When Microsoft offered nearly fifty billion dollars last year to acquire Yahoo I thought this was the stupidest thing Redmond had ever done, and in hindsight not accepting the offer was indeed the stupidest thing Yahoo had ever done. In a new development this week Yahoo has announced that it was ditching search and concentrating on its ad service in a 10-year agreement with Microsoft. Effectively Microsoft ended up getting almost as much control over Yahoo as they would have by owning it but for a fraction of the cost, while sidestepping antitrust regulations that would have resulted from an acquisition. In the end it goes to show that Yahoo really has been managed by the dumbest people in the IT business for the past couple of years…
I really need to take up cycling. In Sweden.
From the “things you don’t hear about every day” dept. — a 50 year-old Swedish man has reportedly complained that while he was out biking he was pulled of his bike by a lady with tattoos on her arms who then proceeded to have her way with him. He also reports that the same unspeakable crime was committed again when he rode in the exact same spot the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that. In fact he’s so upset that if these incidents don’t stop within 6 months he’ll be forced to consider maybe changing his route.
The vagaries of IT work
Up until today I was pretty sure that I would never hate an IT product as much as I hate IBM WebSphere, but I think we have a new winner: SAP Netweaver v7. Just installing the damn thing is like trying to thread a needle while someone is stabbing you repeatedly in the face, and every time you look at him for guidance he says “nuh-huh, no hints!” Oh, and it can *only* use a version of Java that Sun has already announced is EOL’d. Literally your JVM must be between 1.4.2_08 and 1.5.0, exclusive. Why is “bloody impossible to get going” become a positive attribute for computer systems in the past few years?.. When has that become a good thing?
Second Strike.
So, how do you repair your public image after an interview in which you praise Hitler? You blame the Jews for the financial crisis, that’s how. At least that’s how it works in Bernie Ecclestone’s mind. Seriously, this guy just doesn’t get it. But there’s a chance that something positive will fall out from this — I don’t see how he’s going to be able to remain at the head of the FIA for very long if he keeps up the Prince Philip act. Even now he’s had to cancel his personal appearance at the formal opening of this weekend’s German Grand Prix and who knows how many other races he won’t be welcome at.
Rules.
There aren’t many absolute rules to life; to each rule there seems to be an exception, with the notable exception of this one: if you’re a controversial public figure and an associate of Max Mosley, and you’re talking with reporters, you should never, ever say anything that even sounds like “Hitler was a man who could get things done.” In fact unless you’re a historian any discussion involving Hitler probably doesn’t belong in an interview. Can we at least agree on this?