Having previously noted the lack of support for the Microsoft stack within Amazons' EC2 platform, today Amazon announce beta support for Microsoft Windows and SQL server.

     

VMWare announced today a new price point for their ESXi hypervisor product, a price point of zero dollars, pounds or yen or free as they choose to put it.  Now whilst they are hoping you eventually upgrade to their more costly VMWare Infrastructure 3 product, there can be no excuse not to give server virtualization a try at this price.

     

It must be a busy day on the Microsoft campus, with two important products going RTM (Release To Manufacturing). 

Vista Service Pack 1

Firstly the long awaited Vista Service Pack 1, which Microsoft no doubt hope will speed the uptake of their latest desktop operating system.  However the proof of this will be very much in the proverbial pudding as the service pack looks unlikely to update a number of architectural decisions made by Microsoft which are still the subject of some discussion by the user community and believed by some to be an ongoing roadblock to Vista adoption.

Windows Server 2008

Just in time for worldwide launch on 27th February of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008 (although we don't think SQL Server 2008 CTP really counts as launching the product, it looks like Microsoft have pushed that back to Q4 2008). We'll be donning our reviewers hats for a run down of the highs and lows of Windows Server 2008 in the coming weeks.

     

Whilst rumours of a Microsoft bid for Yahoo! resurfaced last year, the Redmond based company finally made an official bid.  At $44 billion the Microsoft offer looks generous while Yahoo's current market cap is around $39 billion, but given the potential upsides to Microsoft of this merger it's really not a price premium.

What Microsoft really wants

While many still think of Yahoo! as a search engine/portal, it is much like Google really a giant ad broker.  In aquiring Yahoo! Microsoft would take second place in search engine market share while not surpassing Google it at least puts Microsoft within reach of its rival.  It also gives Microsoft access to a number of Yahoo!'s stronger branded services such as Flickr, del.icio.us, and upcoming who all have pretty strong user support.  Ultimately though the value of these services is largely dependent on Microsoft's ability to fold these services into their corporate portfolio without loosing loyal users in the process.  Yahoo! mail obviously provides a substantial user bump to competing Hotmail, even without combining the two products it still provides Microsoft with a considerable increase in potential eyeball for their advertising.

Can it happen?

Microsoft vs the Department of Justice has been well documented and only days ago a federal judge ruled to extend the sanctions placed on Microsoft during their anti-trust trial by 2 years. One presumes this does not bode well for a Microsoft Yahoo! hookup in the eyes of the DOJ. However any friction the deal might receive in the US pales into significance when compared to the EU regulatory authorities view, which given the tangle they're currently imbroiled in with Microsoft looks likely to be less than favourable.

Can Google run interference?

Certainly any deal won't please Google, and they can attack the deal on two fronts. Firstly they can use their considerable lobby experience to persuade law makers that the deal isn't good for the consumer. They could also make overtures to Yahoo! in an attempt to create partnership between the two companies, as covered by the New York Times

At this stage it's unclear how much Microsoft wants this deal and what they have in reserve should it fail. Some may see this bid as a tacit admision that they are failing in their efforts to effectively compete with Google, others that they are simply pursuing a strategy of acquisitive growth. Frankly at this stage there is no way of knowing, but it will be an interesting battle to watch.