Microsoft Corp would either combine or shut down duplicate Internet services after purchasing Yahoo Inc, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said.
"We shouldn't have two of everything," Ballmer said at a Microsoft conference in Las Vegas today. "It won't make sense."
Microsoft and Yahoo own competing search engines, advertising programs and e-mail and instant-messaging services.
Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, announced a US$44.6 billion offer last month for Yahoo, owner of the No. 2 Web search engine. Yahoo rejected the deal, saying it undervalued the company, and yesterday extended the deadline for nominating candidates for its board in an effort to avoid a proxy fight.
Microsoft wants to buy Yahoo because the Internet ad market will be "super big" and Microsoft hasn't built that business fast enough on its own, Ballmer said.
Internet search is the "killer application" of advertising, he said.
"Advertising on the Internet is a big thing and will be the next super big thing," Ballmer said. "We probably could have gotten going a lot sooner. We remain committed."
Asked about the status of the bid by moderator Guy Kawasaki, a venture capitalist, the Microsoft executive responded: "We made an offer and it's out there, baby."
Ballmer also said Microsoft would support Sony Corp's Blu- ray high-definition video format in "ways that make sense."
Toshiba Corp, the leading promoter of the rival technology HD DVD, conceded defeat to Sony last month. Microsoft was part of a group that backed the HD DVD standard.
Microsoft is in talks with Sony about developing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360 video-game machine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
Ballmer also poked fun at Kawasaki's Apple Inc MacBook Air ultra-thin notebook, saying it is heavier than his Toshiba laptop and lacks features such as a DVD drive. Kawasaki is a former marketing executive at Cupertino, California-based Apple.
"Let's have a bake-off with my Tosh and that thing backstage," Ballmer suggested.
Kawasaki also asked Ballmer not to repeat a conference performance from several years ago, when he jumped up and down while shouting "developers, developers, developers, developers."
Still, an audience member requested a repeat performance today. Ballmer cheered for Web developers, the main attendees at the show.
"If your buddy behind you just gave you a buck, I want 50 cents," Ballmer told the attendee who had requested the cheer.
Microsoft fell US$0.55 to US$27.57 at 4pm New York time in NASDAQ Stock Market trading. The shares have declined 23 percent this year. Yahoo, up 23 percent this year, rose 3 cents to US$28.70.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS