Microsoft just announced a proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of Yahoo! Microsoft's proposal to Yahoo's board of directors represents $31 per share (a 62% premium over yesterday's closing price) or about $44.6 Billion.

Steve Ballmer, CEO and big fan of developers, says, "We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market." Apparently, the deal was laid out in a letter sent by Ballmer to Yahoo's board just yesterday. Seriously. The letter confirms that the two giants have been discussing the topic since late 2006. It also appears to be a direct response to the Google threat as outlined in the following paragraph:

"Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers."

The deal, of course, rests with the two coming to a "merger agreement" and Microsoft (and Yahoo to a limited degree) having the time to conduct the required due diligence. Microsoft is ready to begin immediate discussions and have a draft merger agreement ready for consideration. So Yahoo, ball's in your court. The world is wondering... what will you do?

Yahoo! Board of Directors and management team unanimously concluded that the proposal is not in the best interests of Yahoo! and its stockholders

After careful evaluation, the Board believes that Microsoft’s proposal substantially undervalues Yahoo! including our global brand, large worldwide audience, significant recent investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential, as well as our substantial unconsolidated investments. The Board of Directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders.

But Microsoft responded and seems persistent on the deal.

We are offering shareholders superior value and the opportunity to participate in the upside of the combined company. The combination also offers an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market. A Microsoft-Yahoo! combination will create a more effective company that would provide greater value and service to our customers. Furthermore, the combination will create a more competitive marketplace by establishing a compelling number two competitor for Internet search and online advertising. The Yahoo! response does not change our belief in the strategic and financial merits of our proposal.

Google seems very concerned about the future of the Internet

Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, IM, and web-based services? Policymakers around the world need to ask these questions — and consumers deserve satisfying answers.

It seems Yahoo! is seeking to restart merger talks with AOL as a means of defending itself against the $45 billion hostile bid approach from Microsoft.

My personal perspective is, that we don't need such big market giant (Microsoft + Yahoo), because it won't brings us nothing good! That's for sure!

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Google AdSense recently updated their standard AdSense Terms and Conditions document after a gap of more than two years. The last significant update was made in November 2005.

There are some significant changes in AdSense Terms like you can now have a search box on pages that have no other content, your AdSense earnings could go to charity if you are inactive for a long time, you may show ads on 404 pages and so on.

Here’s an exact summary of the recent changes in the AdSense Terms and Conditions document:

1. You can display Google AdSense ads and Referral buttons on error pages and registration pages as the following line is now deleted from AdSense terms.

[Deleted - Prohibited Uses] (You shall not) display any Ad(s), Link(s), or Referral Button(s) on any error page, on any registration or “thank you” page (e.g., a page that thanks a user after he/she has registered with the applicable Web site), on any chat page, in any email*.

2. You may place the AdSense for Search box on web pages that have no other content.

[Deleted - AdSense for Search] Each Web page(s) that contains a Google Search Box must also contain other content related to Your Site.

3. You may place Google ads associated with multiple AdSense accounts on the same web page.

[Deleted - AdSense for Content] You agree that while You may display more than one (1) Ad Unit on each Site Web page, You shall not display any Ad Unit on a page that contains Ads associated with another Google AdSense customer (e.g., Your Web hosting company), unless authorized to do so by Google.

4. AdSense Referral products (like Firefox, Google Pack, etc) can be placed on web pages that contain no other content.

[Deleted - Referrals]: Each Web page(s) that contains a Referral Button must also contain other content related to Your Site.

5. If you are participating in any of the beta AdSense features (like AdSense for RSS Feeds), you should not talk about them on your blog.

[Added - General Beta Features]: You shall not disclose to any third party any information from Beta Features, existence of non-public Beta Features or access to Beta Features.

6. You can now have ads from other contextual advertising networks alongside AdSense. Similarly, you may have other site search from other providers in addition to Google.

[Deleted - General]: If You have elected to receive content or Site-based Ads, You further agree not to display on any Serviced Page any non-Google content-targeted advertisement(s). If You have elected to receive Search Results on any Site(s), You agree that Google will be the exclusive provider of Internet search services on such Site(s).

7. If your AdSense account is inactive, Google may donate your accumulated earnings to charity.

[Added - Payment]: You acknowledge and agree that Google may, without further notice to You, contribute to a charitable organization selected by Google all funds, payments and other amounts related to the AdSense Program that are held by Google and that are due to you (if any), but which Google is unable to pay or deliver to You because Your account is Inactive.

8. AdSense Publishers probably need to add a new privacy policy to their website disclosing information about ad cookies to visitors.

[Added - Program Participation] You must have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy that clearly discloses that third parties may be placing and reading cookies on your users’ browser, or using web beacons to collect information, in the course of ads being served on your website. Your privacy policy should also include information about user options for cookie management.

Important: If you are an AdSense Publisher, you are required to accept these new AdSense Terms and Conditions before May 25, 2008 else you may not be able to continue using your Google AdSense account.

Disclaimer: The above is based on my understanding of the AdSense terms document. I may have misinterpreted some of the lines so please consult your AdSense rep before taking the next step.By Digital Inspiration team.

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