Microsoft and Yahoo! Form Partnership!

Read all about it!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_microsoft_yahoo

click the spoiler below to read the article; I've bolded some interesting facts.

Spoiler:

I don't know what to say to their newly formed partnership; it makes sense that they want to combat Google but is that enough? Will they effectively work together to rival google in the war of internet dominance? The case between Google and Yahoo! attempting to form a partnership last year and the U.S. justice department denying that reminds me of the supreme court case for microsoft in United States vs. Microsoft. The government called microsoft an abusive monopoly for their dominance of the Windows operating system whereas in google's case, the government calls them a monopoly for internet searches, advertisments, and revenues. If there's one thing history has taught us, it's that nothing lasts forever. Every major company eventually will face competition that will rival them. The thing about the internet is that it is impossible to monopolize. Rockfeller bought all resources for his buisness in the 20th century through owning all ways to produce his product(horizontal integration) whereas Andrew Carnegie bought every service for his product to monopolize the land (vertical integration). Companies like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are stuck in between trying to get everybody to use their product. Eventually, it becomes survival of the fittest and very difficult to predict what will happen.

Sorry for the run-on sentences and history refrences, but my point is simply that we should hope Microsoft and Yahoo know what they're doing.

Ah Microsoft are still looking for world domination

And about the google chrome os o_O Prob pwn windows

O_o

Microsoft is rapidly losing ground on all fronts. Google's Android OS and Apple's iPhone have the Zune people digging their own graves. Apple is somehow making more money than ever in the middle of this economic crisis, where every other company is making less money than previous years. Means more people are buying Macs. Steve Ballmer called this a "rounding error" in a recent interview, which really means he's scared shitless.

There's no way Microsoft and Yahoo can team up to compete with Google. It's just.... no way. No sense even debating it.

Then Google's announcement of Chrome OS for netbooks poses some huge problems for Microsoft. They still want to make people pay to put Windows on a netbook. Their alternative strategy is to cripple Windows 7 so it can't really do anything and put that on netbooks for like 10 bucks. What would you choose? Free, open source OS that boots in mere seconds and can undoubtedly be expanded upon and customized to do what you want, or some piece of crippleware that's so broken it doesn't even work properly?

Far as monopolies go, I think that sort of thing gets pretty complicated and hard to prove/attack a company for when they give all their products away for free, a la Google. Microsoft and Yahoo, on the other hand... not so much. Will be interesting, at the very least.

Well the strongest companies are strong because they're the best. When all the little guys go down, we'll be left with one choice, and less competition. which could mean prices down right?

Apple, Verizon is growing too. pay attention to what's going on with cell phone companies too.

Zune is an epic fail.

All the cell companies in the US are under some intense scrutiny by the FCC just now because of their exclusivity deals with handset makers (Apple and AT&T). But they're also investigating their practices as a whole. If we're lucky, we won't have to pay up the wazoo for text messages anymore when this is all over, and VOIP will be allowed on AT&T's 3G network. If we're not lucky, the cell companies will get a slap on the wrist and realize they can't continue to exploit all of us willy nilly unchecked.

Either way, it's a good thing.

Bugenhagen wrote:Well the strongest companies are strong because they're the best. When all the little guys go down, we'll be left with one choice, and less competition. which could mean prices down right?

But less competition is always a bad thing. That's what's happened with the cell industry right now.. they all got together and raised the cost of their text messaging plans together. If they were actually competing for our money over that, we wouldn't be paying 25 cents for a message that costs them NOTHING to send over their network. Text is just data, and people like me with an iPhone already pay for an unlimited data plan.

At the end of the day, when smaller companies get run out of business by larger companies, the consumer loses.

Bugenhagen wrote:Well the strongest companies are strong because they're the best.

Microsoft was the strongest company around in the computer world until just recently, now they're falling seriously behind. But that doesn't mean they were the best. They make a crappy OS that's unintuitive, hard to use, and fraught with bugs and security problems. They're just good used car salesmen who know how to make people want their crap.

Wonko the Sane wrote:people like me with an iPhone already pay for an unlimited data plan.

