I don't see a problem. I don't even love Flickr that much the way it is, but adding Windows Photo Gallery integration would be a plus for me.

burnblue

Not really all that concerned with MS screwing up Flickr -- it's practically useless w/o a Pro account anyway, and I'm not shelling out $25/year to another company just so they can host my pics -- my external HD and Picasa do that just fine. ;)
However, I am worried about what they'll do to Yahoo Mail. I've had my account for about ten years and fear that if MS gets ahold of Yahoo, they'll totally destroy Y Mail and turn it into something as worthless as Hotmail. Plus, I like my Yahoo briefcase the way it is, kthx.

subfugitive

Sounds like a dream match-up if you ask me

rolii

Don't forget Del.icio.us and (the perhaps little known) Zimbra. Zimbra is a direct competitor to MS Exchange, so you can bet it'd be gone fairly quickly.

War-N

So the giant behemoth corporation that has a monopoly on the search market is mad about the giant behemoth company that has the monopoly on the OS market is buying up the also-ran in the search space?

And isn't the giant behemoth company with the monopoly on the search market trying to compete with the giant OS company by offering free office applications, email, calendaring, photo sharing and so on?

Not to mention that the giant search company is actively recruiting from the giant OS company, too.

As mentioned already - pot, meet kettle. Kettle, meet pot. MS isn't as evil as some make it out to be, and Google isn't a scrappy startup any more.

enjar

OMG I didn't even think of the flickr angle!!! Can I vote for this in the primaries tomorrow?

Maulleigh

@holymogwai:
I understand the sentiment, but having Flickr lets me have access to:
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Unlimited storage
- Upload hi-quality once, download different sizes based on need
- The social networking aspect of it (comments, feeds, etc.)
- $25 a year.

The unlimited storage alone is worth it (I think I have something like 2 terabytes of photos)

razordu30

Also, MS owning Flickr would help drive Photosynth, which is a hell of a lot more innovative than anything in the Google Labs queue.

razordu30

"We take Internet openness, choice and innovation seriously."

Says that company that stunted Blogger, Jotspot, Postini, has done nothing with Grand Central, and to this day keeps quiet on their search algorithms. The same company that goes to nearly Trojan levels to get Google searchbar on your system with third-party software installations.

Pot, meet kettle.

If it makes you haters feel any better, Google is thinking of buying Yahoo, too:
[www.boston.com]

razordu30

The Google post sounded like a lot of FUD to me.

Regarding Microsoft owning Flickr: Meh. Regarding people who are emotionally attached to large corporations: are you for real?

Posco Grubb

Well, as far as search goes, Yahoo sucks and Microsoft really really sucks, I don't foresee anything that would make me start using something other than Google.

Rick Davis

You know, its funny - I don't really care about yahoo and microsoft, but when you start talking about flickr's involvement -- I start to worry! If this happens, I hope microsoft doesn't screw it up.

mw2006

I try to avoid using microsoft products whenever possible, I will probably stop using flickr, I'll just host them myself.

KatharinavS

There goes Flickr's uptime.

gti4me

@holymogwai: "Grow up, its just an os, its not going to fundamentally change your life."

Should say "company", not "os". Lifehacker needs a 60 second edit button.

holymogwai

Who cares? So it'll be flickr with a microsoft stamp on it. If you're that worried, you shouldnt host your crappy photos on a 3rd part site, build your own.

I always find it funny how people are down on microsoft, yet I'm betting 80% of those people own an xbox.

Grow up, its just an os, its not going to fundamentally change your life.

holymogwai

I think it is more than unlikely that flickr services might be disturbed... at worst they might call it live flickr. What is more disturbing to me is that yahoo just did cut jobs and if they merge with MS, that will likely mean more jobs cut.

CadErik

What's the big deal? flickr itself has already 'sold out' - it's not like yahoo! did all the pioneering work on it.

lbanksy

Clippy: It looks like you are looking for a picture of your family. Would you like some help?

Loyd Gravitt

I tend to agree...I have to say I'm completely fine with M$ taking over Flickr. I suspect if you were on /. you'd get much different answers, but I happen to think all those guys are just as evil as the next one. (yes, even Google and Apple despite their white color schemes)
That said, I've love to work for either one :)

Oh, what a twisted web we weave...

Sanjay_

Interesting article on why Yahoo should accept:
[www.blogmaverick.com]

razordu30

There already seems to be quite a discussion over at Flickr:
[flickr.com]

joewhitsitt

Yep! It's, what we call over here in the free world, "Competition." If you think for a minute, that google is safer or better for you than MS, then you need to make sure your mommy packs an extra set of clothes when she drops you off at day care.

