha, its going to crash 8 times harder.

        jk
      • srg13, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1Not really - even though IE7 has been out for more than a year, IE6 still has a huge marketshare... I doubt that IE8 will help for a few years.
      • andreworkney, on 03/16/2008, -1/+0Wrong. Unless, of course, you believe Vista "fixed" XP as well.
        Besides, IE8 fails Acid3. (So does every other browser, but IE is worse)
    • abtarhar, on 03/15/2008, -1/+0Good thing I do not support any of the companies mentioned in this article.
    • jabberwolf, on 03/15/2008, -2/+3Yeah and somehow they have market share and 90 of all computer users use their OS.
      But they seem to breaking everything... it's all their fault ( brb need to buy another MS product)
  • MrViklund, on 03/15/2008, -9/+4What is that supposed to mean?
  • grumpyrain, on 03/15/2008, -6/+90Yeah, because merging Adsense with DoubleClick would hardly stiffle competition either....
    • GothAlice, on 03/15/2008, -9/+1Has anyone proposed a Yahoo! + Google merger? Anywhere? Not AFIK. The "jumping in bed with the enemy of mine enemy" philosophy doesn't apply here.
      • GothAlice, on 03/15/2008, -0/+7Right. Ignore my previous comment, I'm a dweeb.
    • philhatesyou, on 03/15/2008, -10/+1How did it stifle competition? Name one way. You can't, because it ***** didn't.
      • grumpyrain, on 03/15/2008, -0/+5You serious?
        Take a look at the companies offering pay per click advertising services. Google has a market share that rivals Internet Explorer's market share in browsers, and not too far behind Windows' market share in operating systems.
      • HonoredMule, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2Are you suggesting that we have to prove to you that competition is stifled...i.e. show you the companies that are providing awesome products in an alternate reality? Why don't I just dismiss evolution because you can't show me a real live dinosaur, too.

        • philhatesyou, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1No, all you have to do is show me how Google's market share locks competitors out of the market.

          Also, your logic is extremely fallacious. There are mountains upon mountains of evidence for evolution. Dinosaurs don't really enter the picture there, either.
          • HonoredMule, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1"Also, your logic is extremely fallacious."

            Gee, you don't suppose that might be my point, do ya?
    • derubermensch, on 03/15/2008, -2/+1The merger passed the EU, so...
      • strictnein, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1they hope to fine them in the future for being too big
  • linkin2, on 03/15/2008, -14/+3Microsoft should buy AOL instead, yahoo users base is smarter.
    • fuzzmeister, on 03/15/2008, -5/+2Not smarter, just younger.
    • skywake, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2The "smartness" of the online userbase of those three companies are all about the same. Having said that, I generally hear more thought out comments and discussions on YouTube. http://xkcd.com/202/
    • HigherLogic, on 03/15/2008, -3/+3Smarter? They use Yahoo! for christ's sake, how smart _could_ they possibly be?
    • gquaglia, on 03/15/2008, -1/+2Perfect! Two companies that produce ***** products combining to produce an even bigger turd.
      • HonoredMule, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1It worked for Myspace.
      • derubermensch, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2Take a look at developer.yahoo.com lately?
    • Amiga500, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1AOL has the whores, Yahoo has the pricks, and MSN has the noobs.
  • evanstapler, on 03/15/2008, -4/+18Is this similar to the effect caused by googling Google?
    • deroderugridder, on 03/15/2008, -0/+7"If you type Google into Google, you Can break the internet"

      - The IT Crowd
  • Zap2, on 03/15/2008, -8/+3Yea...I'm hoping this doesn't happen.....I used AIM(through iChat) more...and Google Talk a little..if people would move to google talk I'd be set....
    • GothAlice, on 03/15/2008, -1/+1Read AIM's Terms of Service agreement at some point. I recall there being something akin to "everything you type that gets transmitted over the AIM network becomes the sole property of AOL" or some-such *****. This is why I a) don't use AIM, and b) use OTR encryption.
      • soganess, on 03/15/2008, -0/+4Actually you are off by a fair bit... You still retain ownership. However that ***** is scary none the less.

