Microsoft bid for Yahoo: Saving Live?

Preston Gralla speculates that it needs the online leverage:

Yahoo shareholders won't be the only winners in the proposed Microsoft buyout of the Internet portal. It's a chance for Microsoft to save its ailing "Live" brand of online products and finally succeed online.

There are too many "Live" products to count --- Windows Live (which has nothing to do with Windows), and Microsoft Office Live Small Business (which has nothing to do with Microsoft Office) among them. As a group, they're entirely underwhelming. But an infusion of a massive audience, as well as Yahoo expertise, can certainly fix the problems. And the Microsoft offer makes clear that Yahoo, after the buy, won't operate independently, but instead will be folded into Microsoft. And Live and Yahoo will most certainly combine.

Steve Ballmer's offer to the Yahoo board spells that out. He lists four areas of synergies...

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