Microsoft pulls out of Yahoo deal

TOPH TUCKER '08

Last night, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote in a letter to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang that Microsoft had decided to abandon its three-month bid for the faltering Internet giant. He wrote, “I still believe even today that our offer remains the only alternative put forward that provides your stockholders full and fair value for their shares. By failing to reach an agreement with us, you and your stockholders have left significant value on the table. But clearly a deal is not to be.” This comes as a surprise to many who had been expecting either a done deal, or an announcement by Microsoft that it would go hostile.

Early reaction online has been that by rejecting Microsoft’s offer, Yahoo! is putting the nail in its own coffin. One blogger titled his post “Ballmer to Yang: Dear Jerry, Drop Dead.” Another called the move “Yahoo’s Hari-Kari.” Yahoo’s stock will likely plummet to near its pre-bid point, and it could face stockholder revolt.

Yahoo! has threatened to outsource search advertising to Google, either to ward off a Microsoft bid or to intentionally cannibalize a key Yahoo! business in the event of a hostile takeover. (Apparently Yang was threatening to burn Moscow.) However, such a deal would face regulatory scrutiny, as an alliance of the #1 and #2 search providers would leave an overwhelming 85% of the market in Google’s hands. In addition, it would essentially throw away the heaps of work that Yahoo! has been doing in that critical arena. Even by signaling it would consider such a deal, Yahoo! is practically admitting defeat.

While most pundits see this outcome as a loss for Yahoo, there is also the belief that Ballmer botched the deal. Still, if Yahoo stock drops to bargain basement levels, Microsoft could return later this year with another deal. Alternatively, it could pick up the scraps of AOL or expand its Facebook alliance.

UPDATE 5/5/08 12:27 AM: Sure enough, Yahoo stock has fallen 17% (and counting), while Google and Microsoft have gained.

Further reading:
Microsoft Press Release
MSNBC Article
MarketWatch Article
Yahoo’s Nightmare Scenario: I’m From Google and I’m Here to Help!
Microsoft To Yahoo: Take a Hike!
Yahoo Responds: “The distraction of Microsoft’s unsolicited proposal now behind us”
Microsoft has options after dropping Yahoo bid
Yahoo CEO Yang is now on the hot seat
Ballmer’s drive was key element in Yahoo bid
Read more!

Clash of the Titans: Potential Yahoo! deal brings industry behemoths head-to-head

TOPH TUCKER ‘08

Microsoft. Google. Time Warner. News Corp. Four of the biggest names in business; combined market cap of half a trillion dollars. And they’re all getting involved in the battle over troubled Internet giant Yahoo.

It started on February 1, when Microsoft announced an unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid for Yahoo. Since then, Yahoo has looked for every possible way out of the deal, but analysts agreed it was a waiting game. No white knight emerged, and Microsoft is now threatening to turn the bid hostile if Yahoo doesn’t accept quickly. They have refused to raise their bid, instead countering that, if anything, it would only go down.

By Wednesday, though, things seemed to be heating up. Yahoo entered into a limited trial run of a Google ad partnership, and late that night, the news broke that other deals may be looming. Specifically, Time Warner was mulling a deal that would combine AOL and Yahoo, while News Corp. was considering a joint bid with Microsoft. The latter coalition would potentially combine Yahoo, MSN, and MySpace into a single entity.

Whichever way the deal goes, it stands to dramatically shake up the Internet landscape. The fate of search, email, portal and instant messaging monopolies hangs in the balance. Yet any merger would be messy. Aside from the simple stuff—where employees go, which services are discontinued—each of these companies controls a huge amount of backend infrastructure that would have to be consolidated.

Everyone knew this was going to be fun; so far, it hasn’t disappointed. What remains to be seen is the quantitative effect on the marketplace.

Further reading:
MSNBC: Yahoo takeover battle takes dramatic twist
WSJ Article
Reuters Article
Marketwatch Article
Wikipedia Entry
Site Statistics
More coverage
Read more!

Facebook preps new privacy, chat, and application features

TOPH TUCKER ’08

Early Wednesday morning, Facebook rolled out a new set of comprehensive privacy features. Members can now create “friend lists” and control how much information the people on each list may access. For instance, a person may create a “School” list and a “Family” list in order to display school-related photo albums only to school friends, and family-related photo albums only to family friends. In fact, users can even control what individual friends see, making it possible to create, for instance, albums that everyone except a single person can see.