        "You or the owner of the Content retain ownership of all right, title and interest in Content that you post to public areas of any AIM Product. However, by submitting or posting Content to public areas of AIM Products (for example, posting a message on a message board or submitting your picture for the "Rate-A-Buddy" feature), you grant AOL, its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, agents and licensees the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide right to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, adapt and promote this Content in any medium. Once you submit or post Content to any public area on an AIM Product, AOL does not need to give you any further right to inspect or approve uses of such Content or to compensate you for any such uses. AOL owns all right, title and interest in any compilation, collective work or other derivative work created by AOL using or incorporating Content posted to public areas of AIM Products."
        • GothAlice, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1Ah! They've updated it. Thanks for the info!
  • Peko, on 03/15/2008, -15/+18You do not get a prize winning bull by mating two dogs.
    • tim710, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2You also do not get a prize winning dog by mating two bulls?
  • muaazab, on 03/15/2008, -6/+2So Google did with blogger, AOL and Dmoz
  • Richandler, on 03/15/2008, -2/+53No, no, no. Comcast is the one always breaking my internet.
  • MagnumVP, on 03/15/2008, -5/+53Pot calling the kettle black.
    • UbuntuX, on 03/15/2008, -1/+21agree with you 100 percent. Google cannot hide behind its start-up/rebel credentials. The day they employed Schmidt, a corporate shark, to head them was the day they became just another MS
      • wageslaven, on 03/15/2008, -4/+1Maybe the "just another MS" is the wrong way to look at it?

        Clearly google is insulting you, and appealing to the know-nothing loudmouths on the interweb. Its a little sad that GOOG is crying wolf like this.
  • airiox, on 03/15/2008, -7/+83Google is against this merely because it's currently kicking yahoo and microsoft to the curb. The only way Google's superiority can or ever will be threatened is if Yahoo and Microsoft merge. Don't be fooled people, Google is merely marking it's territory. They aren't concerned at all about "the internet" only their dominance.
    • Wang, on 03/15/2008, -2/+13Agreed - they should welcome some real competition for a change...
    • wobegon, on 03/15/2008, -1/+1MS taking over Yahoo will not result in better competition for Google, rather It'll earn Google the engineers that jump ship before MS sinks Yahoo's relevance even further.
    • kauthon, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1Simply nope. you got it wrong, its a way of thinking. I have a company which i began 9 years ago. If you see the progression of how yahoo kept trying to take my money and google kept trying to make me money. You would see yahoo doesn't get it. making them bigger isn't going to help
  • Musicmonkey34, on 03/15/2008, -7/+9im confused, yahoo and microsoft? where is the graphic design team going to come from?
    • Aensland, on 03/15/2008, -1/+6From the same geniuses what gave us MSN smileys.
    • SniperGX1, on 03/15/2008, -0/+4They can hire back Yahoo's design team that was laid off
    • dajernts, on 03/15/2008, -1/+4Of course. They would be no match for Google's beautifully designed pages.
    • talonstriker, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1Yahoo sports page looks *tons* better since the design team was laid off. The new design was revealed about a week after then.
  • DiggLive, on 03/15/2008, -10/+74Translation: Microsoft-Yahoo merger scares us because Microsoft could start kicking our ass
    • mvent2, on 03/15/2008, -14/+6If MSN Search stays the way it is Google will have no problems at least in terms of search.
      • Wang, on 03/15/2008, -4/+12Have you ever actually used Live search?
        • GothAlice, on 03/15/2008, -6/+5Yes, and I still agree with mvent2. Can't find a damn thing with Live. The result I'm looking for is always in the top four on Google, and I search for some pretty esoteric stuff.
        • kipmartin, on 03/15/2008, -1/+5esoteric? like Avenged Sevenfold souvenirs, nipple jewelry, and old Dark Shadows videos?
          • theaceoffire, on 03/15/2008, -3/+1^_^ like "Google", "Google.com", and "Where is google's page"
      • wageslaven, on 03/15/2008, -2/+11Try using the Live services before you run off at the mouth.
    • OBKenobi, on 03/16/2008, -1/+1You should see how much Google is making compared to ALL other internet advertizing services COMBINED. Even with Yahoo, Microsoft still would have a mere 10% of Google's market at best. Microsoft would have to start bribing sites all over the internet to change that.

