Microsoft today released IE8 Beta 2 for public download. The newest iteration of the browser was created around three themes: everyday browsing (the things that real people do all the time), safety (the term most people use for what we’ve called ‘trustworthy’ in previous posts), and the platform (the focus of Beta 1, how developers around the world will build the next billion web pages and the next waves of great services).
The new browser promises an improved tab and navigation experience. When navigating to a web site in IE8, the smart address bar searches across Favorites, History, and RSS feeds More»

Labels: browsers, internet explorer, Microsoft, msft, Privacy, usability, user experience, web, web browsers

The next version of the Microsoft Internet Explorer  browser will include four new features to protect your privacy. The company has confirmed the following privacy enhancements:

InPrivate™ Browsing lets you control whether or not IE saves your browsing history, cookies, and other data
Delete Browsing History helps you control your browsing history after you’ve visited websites.
InPrivate™ Blocking informs you about content that is in a position to observe your browsing history, and allows you to block it
InPrivate Subscriptions allow you to augment the capability of InPrivate Blocking by subscribing to lists of websites to block or allow.

To browse in private, More»

Labels: browsers, internet explorer, Microsoft, msft, web, web browsers

Mozilla’s latest version of its popular Firefox browser, Firefox 3 (Release Candidate), is available for testing purposes only. So, in the ongoing browser wars between Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (version 8 beta available), Apple’s Safari browser, the Opera browser, and Mozilla’s Firefox, who is winning? The Netscape Navigator browser died a slow death and eventually dropped out of the race leaving the others to duke it out. So, who is winning? No surprise, based on Q1 2008 data from Net Applications, IE leads the pack with More»

Labels: Apple, firefox 3.0, internet explorer, Microsoft, mozilla, msft, web browsers

The beta versions of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 are here and although there is no firm release date as of yet for the final version of the latest IE browser, are you and your sites ready for it? IE 8 is being created to ensure adherence to web standards for interoperability. It is being touted as including a more standards-compatible layout engine by default which allows developers to build a single standards compatible website for multiple browsers. The problem and irony is that web sites created for Internet Explorer 7 and More»

Labels: internet explorer, Microsoft, msft, web browsers

I think this speaks for itself!
More»

Labels: Microsoft, msft, Search, Yahoo, YHOO

After Yahoo spurned their initial offer Microsoft said they were no longer in the game to aquire Yahoo. However corporate raider Carl Icahn entered the fray last week with a proposal that would force Yahoo into Microsoft’s arms, netting Icahn a huge payday if Microsoft ponied up the $33+ they were clearly willing to pay before.
As if this deal was not already complicated enough, Microsoft is now proposing to Yahoo some form of collaboration on search, presumably a deal where Microsoft and Yahoo search teams would team up against Google.
We’ll have to wait for more to critique the plan but More»

Labels: Microsoft, msft, Yahoo, YHOO

Carl Icahn has notified the Yahoo board that he’ll be leading a takeover of the company. The letter below was his notification to Yahoo, and included his intention to buy 2.5 billion in stock. Presumably Icahn has already confirmed that Microsoft is still interested in a takeover, and given Steve Ballmer’s legendary temperament I’m guessing that he is giddy at the prospect of ultimately winning the battle he walked away from a few weeks ago.
I think Icahns prospects of losing this are small, and would guess he’s in for one of the biggest paydays in corporate history. More»

Labels: icahn, Microsoft, msft, Yahoo, YHOO

Billionaire takeover strategist Carl Icahn is looking at a possible play to force Yahoo back to the table with Microsoft to sell the company at a big profit. The news today sent Yahoo up about 1.30 and YHOO is still rising in after market trading.
Given that the prevailing stock price of Yahoo is well below Microsoft’s top offer of $33 per share, this play has only one key challenge - making sure you can get Microsoft back to the table. Frankly I think that is not much of a hurdle to overcome as I More»

Labels: google, icahn, Microsoft, msft, Yahoo, YHOO

Yahoo shares opened this morning at $23.02, down $5.65 from yesterday’s close. However Yahoo has bounced back a bit to just under $25 per share at 1pm, perhaps reflecting investor’s optimism that a deal will still be struck with Microsoft after what some - including me - think was a case of MS CEO Ballmer calling Yahoo’s high price bluff.
Jerry Yang wrote investors and the public today at the Yahoo Andecdotal blog in a post titled “OK, so now what? There he writes:
We’ll continue to execute on our plan — making your Internet experience as personal, relevant, open and More»

Labels: Microsoft, msft, Yahoo, YHOO

Following is the verbatim text of the letter from Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer to Yahoo’s Jerry Yang. The source of this letter is Microsoft.
May 3, 2008
Mr. Jerry YangCEO and Chief YahooYahoo! Inc.701 First AvenueSunnyvale, CA 94089
Dear Jerry:
After over three months, we have reached the conclusion of the process regarding a possible combination of Microsoft and Yahoo!.
I first want to convey my personal thanks to you, your management team, and Yahoo!’s Board of Directors for your consideration of our proposal. I appreciate the time and attention all of you have given to this matter, and I especially More»

Labels: merger, Microsoft, msft, Yahoo, YHOO