Colt Commander

@holymogwai: Totally agree. Same people who see "YOU'RE COMPUTER IS INFECTED! INSTALL SHADY ANTIVIRUS NIGERIAN VIAGRA SWEEPER" click "Install", and call me an hour later with tech support issues.

On that note, the two computers needing the most tech support at my company are both Macbooks. Surprise surprise.

razordu30

let's just put it this way... if microsoft buys yahoo, I will be transferring my flickr account to google's picasa and asking for a prorated refund from yahoo for the remainder of my membership fee.

JMC

@SeanOHara: I do believe you've hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, I use Flickr as a backup having had far too many hard drives die on me.

gregbzh

Yahoo! bought Flickr in March 2005. In nearly 3 years, how much has the site changed? I would say very little, bar a few little tweaks here and there. If Microsoft does get Flickr, then I would say nothing major will change. You think they will try and port the site to IIS? Ain't gonna happen, Microsoft have got bigger fish to fry.

glen_scott

@KatharinavS: Why? I've had nothing but good things with them.

In my experience, people who complain about how buggy MS is or how insecure it is dont know how to configure it, and blindly click on "OMIGAWD ENLARGE MY P3NIS" ads.

holymogwai

good thing i don't use flickr much, HELLO PISCA WEB ALBUMS!

Swizzler121

I honestly don't mind. It felt wrong before when Yahoo took over, but I've gotten over it. I've used Flickr since is started and I love what it's become. I don't think Microsoft will do more harm than good.

foodee

How about a lifehacker article on the best ways to self-host a photo album with all the cool flickr functionality like automatic resizing of images, batch upload, tagging etc etc?

jacknthur

Allow me to translate the Googlese: We've worked long and hard to become the dominant search engine and web-app company, and now Microsoft comes along and threatens that. Luckily for us, sheeple believe we're absolutely good and Microsoft is pure evil, so we can get the rabble on our side easily enough.

SeanOHara

@enjar:

I wouldn't call Google "the giant behemoth coroporation that has a monopoly on the search market," because ppl have a choice. Those who choose to use Google use it at their own will created this "monopoly."

Google's search engine is merely a tool that ppl choose to use, not because they have to. MS's operating systems and office suite is something of a different nature since it has much more corporate integration to business that require it to communicate to each other.

Anyways, to the point. If MS or Google acquires Yahoo!, both sides have much to gain, but more for MS since they already own the OS and office suites.

If MS buys Yahoo!, it will actually make them competitive to Google. But if Google gets Yahoo!, their office suite still goes nowhere and only improving on their search engine integration.

Google definitely has much more to lose since MS already dominates the office suite and OS field.

n8236

To the people that say 'host your own' they forget the best part of flickr for some people is the ability for nubs to share with friends and family, comment and note images.

Publishing images so easily as well and allowing very high quality content.

And the insanely unusual lack of spam / vandalism with flickr as well. (they allow total private sharing)

Most of this I see going the route of hotmail, ass backwards and marketing determining how it all wraps up.

hpavc

If Microsoft makes any changes to Flickr it'll likely be buggy, bloated and having more users than ever, despite users complaining about it all the time.

deadlizard

I don't really see Flickr changing much, considering that it's already pretty easy to be deleted seemingly at random with no recourse.

micahkl

As if to punish me for my insolence, jot.com and jotspot.com are giving me Network Solutions splash pages.

Thanks a lot, Google. Not that you care, but we are probably going to lose a lot of customers because we developed a solution on Jot before you bought it.

Fantastic. I will not be going home tomorrow.

razordu30

MICROSOFT ROCKS!

They have some of the best brains in the industry, their software is feature-rich, and their support structure is effective.

If combining MS and Yahoo gives Google a run for its money and forces both players to remain competitive, then what could be bad?

rogerkaplan

As Google Adwords guru, Perry Marshall, said: Putting Yahoo and MS together (in terms of online offerings, at least) is like hoping two IQ75s will become an IQ150 genius. A bit harsh, but you get the picture.

Google may well have a very large market share of both searchers and advertisers, but when any of your customers can walk away at a moment's notice, if this is a monopoly it is hardly a very secure one.

Anyway, I think there are two reasons they are acting scared:

1. Anything that throws a spanner in two of your major competitors' works and keeps them tied up in legal wrangling for at least months is to be welcomed as it will keep those same competitors from focusing on actually improving their products.

2. Google would much prefer someone else was investigated for monopolistic practices than have the spotlight fall on them, so they are all too happy to encourage an investgation of MSY!

So, yes, they sound "nervous" and "concerned" in their official blog response, but I can't help but imagine that they are secretly rather pleased. After all, this buys them more time to improve their own offerings while MS and Yahoo both squabble with each other, as well as fighting regulatory interference. At the same time, MS is also using a huge amount of their war chest on the Yahoo acquisition, which substantially reduces their ability to snaffle up the promising new startups that are the big cash cows of the future.