      I hope MS does continue to throw its ill-gotten fortunes around, eventually they'll run out of funds and will no longer be able to threaten anyone again.
  • grabadores, on 03/15/2008, -6/+3yes, but a google monopoly will make the internets.
  • fr0ng, on 03/15/2008, -5/+12This will just force Google and other companies to continue to innovate in new ways. It's called competition.
  • zerodaysoon, on 03/15/2008, -3/+39didnt google just buy doubleclick?? wtf?!!
    • philhatesyou, on 03/15/2008, -7/+1Yes. In what way is that an abusive monopoly that's created a barrier to entry of the market and pushes a ***** product on you because of it?
      • SniperGX1, on 03/15/2008, -0/+4Give it a couple weeks. It just got approved. Once they add the doublclick user tracking into adsense you can re-evaluate your comment.
  • yoshi8710, on 03/15/2008, -14/+4im sorry.... but who still uses yahoo??
    for that matter who still uses microsoft... they are old news

    lol
    • theone156, on 03/15/2008, -1/+4a significant portion of the known world! google doesnt own everything yet
    • Stettenbauer, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1Agree ...for me Linux ,Google and Fire fox all the way.
  • StanleyKoolPrik, on 03/15/2008, -1/+13Like IBM was going to break the personal computing business.
    • OBKenobi, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1IBM--another victim of Microsoft's crimes.

      I suggest you read about the development of OS/2 and Windows 1.0 to understand what I am referring to.
  • Synapse84, on 03/15/2008, -19/+10Heres my opinion (not like anyone cares for it..)
    1. Microsoft: Fix your damn piece of ***** proprietary garbage you call an Operating System. (This coming from a windows user from 3.1 on)
    2. Yahoo: Stop filling your stupid IM client with ***** ads.. no wonder nobody uses Yahoo IM. And make your Homepage look better by removing 70% of the ***** content.
    3. Google: Keep rockin'! :)
    • schuz0r, on 03/15/2008, -2/+2Tons of people use Yahoo messenger (especially businesses). Hopefully this merger will force Google to keep innovating instead of becoming complacent.
    • Azerael, on 03/15/2008, -1/+1And now we know why nobody cares for it.
  • Stormlor, on 03/15/2008, -8/+9I think most of us knew this would come. A MS / Yahoo merger (even an MS / AOL merger) would break the Internet. Many have said that browsers like Firefox would die at the same time, and MS would run everything off ActiveX. Only time will tell.
    • wageslaven, on 03/15/2008, -1/+9"A msft/yhoo merger would break the internet" is the dumbest thing I've heard in ages.

      MSFT & YHOO are still less than 15% of the search market. GOOG is crying wolf, and spreading FUD in the worst way. its insulting.
      • DarkSamus, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1google's? or yahoo's?
      • zwaldowski, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1Search market share almost doesn't matter when it comes to this. We're talking about the Internet as a whole.
    • dajernts, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1The internet can't be broken that easily. With so many people connecting all the time it would only be a matter of time before someone found a work around. Just like firefox did when IE was in charge.
    • phenomnaruto, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1They'd run everything off of silverlight which is also compatible with Firefox.
  • Wang, on 03/15/2008, -5/+10"Microsoft-Yahoo Merger Will Break The Internet" - so will typing in "google" into Google (IT Crowd reference for those who are unfamiliar ;)
    nah, in all seriousness - Google, you just don't want the competition....stop whining. It's fine when you aquire youtube etc though, right?
  • leerayIG88, on 03/15/2008, -9/+1BSOD.
  • whoamarcos, on 03/15/2008, -5/+21Al Gore is going to be pissed
  • dichotom, on 03/15/2008, -7/+3bah
  • Niightwitch, on 03/15/2008, -4/+2You're crazy joerogan.
  • Jack9, on 03/15/2008, -6/+4Other than the fact that both MS and Yahoo have been completely marginalized by Google, which competition could they possibly push out? Crappy 3rd party choices with no marketshare?
  • RyeBrye, on 03/15/2008, -7/+3If this merger happened, maybe YUI would get a Clippy component for us to all use on our websites. I can't wait.
  • WickEd101, on 03/15/2008, -10/+8Hopefully the merger will enable Microsoft-Yahoo to branch off and start their own Internet. One which nobody will use.
  • Singularitarian, on 03/15/2008, -7/+11When did Google start resorting to these kinds of tactics? You're supposed to succeed by having the best innovation, not by spreading FUD and having the government forcefully prevent your competitors from teaming up against you.
    • mindware, on 03/15/2008, -4/+2Microsoft has been playing that tactic against Google on the Doubleclick deal. They're just putting back the pressure.
    • SniperGX1, on 03/15/2008, -1/+8Google has to resort to these tactics since they haven't innovated in so many years. All they do is let young startups innovate, then buy them and put their name on em. Like Android, Google Analytics (Urchin), YouTube, etc.
  • saska, on 03/15/2008, -2/+8I thought Google was going to save us. I thought Google the defender of my internet freedom.

