Yahoo and Google, the world’s two biggest search engines, had announced a two-week experiment which is to share advertising space.
During the pilot, Google will be able to place ads alongside 3% of results of Searches on Yahoo’s website.
MS criticized Yahoo’s advertising trial with Google, saying any such deal would not be in the consumers’ interests.
“Any definitive agreement between Yahoo and Google would consolidate over 90% of the search advertising market in Google’s hands. This would make the market far less competitive,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel said.
But Yahoo said the testing did not necessarily mean that “any further commercial relationship with Google will result”. Investors reacted positively to the announcement, with Yahoo shares rising 7%.
SEATTLE: Microsoft Corporation plans to invest heavily in Web search to compete against Google Inc, even if it fails to acquire Yahoo Inc, the company’s chairman Bill Gates said.
“We can afford to make big investments in the engineering and marketing that needs to get done. We will do that with or without Yahoo,” said Gates in an interview with Reuters.
The two companies are at a stand-off in Microsoft’s $41.7 billion unsolicited bid to acquire Yahoo. Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo for $31 a share in cash and stock, a bid which Yahoo’s board rejected, saying it undervalued the company.Microsoft countered by saying its offer was “full and fair,” but did not say what it planned to do next. Analysts expect Microsoft to sweeten its bid, possibly to $35 a share, to clinch a deal.
Microsoft has been sniffing around Yahoo for the last 18 months, but the twain could never quite agree on a fair deal in private. Microsoft has made a $44.6bn takeover bid for Yahoo!.
“Today this market is increasingly dominated by one player. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a competitive choice while better fulfilling the needs of customers and partners,” Redmond’s press statement said today. Warning regulators that “if we don’t buy it, then Google will” is an interesting legal strategy, but is unlikely to win much support from competition regulators.
Steve Ballmer says that he sees the online advertising market doubling to $80 billion in two years, and he’d like a slice of that sweet, creamy pie. The less he has to share with Google, the better. Yahoo’s $7 billion in 2007 sales looks huge next to Microsoft’s online division producing $1.5 billion—but it’s less than half of Google’s $15 billion revenue take. If Yahoo! and Microsoft merge, their combined online ad operation still wouldn’t match the one headquartered in Mountain View. Google controls 60 per cent of the search market, and DoubleClick, which Google will buy as soon as regulators let it, is by far the dominant player in the display ad market.
If Yahoo! approves the proposed $44.6bn deal, the two regulators will sit down at the bargaining table to determine which one is better equipped to review it. Given Yahoo!’s recent performance - with both profits and share price on the slide - it seems a fair bet that plenty of shareholders will be tempted by Microsoft’s offer.
A team of Russian hackers has found a way to decipher a Yahoo CAPTCHA, thought to be one of the most difficult, with 35% accuracy.
The Russian group’s notice, posted by one “John Wane,” is dated January 16. This site hosts a rapidshare link to what looks to be demonstration software for Windows, and quotes the Russian researchers: “It’s not necessary to achieve high degree of accuracy when designing automated recognition software. The accuracy of 15% is enough when attacker is able to run 100,000 tries per day, taking into the consideration the price of not automated recognition — one cent per one CAPTCHA
Yahoo! Movies trailer plug-in for Yahoo! Messenger (8.1 or 9.0 Beta) has been redesigned with some new features. To add the Movie Trailer plug-in to your Yahoo! Messenger, visit the above link and click “Install Now”. Or click here to install it right now (you must be running Yahoo! Messenger 8.1 or 9.0).
In a case dating back to 1997, the companies have been accused of accepting payments from firms that advertise illegal gambling in the US.
Microsoft, Yahoo!, and Google have agreed to pay a total amount of $31.5 million towards settlement of a case alleging that the companies are guilty of promoting online gambling.
Microsoft will pay a total of $21 million consisting of,
$7.5 million as a charitable donation for Missing and Exploited Children
$4.5 million to the US government
$9 million towards a 3 yr public service campaign to warn youngsters about illegal online gambling.
Yahoo! will pay $3million to the US government and $4.5 million towards the public service campaign.
Google will pay $3 million to the government
