Microsoft Yahoo Round Two?

According to the New York Times, Microsoft has proposed a complex new collaborative deal with Yahoo that would not involve a full takeover of Yahoo by Microsoft. Microsoft had made an offer of $47.5 billion to outright take over Yahoo that was withdrawn a couple of weeks ago.

From the New York Times piece and in a statement released by Microsoft today - the company said it was “considering and has raised with Yahoo an alternative that would involve a transaction with Yahoo but not an acquisition of all of Yahoo.” Microsoft provided no additional details.

Here's more from the New York Times:

“Microsoft is not proposing to make a new bid to acquire all of Yahoo at this time, but reserves the right to reconsider that alternative depending on future developments and discussions that may take place with Yahoo or discussions with shareholders of Yahoo or Microsoft or with other third parties,” the company said.

It looks like Microsoft is scrambling, trying to head off a partnership deal currently in the works between Yahoo and Google, expected to be announced as early as this week.

Read the full New York Times piece here.

New York Times on Free Speech in China

On December 2, the New York Times published an editorial titled Yahoo Betrays Free Speech. The piece discussed how Yahoo helped the Chinese government find the identities of two Chinese journalists who both received ten years in jail for "disseminating pro-democracy writings".

Here's a quote from the editorial:

Yahoo’s collaboration is appalling, and Yahoo is not the only American company helping the Chinese government repress its people. Microsoft shut down a blogger at Beijing’s request. Google, Yahoo and Microsoft censor searches in China. Cisco Systems provided hardware used by Beijing to censor and monitor the Internet.

You may have seen the following YouTube piece on the Yahoo settlement (or something similar) last month:



I encourage you to read the New York Times editorial and watch the video clip - good classroom material for discussion from political, legal, business/financial and even technological (how do they do that?) perspectives.

Radiohead: Open Source Music

Depending on your musical taste, you may or may not have listened to the band Radiohead. In their Wikipedia entry, the band is referred to as "the "English version of Nirvana". Both bands make/made songs with quiet and beautiful moments and also loud guitar distortion."

A few weeks ago Radiohead released their latest album titled "In Rainbows", selling it as a download without digital-rights management (translated - no copy protection). The band is asking for fans to establish the value of the music on the album and determine how much they want to pay for the music, if anything at all. It's available free.

Radiohead has joined a list of artists moving away from traditional distribution methods. According to the New York Times:

"....a short but growing list of recording stars that includes Prince, Madonna, Nine Inch Nails and .... Radiohead have indicated their willingness to depart from the conventions of music sales and the control of the four multinational corporations that dominate the industry."

Here's more from the New York Times piece:

"Early reaction suggested that listeners would pay, but less than they would for a CD in stores. The blog Idolator.com carried a poll in which the plurality of voters — almost 40 percent — said they would pay from $2.05 to $10.12."

and a bit more:

"Whether Radiohead’s move will lead to a shift for the industry is far from clear. In taking over more of its own sales, the band risks losing what connection it has with the mass market and turning into a niche operation. Indeed, not all artists choose to depart the major-label structure when the opportunity arises — Bruce Springsteen, for one, decided to renew his relationship with Sony Music’s Columbia label when his contract was near expiration."

The band currently is not contracted with a recording company and has not sold content on iTunes. According the the Times - early next year they say the will release a CD, two record vinyl (!) set and photo book that will sell for approximately 40 pounds (about $82).

Watch the Radiohead website and legally download the music here.