    I never imagined Google was afraid of competition.
    • dajernts, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1I thought so too. And when the CEO makes comments likes these I can't imagine it doing anything but hurting Google's image. These are direct accusations. It's no better than petty name calling. I don't think Google is as friendly as we all thought.
  • Almadiel, on 03/15/2008, -1/+7Like when google bought youtube?
  • the13thzen, on 03/15/2008, -2/+5I'm completely for the merger. Close competition is good for the consumer. Impress us, dammit!
  • alienunknown, on 03/15/2008, -7/+2Like when google bought porntube?
  • nalimca, on 03/15/2008, -1/+4Breaking the internet? That's government and ISP's job.
  • philhatesyou, on 03/15/2008, -15/+13It's amazing how retarded you people are. You equate the Microsoft monopoly with Google's dominance. This is absolutely ***** ludicrous. To beat Google, the only thing you need to do is make a better engine and convince people to switch. Getting over the Microsoft monopoly, however, is an entirely different story. You have to make a better product(Not hard!), but convincing people to switch is near impossible because they won't switch without the software support. You can't get the software support without people switching over. Are you all so ***** dumb that this not actually sophisticated concept won't get through your thick skull?

    On top of this, Microsoft has a past history of abusing their monopoly and breaking the law. None of this is true about Google. You're all just a whining bunch of ***** malcontents. You don't dislike a company because it puts out a ***** product, you dislike them because they aren't the underdog, and are only too happy to bite the hand that feeds you if it's got a larger share of market.
    • bingobongony, on 03/15/2008, -1/+10So...a Google fanboy thinks that everyone should take his silly opinions as unbiased facts?

      Tell the people who have had their Ad Sense accounts shut down with zero explanation for NO wrong doing if Google abuses its monopoly.
      • philhatesyou, on 03/15/2008, -7/+3And this accusation coming at me from a Microsoft sycophant.

        Anyhow, I'm not a fanboy... I'm just pointing out what's actually true.
    • dajernts, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1Google hasn't been around long enough to become involved in the MS-like antitrust litigation. Even if they did, I'm sure it wouldn't make difference to you.
      • philhatesyou, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1Until Google either breaks the law or takes advantage of it's monopoly to foist some ***** product onto the market, you're absolutely right. The fact of the matter is Google have gotten where they are by being really really good at software, as opposed to Microsoft, who got where they are by being extremely deceptive and illegally attempting to strongarm the market.
    • MrViklund, on 03/16/2008, -0/+1Like someone will read your novel to post wine you in the first sentence call people retards...
  • mcrules, on 03/15/2008, -3/+3The merger will probably mean that Windows 7 will come with AIM installed by default and yahoo.com set as the IE8 homepage. Apart from that, if you prefer Google, I don't see how this merger will affect you.
    • dajernts, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1I think it would be much more complicated than that but I don't think it would be harmful for anyone using the internet. There are still alternatives to MS products and yahoo products and services.
    • tomis, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1AIM != Yahoo
      AIM = AOL
      YIM = Yahoo

      So, why would MS bundle in AIM if they're buying Yahoo?
  • bingobongony, on 03/15/2008, -2/+4And you guys say that Google is not worried? All they have been doing since the buyout first was proposed has been to whine about it.

