Tech picks for the day

Microsoft is not retiring Windows XP until 2010.  Why?  Well, if you listen to Microsoft and some industry analysts, it’s because of the demand for very low cost PCs that don’t have the hardware needed to run Vista.  Could it possibly be that Vista is so bloated that it won’t run on anything but a mid to high end machine?  Is MS a bit scared because of the success of Linux on low end machines and the recent successes of Apple in getting a bigger piece of the computer market pie?  Could it be that Vista SUCKS and manufacturers want an in-road to keep using XP?  The world may never know….  LOL

Too much going on…

Apple has released the SDK for the iPhone.  There are rumors that Microsoft may be buying Yahoo! stock on the open market.  LG is releasing a slider phonewhere the keyboard is supposed to feel like human skin (ewww).  Blizzard released the 2.4 “Sunwell” patch today.  Apple has garnered a 14% share of the new computer market, which is huge if you remember back in the day when their share was more like 3%.  The FCC’s  700MHz spectrum auction is over although no one is allowed to say much yet.  If you are reading this and waiting for the punchline, well, the last couple weeks are really their own punchline.  Of all the things going on there is not much of real substance, yes, these things are meaningful in some small way but none of it is really going to be a big surprise to anyone.

Slow today or is it just me?

     Where is the big news?  I’m not seeing it.  It’s pretty much the same old thing today.  Microsoft is plotting the takeover of (fill in the blank).  Yahoo! is looking to (fill in the blank) to stave off the Microsoft hostile takeover that is brewing.  Rupert Murdoch claims no interest in (fill in the blank) but owns at least 30% of it.  Apple needs to patch (fill in the blank) because too many of its users have a hard time using any device that does more than add numbers or make toast.  Engadget features an article on (fill in the blank), which although it looks cool, will do little to move the industry forward or revolutionize the way we live, work or play.  Slashdot releases a number of articles on (fill in the blank) which are written by people that should spend more time writing tech manuals and less time trying to explain anything technological in humanistic terms.

That is all….

Microsoft may turn hostile

     It appears that Microsoft may turn to playing hardball in its attempt to acquire Yahoo.  There is talk of Microsoft taking its bid straight to the shareholders of Yahoo.  Microsoft may also try to ouster the current board by getting new directors elected in the upcoming board election.  There is an investment firm (Ironfire Capital) that is trying to organize shareholders in favor of the Microsoft bid.  There is a retirement fund that owns some 13,000 shares of Yahoo! that is suing over the takeover rejection. 

     This does not bode well for Yahoo and even if they enact their “poison pill” provision (which allows them to flood the market with additional shares to increase the cost of a hostile takeover), it may not be enough to dissuade Microsoft from moving forward.  The odd thing here is that Microsoft will have to borrow money in order to make this deal happen and the cost will probably only go up from the current $44.6 billion.  With the potential for anti-trust issues and the pain that is and will be the European Union in the coming months, why is this such an attractive target for Microsoft?  I must be missing something because, with the debt incurred and the fact that it could take years to realize any profit from a takeover of this kind, I just don’t see any long term benefit for Microsoft.