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Does Ballmer Need To Go?

Pickens notes a TechCrunch analysis wondering - after Windows Vista and the failed Yahoo bid - whether Steve Ballmer's days at Microsoft are numbered.

Microsoft abandons Yahoo bid

"After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal," Ballmer said in the letter.

Microsoft device helps police pluck evidence from cyberscene of crime

I have mixed feelings about this. The Times plays up the positive crime-fighting side of this - but it will only be a matter of time before it falls into the wrong hands and is exploited by criminals or the government. No one should think that Apple won't build something like this for Mac's either.

Microsoft earnings post-mortem: The cash cows quiver

via

Crosscut

: I can't help but wonder if the lackluster Windows/Office results also can be attributed to Microsoft brass's complete and crazy obsession with Google (and taking over Yahoo) has resulted in no one minding the Windows store. Kevin Johnson, the head of Microsoft's Platforms & Services division seems to be so laser-focused on the online-ad business these days that he almost seems to have forgotten Microsoft is still in the software business, too.

Skewz.com Founder Vipul Vyas Answers Your Questions About Media Bias

You asked questions about Skewz.com on April 2nd and April 3rd. Here are your answers. This media bias stuff is tricky to deal with. Both Skewz and Microsoft's Blewz are trying, anyway. Skewz people say they want to jump into the conversation attached to this post, so if you have any follow-up questions please feel free to ask them.

Microsoft Said to Be Talking With News Corporation About Joint Yahoo Bid

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and News Corporation's MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape.

Google Previews App Engine

Google launches hosted app engine framework. Like Amazon S3 but more integrated into Google's services. Like the Windows API, but for the 21st century. I think Microsoft just lost the battle for the Web platform.

Microsoft Told to Pay Tax on Licence Fee (in India, not Washington)

The company, which sells its software in India through a circuitous route involving several group companies, had maintained that its deal with the customers is a sale and no royalty payment is involved. It is this position that has now been rejected. What nailed the issue, however, was an expression in the end-user agreement that says "the product is licensed, not sold". Tax authorities cited this and said if the software is licensed, there has to be a royalty involved.

Bill Buckley Pisses on Microsoft

I enjoyed Michael Kinsley's editorial on Bill Buckley today: "After lunch, we went to the parking garage in order to drive to another building. Before we got into the car, Bill asked where the men s room was. I said there would be one at our destination, only a few minutes away. Without a word, he put down his omnipresent pile of papers, walked over to a pillar, and relieved himself."

Local Seattle man who helped launch Microsoft left $65M for gay rights

Weiland has left $65 million to the Pride Foundation in Seattle and 10 nonprofit organizations, believed to be the largest estate gift ever given to the gay and lesbian community in the U.S.

Bargains too good to pass up!

Pretty funny but thoughtful post by Dudley. Microsoft's could own NewsCorp for less than Yahoo.

Newspaper Ad Network Shuns Google, Yahoo, MS

The New York Times, and the Tribune, Gannett, Hearst companies have launched their own ad network, called QuadrantOne. It will let advertisers place ads on media sites in 27 major markets, and let them target readers by content type, demographic information, and online behavior. Notably absent from the deal: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Blodget: MicroHoo ‘is gonna be a disaster’

Yep, and all that Yahoo software - doesn't run on Microsoft servers. It's a nightmare from the technology side too.

High-tech giants seeking massive tax break

Microsoft and a handful of other tech giants are quietly securing a state tax break that could be worth more than $1 billion through legislation forged amid corporate threats and an interstate bidding war for computer server farms that have become the backbone of the Internet.

Idealog: Top Reader Excuses for Microsoft's Tax Avoidance

After my editorial suggesting Washington State close the loophole on Microsoft's tax avoidance schemes was published by Crosscut and linked by Slashdot (Creative Capitalism Gets Microsoft a $528M Tax Break), readers posted more than 542 comments, many defending Microsoft's practices. I am always struck by the arguments people use to defend corporate entities that dodge taxes, so I decided to summarize and respond to the most common arguments.