And not to mention that Google headhunters are probably even now contacting the best Yahoo staff to offer them safe haven from the Beast of Redmond.

stephenmunday

@holymogwai: How many times are you going to use that "...I bet they own an xbox" line? It's not relevant to the current discussion! Are you an MS shill or something? Balmer, is that you? Oh, and btw, I did own an xbox, I loved it... except for the fact that it had a Thompson drive which got the dreaded dirty disk errors.

nettoyeur

Wait until Microsoft starts to move all the Flickr and del.icio.us servers from *nix to Windows. Then people will understand the concern...

midbach

I think it's a good deal for Yahoo! and a bad deal for Microsoft. Microsoft is paying too much for them. I'm happy about the prospect of Yahoo Calendar interfacing and syncing with windows better though. I'm hoping that will happen.

155

@stephenmunday: Or like fakestevejobs said, "It's like taking the two guys who finished second and third in a 100-yard dash and tying their legs together and asking for a rematch, believing that now they'll run faster."

martinpolley

Acquisition of Yahoo by Microsoft does not make sense from a strategic perspective. Further thoughts are at [sophisticatedfinance.typepad.com]

rhhfla

Microsoft buy Yahoo - and my first action is to delete my flickr account. Just as I stopped using HoTMailL all those years ago.

I'm already transferring to .mac and Picasa in anticipation.

undeadbydawn

I try to ignore the fact that I don't like MS as a company. I look at the existing MS web products. I ask myself, "Are they good to use?" I answer "No" and remind myself to back up my delicious account data.

YMM -- of course -- V.

shadowfirebird

@rhhfla: If MS gets Yahoo, they'll have 1/3 of the search engine market (CBC Radio 1). That's a good source of statistics and advertising revenue potential.

A3sthetix

@8236

Substitute "Windows" for "Google" and you've almost got MS's PR boilerplate for defending their monopoly.

People also have a choice in what operating system they run. You can make the choice to run Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD, Solaris and quite literally thousands of others. There are many places where Windows is fine, but many cases where another OS does something very well.

Your point about MS's operating system being something required for business is just as valid for Google. People don't hire expensive consultants to raise search results in Yahoo or MS's search engine, they want to be on top in Google. Everyone else is second fiddle.

enjar

I can't stand the idea of being stuck with MS for my YIM and del.icio.us...

I think I can survive without YIM on GTalk but, Google, if you're listening, give me an easy del.icio.us to Google bookmarks import, including tags, and give it to me fast!

mawcs

Best writeup I've seen so far:
[microsoft.blognewschannel.com]

techchic

I am not terribly thrilled with the idea of Microsoft taking over Yahoo. Here's a few reasons I think it's a bad idea:

1. Yahoo Mail beats Hotmail hands down. Microsoft would probably ruin that.

2. Del.icio.us -- why mess with a good thing?

3. Flickr -- IMO it was best when it was independent.

4. Yahoo Briefcase -- again, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

5. Yahoo news and search will probably be rolled into the MSN/Live sites. Yuck.

Having said that, I don't want Google to buy Yahoo either, but it would be better than having Yahoo absorbed into the Microsoft behmoth. I think it is best for everyone if all three companies are competing.

techchic

I think Microsoft is playing catch-up with the business modelss of Google and Yahoo, but when they are making great ad-based revenue, Microsoft will likely make the web a great (and free) place like Google and to some degree, Yahoo (which has a tendency to charge for a lot of their services). I can remember many a night in the late '90s downloading great free downloads and power tools and skins from Microsoft's update pages. They get a bad rap, more so than they deserve. Better than Apple buying Yahoo.

timbevil

Nah, Yahoo is dead to me now. They may as well pour glue in their servers now. I am pulling all my photos down and handing in my Flickr gun and badge.

for_dprefect

Yahoo kills Chinese reporters. I rank them right up there above Walmart and Verizon as far as evil companies. Microsoft may at times be a foolish company with its disinterest in keeping its products small, stable and secure, but in the end they're not all that bad.

I dislike the idea that's being portrayed of big bad Microsoft coming to take over poor little Yahoo... Yahoo is a giant and who cares if giants topple each other?

As long as Google is around to keep the playing field innovative, we're solid.

clicknathan

i was pleasantly surprised that really only my login was affected by yahoo purchase of flickr. even then i wished that google bought flickr. i prefer it to picasa web albums quite a lot from a user-experience and API persepctive. i don't like MS, don't trust MS and don't want to support them. thank goodness for flickrDown...time to get busy.

mahalie