MicroTechXP

Want a new gadget this summer? Google Checkout will be working in part with more than 50 online retailers to offer you a discount this summer. This promotion will give you $10 off a purchase of $60 or more. Some well known participating retailers include TigerDirect and Buy.com.
There’s nothing wrong with snagging a great deal with an additional $10 off! This is a good move for Google, considering competition with a major competitor, PayPal. Google hopes to raise awareness of Google Checkout, and expand it further into the online community. [news.com]

Consistent with our efforts to promote further interoperability across the Web, Microsoft will be releasing Internet Explorer 8 to render content in its most standards-compliant way by default. Giving top priority to Web standards interoperability allows us to help web developers and designers drive toward the ideal of “write once, run anywhere”, freeing up more time to innovate rather than modify content for different browsers. This commitment also addresses several development and design pain points from previous Internet Explorer releases.
However, browsing with this default setting may cause content written for previous versions of Internet Explorer to display differently than intended. This creates a call to action for site owners to ensure their content will continue to display seamlessly in Internet Explorer 8. As such, we have provided a meta-tag usable on a per-page or per-site level to maintain backwards compatibility with Internet Explorer 7. Adding this tag instructs Internet Explorer 8 to render content like it did in Internet Explorer 7, without requiring any additional changes.
We are encouraging site administrators to get their sites ready now for broad adoption of Internet Explorer 8, as there will be a beta release in the third quarter of this year targeted for all consumers. To learn more and get started, please follow the step-by-step instructions located at KB952030. [MSDN Blogs]

Microsoft has announced a new Live Search advertising initiative called as Live Search CashBack. The essence of the new service is the new set of 18 search offerings that give users cashback on any purchases made from the advertisers. 
Several high profile e-commerce websites are participating in this program. You can Use Live Search to find cashback savings from the online stores you know and trust. [Neowin]
View: Live Search CashBack

Rumours from silicon valley this week point towards Microsoft purchasing Yahoo Search and then using $20 billion to get hold of Facebook.
Microsoft picking up the Yahoo search business. Word is that this deal will be done this week. While this is not surprising, it does bring to question the motives and plans of Microsoft.
Techmeme is buzzing about the latest Microsoft Yahoo talks that has Microsoft buying the Yahoo Search business only. Here is Microsoft’s and Yahoo official statements.
Why would such a complicated transaction (just Yahoo search with all the headaches and all) be in the cards for Microsoft? After the failed bid for $40 plus billion for all of Yahoo, Microsoft’s intentions are clear. Buy the search business from Yahoo and take that team and go spend at least 20 billion for Facebook. Integrating the search team at Yahoo with Facebook puts a formidable army to take on Google. [Furrier.org]

The bad news just doesn’t seem to end for Yahoo. As the Internet portal prepares to fend off a proxy fight by billionaire investor Carl Icahn, new research from comScore concludes that for the first time, Google has overtaken Yahoo as the most-visited Web site in the U.S. Google reached the pinnacle of the Top 50 U.S. Properties in April, with an audience of 141 million visitors, according to data from comScore’s monthly analysis. Yahoo and its affiliated sites ranked second, with 140.6 million visitors, followed by Microsoft sites with 121.2 million visitors.
View: Full Story at Infoworld

So I poked the console-wars snake last week and learned a big Fat Albert lesson about people’s feelings in the process. Gametrailers, with a longer history than me, not so much.
We’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about how they botched a comparison video of Race Driver: GRID. In an attempt to show cooler crash physics on the 360, they used PS3’s instead — easily identifiable by the controller map in the lower left corner. Doh!
Gametrailers took down the video after getting barbecued in the comment flamewar. But someone already YouTubed it and spliced in comments pointing out the negligence, or worse.
Anyway, here you go. Just shows that console comparison is absolutely the third rail discussion in our neck of the woods. And if you undertake it, everything has to be bulletproof, or you’ll get ripped for looking like a shill. [Kotaku]

Microsoft Corp gauged Facebook’s interest in a possible acquisition after the software giant’s failed takeover attempt of Yahoo Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper reported on its Web site that Microsoft’s bankers put out subtle signals to Facebook, the social networking Web site, to see if it would be open to a full acquisition.
The talks were first reported by Web site All Things Digital, owned by Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones. Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker declined to comment on the report. Microsoft officials were not immediately available for comment.
In October, Microsoft took a $240 million stake in Facebook, which valued the start-up at $15 billion. Citing an unnamed source, the report said there are no active discussions between the two companies.
The news came a few days after Microsoft dropped its unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo for $47.5 billion. The aim of that proposal was to build an online advertising powerhouse to rival Google Inc.
Facebook, founded in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, has become one of the hottest properties on the Internet because of its rapid growth and the loyalty of its users. Facebook has more than 70 million active users.
In the past, Zuckerberg has resisted selling the entire company, opting to work toward an initial public offering. [Reuters]

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Yahoo! Inc.
“We continue to believe that our proposed acquisition made sense for Microsoft, Yahoo! and the market as a whole. Our goal in pursuing a combination with Yahoo! was to provide greater choice and innovation in the marketplace and create real value for our respective stockholders and employees,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft.
“Despite our best efforts, including raising our bid by roughly $5 billion, Yahoo! has not moved toward accepting our offer. After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo! do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal,” said Ballmer.
“We have a talented team in place and a compelling plan to grow our business through innovative new services and strategic transactions with other business partners. While Yahoo! would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals,” Ballmer said.
“We are investing heavily in new tools and Web experiences, we have dramatically improved our search performance and advertiser satisfaction, and we will continue to build our scale through organic growth and partnerships,” said Kevin Johnson, Microsoft president for platforms and services. [Microsoft]

Microsoft Corp. directors failed to decide on the next step in the pursuit of Yahoo! Inc. yesterday, leaving open the debate over whether to walk away from the $44.6 billion bid or fight to replace the Internet company’s board.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer is undecided on what to do, and his allies don’t know whether he will give up or mount a hostile takeover, the Wall Street Journal reported last night on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft examined a price of $32 to $33 a share in recent days, more than the initial $31 cash-and-stock bid, the newspaper said. Raising the offer would be one way for Microsoft, the world’s biggest software maker, to clinch a friendly deal with Yahoo or make it easier to win a proxy fight to oust the board.
View: Read More @ Bloomberg

Microsoft is considering launching a hostile bid for search provider Yahoo as early next week if Yahoo does not begin talks soon, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said today. Liddell repeated a threat by Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Wednesday to withdraw Microsoft’s $31 a share cash and stock offer if Yahoo does not start negotiating. According to the CFO, Yahoo management has “unrealistic expectations” of its value. “We have been clear that speed is of the essence to make sense,” he told investors on a conference call to discuss quarterly results.
View: Full Story at Reuters