Microsoft wholesale attack on Google”End of free speech?”
The deal will revolutionize the Internet industry: For saturated 44.6 billion software giant Microsoft wants the Global_Concern Yahoo swallow. “The offer brings a compelling value proposition to shareholders,” wrote Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Friday to the top managers of Yahoo. “Together we can build a stronger package of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertising.” A merger would be the position of Microsoft / Yahoo in the online service market, “suddenly improve.
It is: The takeover is directed against the former number one in the net against Google. For years, Yahoo and Microsoft are fighting bitter about the dominance of the Web Giants to break. Without success. While Google quarter by quarter record results presented, especially Yahoo had to constantly cope with setbacks.
Yahoo fired 1000 employees
In the summer of last year turned company founder Jerry Yang and displaced the longtime CEO Terry Semel. Only this week Yahoo announced that 1000 employees redundant. The gain in the previous quarter had fallen. Prior to the Microsoft offer, the Yahoo-share price since the beginning of the year 23 percent lost.
In the battle of Google is also why partly because it clicks its users make better money. The Google search engine is available in the United States undisputed market leader with a share of nearly 60 percent. The lead Google brings higher revenues from online advertisements.
That is the crucial point: The market for Internet advertising is booming. Microsoft and Yahoo finally want a bigger piece of cake for more. In his letter before Ballmer expects that the revenue from Web ads from 40 billion dollars in 2007 to 80 billion dollars in 2010.
Software alone is no longer enough
That software giant Microsoft now dares attack, has a simple reason: the software market that the company dominates is largely saturated. New DeVIL need her. Ever since prolonged hardly the group, in the Internet world.
In the past year, Microsoft put six billion dollars in the purchase of online advertising agency aQuantive and bought five percent of the Online Personals Facebook. But against Google has been no herb grown. The Microsoft search engine is a chance. 2007 was Microsoft with its Internet division a loss of 732 million dollars.
Nor is the assumption not long ago in dry towels. The offer from Microsoft represents a premium of 62 percent on the Yahoo closing price of Thursday. It shows how much Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer shareholders with the cheque-book to attract. The “New York Times” surmises, Yahoo could also offer perceived as hostile. Already in the past year, Microsoft appears to be a purchase offer. At the time, Yahoo gratefully declined.
Yahoo services
The basket of Microsoft
Web portal, search engine, mobile phone service, photo community: what services the software company Microsoft with the purchase of Yahoo could get.
Battle for the Internet Search
But then came Google
And supplanted with his simple query page, and the accurate algorithms now overloaded and sluggish portals of the first hour. Even Yahoo search service remained on the track - until he was almost clinically dead. The former star of the Internet boom began in the aftermath even on the technology of Google and searched his luck in business with other services with which he advanced portal.
Since 2004, the portal to find the net again, however, with its own technologies, which the company through the acquisition of other search engines (including Alta Vista) refined. Also, the user now working as agents search for Yahoo, with the launch of the service
Yahoo Clever
On the social search continues: User ask users respond. Nevertheless remained Yahoo search engine in favor of Internet surfers always relegated far behind the market leaders Google - as well as the search service
Microsoft, with the acquisition of competitor now combine forces against Google wants.
Yahoo universe
But Yahoo is much more than a search engine. Like Google and Microsoft is the company were about as many Internet users to its own services to tie. And the Yahoo universe is big: It ranges from free email and chat over a messenger to the blogging service 360o, or disposal of services such as translation classics Babelfish, the price comparison portal Kelkoo, the Geocities Web page hosting and del.icio.us, Bookmark an innovative service.
Even the rumor of a possible purchase of the then-fledgling online community Facebook wandered through the industry. It remained at the rumor, on the contrary: Microsoft in 2007 rose Facebook. Yahoo had taken almost one and a half years earlier with another takeover stir: In March 2005, bought the popular portal
Flickr
Yahoo now expanding internationally. Since 2007, there is also a
Whose start, but quickly overshadowed by accusations of censorship. The reason: Yahoo, as part of the internationalization of the community significant youth protection filters fitted, a proper use of the photo service difficult.
Advertising on the phone
Like Yahoo, Google provides many of its services only with a central registry. Anyone who uses a service that can deal with the ID and other services for the mark to register. So Yahoo collects as Google or Microsoft with its Web services especially, what the advertising industry in the Web 2.0 most desires: root user. Even in advertising, Yahoo and mix vigorously as the lucrative business of online ads.
Hardly surprising that the network oldie also long been the market of the future has begun: mobile Internet. With the Yahoo Mobile service, the company also offers its mobile phones and other mobile devices. What Yahoos from mobile ambitions after a takeover will be, but it is questionable: Microsoft already struggling with its similarly structured mobile service MSN Live to the tight space on the displays of mobile phones. 
Shortly after the launch of a German version of the popular Flickr photo portal, the company is flooded by protests.
But just a few hours later it began in the forums of the photo service to boil. Bone of contention is a function called “Safe Search”, which is now displaying any objectionable content prevented. “If you have a Yahoo ID from Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea, they can see only secure content,” says Flickr on its pages. And: “Due to the local conditions may not be the function off.”