For years, Facebook has had some of the most comprehensive privacy features of any site on the web. For a service that hosts such a wealth of information about its users, that level of control is necessary for users to remain comfortable. Yet as the privacy page continues to expand, Facebook runs the risk of making settings too daunting, discouraging users from delving into them at all.

Upon clicking “privacy” in the upper-right corner of the page, users are presented with four options: Profile, Search, News Feed and Mini-Feed, and Applications. Some categories contain multiple tabs, sometimes with close to a dozen subcategories on each tab. And each subcategory may present a whole pop-up full of options about exactly who may see exactly what. For instance, a user could go to the Profile privacy page, click on the Contact Information tab, look at the Current Address subcategory, select Customize from the drop-down menu, choose the “Some Friends” bullet point, enter certain friends or friend lists, and then enter specific people to exclude and click “Okay.” Going so deep is certainly not necessary, and the capability is certainly appreciated, but one still wonders at what point (if ever) people will be scared off.

Meanwhile, a Facebook-sponsored page presents information and screenshots of what profile pages of the future will look like. These screenshots depict the Wall being combined with the Mini-Feed, as well as each profile being separated into different tabs: Wall, About, Photos, etc. Facebook stresses that these developments are still in the early stages, and is open to user feedback. (To give your suggestions, email profilespreview@facebook.com.) And the company has recently confirmed reports that they are working on a “Facebook Chat” application that will allow for instant messaging without leaving the site.

As Facebook continues to grow and bring more and more content into the site, some wonder whether it will return the favor by allowing for increased openness that might break down some of the walls currently surrounding the site. Such interoperability is in part facilitated by the Facebook API—allowing, for instance, desktop widgets to show a slideshow of your friends’ photos—but other efforts to use data from Facebook on other sites have been shut down. Considering Facebook's devotion to privacy, that’s understandable. But the question remains: how long can Facebook continue to absorb more and more features before it finds its domination contested by the open-er internet at large?

Sources:
MSNBC: Facebook adds privacy controls
Facebook Preview Page
Facebook Blog: More Privacy Options
Read more!

Facebook, now valued at $15 billion, poised to launch new ad network

TOPH TUCKER ‘08

On October 24, after months of speculation, the AP reported that Microsoft had landed a deal to buy 1.6% percent of social networking giant Facebook for $240 million. The deal values Facebook at $15 billion, and it gives Microsoft worldwide advertising rights.

Google, who had also been in the running for the deal, responded on the 30th with a new initiative called OpenSocial. OpenSocial aims to let developers easily build applications for a wide range of social networking sites, including MySpace, Friendster, Oracle, Orkut, and more.

While that deal was heralded as a great coup for Google, Facebook now seems ready to fight back themselves. “SocialAds” aims to finally provide Facebook with a solid source of revenue by using user profiles to target ads to customers. The Facebook Flyers program already does this to some extent within Facebook, but the new program would include ads on other web sites as well.

Another Facebook initiative would integrate third-party site data into your News Feed. A partner, such as Amazon.com, might give you the option to add “[User] bought [item] at Amazon.com” to your feed.

For more information, see the editorial “Why Facebook will rule the world—and why it won’t.”

------------
Image from: www.digital-lifestyles.info


Read more!

Halo 3 launches, becomes fastest-selling videogame ever

TOPH TUCKER '08

Since Halo 3 was launched on September 25, Bungie.net reports that the “UNSC Kill Count”—the collective kill count for all Halo 3 players—stands at around 3 billion enemies. Glorification of mass murder aside (don’t worry, they’re only aliens and parasites), it’s an impressive number. But it’s just the tip of a statistically stunning iceberg: 3.6 million hours of gameplay on the first day; 40 million in the first week; 2.7 million gamers.

More significantly for Bungie and Microsoft (the creators of Halo), the game’s day-one sales totaled more than $170 million dollars. That makes it the biggest day in entertainment history, surpassing such juggernauts as Spider-Man 3 and the final Harry Potter book. By the end of the week, the two companies had pulled in $300 million. Halo 3 is being counted on to turn Microsoft’s entertainment division profitable, and in September the 360 sold 26,000 more units than any other videogame system. Despite being released near the end of the month, Halo 3 sold twice as many copies as the next nine most popular games of September combined.

The Halo Story

The Halo trilogy, exclusive to Microsoft’s Xbox videogame console, tells the story of a superhuman soldier of the future called the Master Chief. The first Halo game launched with the original Xbox in November 2001, followed by the second installment in November 2004. The original was a “system seller,” and instantly catapulted the Xbox into the videogame big-leagues. Halo 2, meanwhile, was a defining moment in the history of Xbox Live, Microsoft’s online subscription service. It pioneered features like voice, text messaging, and player profiles that would later be incorporated into the Xbox 360.

