Is it just me or does the Microsoft/Yahoo merger stand to foster a lot of innovation on the Web by driving away many of the smartest people at Yahoo and perhaps even some of the smart people at Microsoft? How many startups will be created by former employees of those companies, and how many startups will hire key staff members from the legions of disaffected Yahoos? If you worked on a project at MSN that is trying to catch up with a similar property already provided by Yahoo, wouldn’t you be thinking it may be time to start looking for other opportunities?
The greatest value of this merger may be in the chaos it generates.
The Russians didn’t just use a pencil
You’ve probably heard the old story that ends with, “The Russians were faced with the same dilemma. They used a pencil.” As is always the case, the story is a lot more interesting and complex than is usually portrayed. Jason Kottke has the details.