    I guess having your stock fall 40% in 3 months makes you very worried that if Microsoft buys Yahoo, then you might BECOME the next Yahoo...circa 2000. (Which is a little late since Google has lost three times as much money in 2008 than Yahoo lost in ALL of 2000.)
  • Farmer77, on 03/15/2008, -3/+3....says the Google CEO as his billion dollar corporation plans on buying more than a couple of other online companies before the year is over.

    But hey, Google is all good and fair, Microsoft is bad and evil, and either you are with us or against us.
  • DesertDude, on 03/15/2008, -4/+3Google has dibs on breaking the internet. After taking over YouTube and ***** all over it, I bet they have a few other plans in mind. MS & Yahoo merger will produce unwanted competition over crapping on the net.
  • Wandel, on 03/15/2008, -3/+1After a merger, MS and Yahoo will be leading in IM and email, but Google will still be leading in search and advertising. Who do you think will make the most money?
  • pramodc84, on 03/15/2008, -6/+2BSOD on web
    • ChefGroovy, on 03/15/2008, -3/+1BSOD? Are you still using windows 95 or something?
      • chokeaduck, on 03/15/2008, -0/+2There's a BSOD for XP, and if memory serves me correctly, for Vista as well.
  • Myztry, on 03/15/2008, -6/+2Google and Microsoft are both at a size where, for the sake of competition, they should be tethered to some degree. In Australia we have media ownership laws to help prevent virtual monopolies exerting unhealthy excessive power. It's been a healthy thing and helped ship out the likes of Rupert Murdoch, though the Americans maybe don't appreciate it :)
    Google has the potential to do great harm. It's certainly large enough, powerful enough and resourced to do so. But so far, it is really hard to fault them. The wrong people in the drivers seat could change that, but 'benefit of doubt' allows some lee-way.
    Microsoft is even more powerful as a company. It has done great harm, way past the point of 'benefit of doubt'. Microsoft has shown itself to be a compulsive serial offender. Any acceptance is more a case given trust to something well proven not to be trustworthy. Microsoft's Desktop presence more than makes up for it's lack of ability to create a presence on the web.
    The real breaking point, whether we like it or not, is control of the Internet will soon boil down to a few key players. Of which Microsoft isn't one at the moment. The Internet is an absolutely massive market, and if Microsoft doesn't get in soon before it sets, it's never going to be much of anything on the Internet. Certainly not the monopoly that its business model is reliant upon.
    Given Microsoft's track record, and it's reliance on removing competition to compensate for it's technical incompetence, the Yahoo (or any other 'user bulk buy') must fail. It's way too early for the Internet to bog down. It's still relatively young.
    Competition should come from beneath with fresh ideas rather than simply be some parallel target market movement.
    • Micktion, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1You have no understanding of the internet. Making comparisons to traditional media ownership is the same mistake that has seen every traditional media company fail abysmally to get any real traction on the net. If there was anything sensible about what u just said then we'd probably be posting this on a MSNBC discussion board and not Digg.
      • Myztry, on 03/15/2008, -0/+1LOL. I'm under no illusion that it's the same as 'traditional media' but there certainly are comparisons to be made. Not that I really made any.
        You do have a point about traction though. If I type msn.com.au I get redirected to ninemsn.com.au which is the partnership of the Channel Nine TV station and MSN. Hasn't done much for Microsoft really, but then they don't know much about the Internet obviously, unlike yourself. Maybe you need to be head-hunted :)
        Since you didn't get past the first paragraph, I'll leave you to copying-n-pasting to MSNBC....
  • PurpleSfinx, on 03/15/2008, -1/+3This reminds me of the EA buyout of Take 2. Everybody loses, except the larger company.
  • Dr0x, on 03/15/2008, -1/+4God bless capitalism. Where the idea of competition creates fear mongering rather than innovation.
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