There are two stages to this gambit by Yahoo that must be accomplished. They have to beat out Facebook, Microsoft, and anybody else interested in the 10-digit price that Tumblr is likely to fetch in the coming days. Then, they have to let the site be as it is and make no changes at all to the platform. The Swisher/Kafka tandem over at AllThingsD have reported that the Yahoo board is going to meet this weekend to discuss buying the social blogging platform for a reported $1.1 billion in cash. Sources said that the Silicon Valley Internet giant’s CEO Marissa Mayer has decided that buying Tumblr was going…

Yes, Microsoft seems to have given Google the hump lately with their new update for the YouTube app on Windows Phones. The problem is that users of this app can now save videos on their phone and play them as much as they want offline, oh no! In fairness, it is clearly stated in YouTube’s terms and conditions that granting users the ability to store videos is prohibited. I’d like to bring forward the fact that this app isn’t the first of its kind; in fact there are loads of ways to lift YouTube content. On your PC, there are ample extensions available, along with dedicated websites where you can download…

Today, Microsoft announced that it’s email service at outlook.com has integrated with Google Chat to allow users to communicate directly with their G-friends from the Outlook interface. While it’s not uncommon for competing services to integrate with each other for certain components, this integration is one that attempts to use one Google service to pull people from another. Many GMail users like the ability to chat with other Gmail users while in their email. Google’s network is growing quickly and Microsoft was seeing it as a roadblock to getting people over to Outlook. If you can’t beat…

Many major companies are going flat. No, it’s not just the economy or consumer sentiment, but rather in design. Flat is in and it’s sweeping across the internet, but how long will this trend last? Facebook made headlines last week with their move to a flat logo. Apple is rumored to be flattening their interface on iOS 7. Sabina Idler at Usabilla asked the question of whether this was a trend or a revolution. We’re going to go with trend. Flat design has many advantages including speed of design, simplicity of usability, and the sheer vintage trendiness of it all, but there’s something about stunning…

Microsoft has had its shares of difficulties in two big arenas of late – selling phones powered by their operating system and posting advertising videos that aren’t hated by the masses. They may have come up with a decent video that helps on both fronts by separating themselves from the fighting of the competition. The ad, slated to hit national television soon, pits the two sides of a wedding party against each other. On the bride’s side are people carrying the various Samsung mobile devices, while the groom’s family favors iPhone. Insults bounce back and forth and eventually lead to a melee. In…

The vast majority of Microsoft Xbox users have known that May 21st was likely the date that the next generation of their console would be revealed. Now, it’s finally official. Invitations were sent out today to the media, most of whom had already been publishing the speculations of the special event on the 21st. This will be the final unveiling of a major console with Nintendo unwrapping the Wii U last November and Sony unveiling the Playstation 4 in February. This is by design – Xbox has been dominant in sales the past two years and wanted to be the last to the party. Nintendo needed a boost but are still…

Rumor has it that Microsoft is working on touch-enabled smartwatch. They’ve apparently just entered the prototype phase after having worked on the device for about a year. Microsoft already released smartwatches back in 2004 under the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) brand, though they discontinued them in 2008 when smartphones started becoming popular. There isn’t very much information on the device as of yet. What we know so far is that it’s supposed to have a 1.5-inch touchscreen as well as a removable band. One of the test designed supposedly had a magnetic connector, similar…

We thought that the nonsense was behind us when we stopped SOPA. The only thing we really did was teach Washington and the supporters in the technology world that if they want to destroy our privacy, they have to ease into it with more subtlety. Thus, CISPA was born. We will go into much more detail about it in the very near future, but for now it’s important to note that companies that did not support SOPA (at least openly) have quietly thrown their support over to CISPA. According to RT: A lobbying organization that counts Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple and other tech giants among its clients has lent…

With over 70 million consoles sold since it was unveiled in May, 2005, the Xbox 360 is one of the most popular game consoles ever created. Many of the fans of the Microsoft gaming device are diehards which is why anticipation of the successor, the Xbox 720, has been building up for years. Rumors, both good and bad, have been circulating for some time, but as the anticipated launch is right around the corner, some of them are starting to become more clear. Here’s a roundup of the five persistent rumors that seem to hold the most credibility. 1. Xbox Live Microsoft’s online multiplayer and digital distribution…

It’s easy to point fingers. It doesn’t take a genius to look at trends and start spouting doom and gloom. When Apple is concerned, it’s even easier, almost wanted, as the company has enjoyed golden child status for several years now. For the first time in a decade, Apple had a quarter that showed negative growth. That alone is not necessarily a telling sign; companies can only continue to show positive numbers for so long. There’s simply no way to sustain it indefinitely and a decade is a long time. However, when you look at the other things that have been happening lately, it’s not out of the realm of…