I was surprised this morning while flipping through the channels to hear that Microsoft has finally put a formal bid in to buy Yahoo! Surprised not only because I personally didn’t think it was ever going to happen, but buy the audacity of the move by the usually timid Microsoft. Microsoft is certainly known for buying out other companies, but none of them are as big as this. Both Yahoo! and Microsoft have plateaued in their market share of the internet search market, and bringing Yahoo! under the wing of Microsoft seems to be one method of furthering the battle against Google. However, I’m certainly not convinced that this is the way to do it. First of all, searching the internet has become a habit. It’s not something people think about doing, it’s just something they do. With something like that it’s very hard to barge into people’s thought processes and say, “look at me! I’m better!” And if another company does want to do it, they have to be much better than the competitors. I haven’t seen anything coming out either of these companies that is better enough to take market share from Google, and frankly, I don’t think anything will. Microsoft hasn’t done anything relevant on the internet, ever. Yahoo!, on the other hand, is still an important player in this market and can continue to do that on it’s own. In fact, I think eventually Yahoo! could be better than Google at the things Google does well. They haven’t been successful so far but I see no reason why they couldn’t, and to be honest, it surprises me that they haven’t achieved it yet. As far as Microsoft is concerned, this is another example of the leverage they have gained by their monopolies in the Operating System and Office applications markets. They’re already plowing all kinds of money into their Entertainment and Devices Division, which until very recently had never turned a profit. It’s clear that Microsoft is willing and able to use the profits it gains from the monopolies under it’s possession to leverage themselves into other markets. I was glad to read recently that states in the US are trying to extend the penalties placed on Microsoft, since they have had little to no effect since their adoption. As usual, these restrictions have little teeth and will do nothing to stop Microsoft’s hold on their monopolies. I’m glad that the EU have so far dealt with the resolve and determination this case demands. Hopefully, for Yahoo! and the comsumers sake government will put a stop to this deal.