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MICROSOFT’s recent search ads proposal would split YAHOO’s assets and fracture the company. The deal would break up Yahoo’s Asian assets and give Microsoft a minority share in what was left of Yahoo. Yahoo executives are weary of the deal, believing that it is Microsoft and CARL ICAHN’s way of pressuring Yahoo not to pursue a search deal with GOOGLE. Regardless, a former FCC chair said a Google-Yahoo deal is likely not to pass Federal scrutiny.
8 former AOL executives are being sued by the SEC for allegedly inflating AOL’s online advertising revenue by more than a $1 billion. The violations spur from a 2000 announcement in which the SEC believes AOL lied in order to appear stronger than than it really was. The lawsuit is just another reminder of the failed merger between TIME WARNER and AOL, which Time Warner dropped from its corporate name five years ago.
Looking to the future, NETFLIX introduced a new device for users who want entertainment available immediately. The system, which will retail for $99.99, utilizes a 5 inch x 5 inch box that uses a broadband connection to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix library. Netflix has invested over $40 million into “Watch Instantly”, which is available for free to customers who pay at least $8.99 a month for a DVD rental plan.
DELL CFO Donald J. Carty will resign from his position in June. Hired a year and a half ago to turn around Dell’s slumping sales, Carty’s time at Dell was not advantageous as the computer manufacturer fell behind HEWLETT-PACKARD in units shipped last year. Carty will be succeeded by Brian T Gladden, CEO of Sabic Innovation Plastics, formerly GE Plastics.
GOOGLE will launch Google Health today after months of private beta testing. The system will help Google users manage doctor records, prescriptions and test results. To sign up for the service all you need is a Google account, which are easy to come by. However, because Google accounts have no minimum password requirements, the accounts are easily hackable, which raises concerns about private medical information becoming public.