Or you could just use a home phone. I hate technology sometimes...

Well Microsoft obviously isn't the best because the best, strong companies stay strong, like Apple. Sony is doing well and Nintendo isn't doing too shabby either coming out with game after game.

Soon, considering Verizon growing, (bought alltell i think it was) the iPhone won't be an AT&T exclusive. Sooner or later, they'll buy it. Anyways, my Touch is incredibly close to an iPhone. They just came out with video on the iPhone, and the Touch will get video i think in September. Why do you really need all that crap on a phone? I say, buy a really cheap phone with the best networking plan that suits you, and then get a Touch, You can call people whenever you want on your crappy fat phone for free, then when you bored in the taxi/subway or something, pull out your touch.

Bugenhagen wrote:Well Microsoft obviously isn't the best because the best, strong companies stay strong, like Apple. Sony is doing well and Nintendo isn't doing too shabby either coming out with game after game.

that's something which couldn't have been uttered a decade ago.

Also look at microsoft's xbox 360. When it came out first it was destroying game discs and overheating, which its still does today. But instead of fixing the problem they just give out a 3 year warranty -_-

The 360 kinda sucks. Don't you have to pay for internet after a free trial?

The Wii kinda has sucky internet...

That's why the PS3 is the best, besides the overwhelming price.

Ye u just get like a months free trial on the 360. Ur rite PS3 is best. It has the best games etc. I just wish I had of waited a bit longer and got a PS3 instead of 360. Oh well, as long as it still runs and has sum decent games coming out. Pity there arent any exclusives tho

PS3 Slim might be coming out too, so just wait for that if you want a PS3.

If they're comin out with a slim it's probably going to be out of most people's budget. I'm content with getting the ugly fat one if that's the only other characteristic.

I think it'll cost less too. Check Gamespot for more info on that.

The PS3 is an oversized, overpriced attempt by Sony to show that people will buy Sony regardless of how few good games and exclusives it has.

The 360 is Microsoft capitalising on moderate success with the XBOX, but with a poor quality console and numrous technical glitches.

The Wii is Nintendo trying something new with a lot of success, but with too few actual games and a motion sensing controller that needs an add-on to be fully motion sensing.

If anything, it will make for an interesting 8th generation of consoles...

The Wii is still discovering. My dad told me this a long time ago but i'll try to recreate the conversation best i can.

One of my dad's friends at his work(my dad's a computer engineer) created a mod i think it was for his Wii so that when he looked just on the T.V. he would look around corners and things.

You can only get so motion sensitive without actually doing something to your body. Once you think about it, Nintendo has done a really great job. That's why it took so long.

Sony is a pretty great and powerful company. The ps3 may be expensive, but it's less than at launch. Think about what your getting. Great graphics, free internet, a decent controller, and a very playable system. The Wii has terrible internet basically. and you have to pay for Microsoft's xbox 360 internet.

The Wii does not have terrible Internet. I can always get a race on Mario Kart Wii at any time of day (Super Smash Bros. Brawl however...) The Wii isn't about the Internet mostly, it's just a useful add-on.

The PS3 would be fine, were it not for the high price, discontinued backwards compatability, poor porting quality, poor exclusivity rates and grill-like appearance. Seriously, I would try and grill something with it if I didn't know it was a PS3...

That's why their coming out with a thin version of the ps3. also, it has a few exclusives like Resistance for one. Keep in mind that..it's Sony. They don't depend on the PS3. Same as Microsoft. But the Wii on the other hand, they have to keep sales up.

Funnily enough, they have kept them up.

If we strip away all the problems and everything else and just look at the consoles, the Wii is the weakest but most innovative, the 360 is powerful but badly built, and the PS3 is the most powerful but with an unrealised potential.

Like I said earlier, the 8th generation will show who had the best idea...

lol. i shouldnt of mentioned 360. this has turned into another console debate :p

Well if one of the admins feels like moving our console posts to my poll about consoles that wouldnwork.

How about this: The next post that talks system wars will be deleted.

That works.
Let's see how this partnership plays out.