Microsoft and Yahoo

This from the Telegraph on-line:

"The two technology companies have sealed the terms of a landmark search deal which will see Microsoft’s Bing power Yahoo!’ search engine. In return Yahoo! will be responsible for selling advertising around the combined search efforts.

The companies today released a joint statement: “Microsoft and Yahoo! believe that this deal will create a sustainable and more compelling alternative in search that can provide consumers, advertisers and publishers real choice, better value, and more innovation.

However, despite having ‘finalised and executed’ the terms of the deal, the companies are still awaiting approval from the Department of Justice in the US and then the European Union to clear the deal and allay any competition concerns. This is not expected to happen until an unconfirmed date in 2010. Last month Yahoo! filed a statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which gave the first indication that the approval process has taken longer than both parties had originally predicted.

Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo! search are pooling their efforts in order to try and take on the dominance of Google in the search market. According to Net Applications’ most recent global figures, Google accounted for 85 per cent of all searches, while Bing took 3.3 per cent share and Yahoo! search accounted for 6.22 per cent of the total market."

Seems they have some way to go!

Well here I am!

Gosh, totally new experience which I've come to late. Blogging. Why would anyone be interested in what I have to say? Can't imagine but it gives me an outlet for dumping my thoughts for posterity. Everyone's getting ready for Christmas, shops are going crazy, traffic getting impossible, nobody knows what they want - can't we cancel it this year and spend the money on something else? Children in Need, Cumberland Flood appeal there must be hundreds of deserving causes and yet we'll stuff our faces, drink ourselves stupid then wonder why we've put on two stone in weight leaving the New Year resolutions as usual to be get fit, lose weight etc etc.