Yahoo! and Google both went after YouTube, and Google won. But while many are discussing how Yahoo! could potentially respond, with rumors around a Facebook acquisition being widely discussed, some outliers are suggesting that Yahoo! itself could be in play, given a relatively-low market capitalization, and a wealth of content. Proposed potential suitors range from telecom carriers, including AT&T and Comcast, to the more wacky, including Exxon and Phillip Morris. Really... you could offer gas points or cigarettes for frequent searching, the author writes.Google's deal for YouTube made sense, according to the New York Times, but would picking up Yahoo! make sense for a carrier like AT&T or Comcast? I can't help but be reminded of the Excite @Home debacle, which at the time of announcement, seemed like the perfect synergy.
It's also interesting to learn about a Google acquisition that didn't happen. According to a new book, Google offered north of $30 million for the social networking site, Friendster, but was turned down. Since then, Friendster has just been destroyed by MySpace, no doubt in part to having a weak technology infrastructure, the book says.
Taking an eye to the more embattled mega-companies, the San Jose Mercury News has a large, in-depth look at the HP pretexting crisis, its origin, and what it means for the once-respected Silicon Valley giant. (How Not to Fix a Leak), while the New York Times speculates that the much-delayed Windows Vista launch may be the end of the road for Windows. What, no blue screens in 2010? I think I'm going to cry.
Listening to ''Enemy'', by Gabriel & Dresden (Play Count: 13)