“Censr”, “Zensr”, “Fuckr”
In German weblogs now makes the word “censorship” the round, users might call for a boycott of the photo service - and especially Flickr itself will increasingly become a forum of protest: Hundreds there have already been clear images with protest messages to the operator of the uploaded photo service . “Not with us! Flickr Think, think! Against Censorship, “stands on most images. Other montages showing the logo of the service in many variations: “Censr” or “Zensr” because then instead of “Flickr” - sometimes called “Fuckr.
It was not possible to the “Safe Search” function for Germany to disable replied Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield finally, the indignant community in a forum. “We had to decide ourselves whether we in the international expansion of Germany and the German language that are out there,” writes Butterfield. Flickr had finally for the opposite decision. Why the controversial search restriction run in Germany, told the Flickr founders but not yet.
Even Yahoo did not yet comment on the allegations. Meanwhile, the company, but obviously the German Flickr offer without giving reasons disabled. Www.flickr.de Visitors to the site are currently on offer at the English flickr.com diverted.
Censorship in China
Meanwhile Flickr fights in China also problems with censorship - but as a concerned company. The people in China have no access to the photos published on the Internet, said a Yahoo spokeswoman in Hong Kong. Rumors have the Chinese authorities blocked access to and responded to the publication of pictures of the Tiananmen massacre on the photo storage site. Any public discussion or reporting on the massacre of 1989 in China.
Pikant this: Yahoo is in relation to the Chinese authorities as a particularly opportunistic companies. Human rights groups criticize that the group eager to censorship efforts in China bow. Yahoo relies on the other hand, compliance with the applicable laws.
Human rights are not relevant stock exchanges
The Yahoo shareholders, does not seem to disturb them. At the Annual General Meeting of the company although they criticized the alleged censorship by the Chinese authorities. Nevertheless, they presented a proposal for an anti-censorship policy in China and the establishment of a committee for human rights.
Two giant censorship marry
Microsoft swallows the Internet group Yahoo. Whether the software group with the mega-deal the way into the future held, but it is more than questionable.
The figures sound enormous: for 44.6 billion dollars (30 billion euros) to buy Microsoft Internet group Yahoo. Microsoft itself is currently around 200 billion worth. By comparison, the most precious is the German group E.on energy giant with a market capitalization of just over 85 billion euros. Siemens would be in the moment to just under 77 billion euros.
Microsoft is with the deal finally reached our goal. Again and again had to rumours about a possible takeover, which denied times and times are left uncommented. But is the world’s largest software company will finally its way into the Internet age? A few strong reasons against it.
Ancestor of another era
Microsoft comes from a different time. And the company earns his money with a business concept, at least, its future uncertain. The breakthrough achieved Microsoft at the beginning of the 1990s with the third edition of its Windows operating system. Today an estimated 90 percent of PCs with a Windows version. The secret of success: With each PC shipped to tinkle the coffers in Redmond. Because Windows is usually already preinstalled.
As the sole ruler of the worldwide PC stocks managed to Microsoft - all of the offices against corruption [antitrust] to spite - the standard for office applications and surfing the net. But probably was the Microsoft Internet Explorer last strike in dominance. On many others - very futuristic - fields it is not good for the Group.
Mission Accomplished
After the Bill Gates vision of a PC on every desk and in every household, at least in the industrialized nations met in almost every computer is connected to the Internet, offer other key markets for growth opportunities. The Internet - and thus the hardware - is mobile. However, Microsoft has for its Windows Mobile operating system in recent years, only very slow trailers found. Instead, have mobile phone manufacturers, among others, the number one, Nokia, allied against Microsoft. With its Symbian operating system for smart phones dominate the market. Moreover author Google with its software Android.
Even in the Internet ran it in the past few years rather slow at Microsoft. With its search engine, the Group has been trying in vain to place Google deer from the field to beat. To make things worse Google takes the software giant on other fields. Google now offers an entire office suite for free on the Internet. Even if it is still not as functionality to Microsoft’s products can reach for most users, ranging Google probably solution.
Software goes online
Google fired to a trend that seems unstoppable: More and more services for you in the past software on their own computer had, there is free on the net. This is true not only for e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. Even image processing, and archive systems Bookmark administrations are also included. Financed these services as well as the Internet search from Google in general advertising. License fees, the business model of Microsoft, have run out of steam.
Taking the two together - mobile phones and mobile Internet devices and Web services - is the Microsoft dilemma in his entire extent: Who forward with this will be, no longer sits with the notebook on the sofa or in the café. Apple has with the iPhone and iPod touch a new standard. Other equipment manufacturers will follow suit. Windows need to do. Symbian and Linux offer alternatives. And even if Windows is: As a growth story alone is not enough. The acquisition of an Internet company is therefore logical, but Yahoo is the perfect partner?
Censur partner Yahoo
Yahoo also is in deep trouble - and yet powerless against Google. Only on Wednesday, the Internet Group dismantling of 1000 posts announced. They are still seven percent of the jobs. Among the drastic changes, the Yahoo founder Jerry Yang on his return last summer had announced, has been nothing to see. The wedding between Microsoft and Yahoo is possibly the only other merger of two giants. The Internet is ticking fast and provides dozens of examples of the creeping end once major players. The browser Netscape and the provider AOL are just two of the more prominent names. 
GOOD NIGHT_GOOD LUCK?