Halo 3 adds many features, most of them again centered around Xbox Live. The story mode can now be played through with up to three other players online, and multiplayer has received various tweaks and upgrades. In addition, players can create their own maps, game variants, screen shots, and even films to share with others.

Not everyone is a fan of the series. The Lyndon LaRouche Political Action Committee calls Halo 3 “[t]he ‘Third Wave’ of Destroying the U.S.” It proclaims, “The vicious attack on the human mind by this cybernetics cult has been one of the key tricks by the oligarchy, that has arrested the development of the youth, today, preventing any consistent intellectual and political motion to change the world.” Sergeant Johnson could not be reached for comment.

Bungie again independent

Bungie, developer of the series, was bought by Microsoft in 2000. The launch of Halo 3, though, was followed up on October 5 by the news that Bungie is once again an independent developer. Microsoft retains a minority stake, publishing agreements, and the rights to the Halo franchise. The deal gives Bungie renewed freedom to “achieve its real goal of total world domination,” as the press release states. At the same time, Microsoft keeps one of its most valuable partners happy. The headline on the internet news site Fark.com read, “Bungie unassimilated.”

Founder Jason Jones sums it up like this:

“Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on. And they will continue to be a great partner. But Bungie is like a shark. We have to keep moving to survive. We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins. Or manatees.”

Further reading:
Bungie.net
Bungie.net: Bungie branches off
Joystiq: Bungie branches off
Major Nelson: Halo 3 Posts
Xbox 360 Fanboy: Halo 3 Posts
Xbox 360 Fanboy: NPD September Results
Joystiq: Pachter says 360 will beat Wii in September
Joystiq: "Morning Crazy Pill"
LaRouche PAC: Third Wave of Destroying the U.S.

Top image: Vivek Pai, '08, takes out Toph Tucker '08 with a lucky rocket.

Bottom image: In the "Infection" multiplayer game mode, humans often end up forming large roving convoys.

Read more!

American mercenary group's killings spark outrage in Iraq

TOPH TUCKER '08

On September 16, at least 11 Iraqis were killed, not by terrorists, not by Iraqi security, not by the American military, but by Blackwater USA—a private security company used to protect State Department officials and other diplomats abroad.

The story, according to reports, goes something like this: a Blackwater Private Security Detail was escorting a State Department convoy to a meeting. Somewhere around Nasoor Square in Baghdad, Blackwater may or may not have opened fire on a slow-moving car that failed to get out of the way. An explosive device or mortar may or may not have exploded near the convoy. The vehicles may or may not have been attacked with small-arms fire. As the situation escalated, a Blackwater helicopter may or may not have opened fire from the air.

While Blackwater claims they weren’t attacking civilians, evidence states otherwise. Outrage followed the incident, and Iraqi officials attempted to ban Blackwater from the country, but relented in the face of US pressure. (Since Paul Bremer passed “Order 17” on June 27, 2004, Blackwater and other American-associated forces have been immune from Iraqi law, but the policy is now under scrutiny.) The Blackwater probe has since expanded to five incidents in which the firm allegedly killed Iraqi civilians.

Many officials are accusing Blackwater guards of tending to overreact. Iraqis, certainly, have long resented their presence. Just this weekend, the State Department announced new restrictions that will try to curtail this sort of incident. The State Department, though, may not have the resources to fully protect itself without hiring contractors like Blackwater. Nevertheless, the latest word is that use of private security contractors may soon be phased out.

The news from Iraq isn’t all bad, however. The AP reports that American and civilian deaths last month hit their lowest point in over a year, the latest indication that June’s surge may actually be working. This most recent Blackwater incident, though, just makes it clearer than ever that the situation in Iraq is far from reaching any sort of resolution.

Image from:
http://www.newsweek.com/id/42487

Further Reading:

Blackwater probe expands to 5 deadly incidents
Blackwater USA
Death From All Sides
Deaths among U.S. forces, Iraqi civilians drop

Other News from Iraq:

United Kingdom to commence partial Iraq withdrawal
Al-Qaida confirms senior leader was killed in U.S. airstrike
New type of bomb is unexpectedly lethal in Iraq
Key Figures About Iraq

What do you think?
Does Blackwater belong in Iraq?
Read more!