Amidst all, you can rely on Mini-Microsoft, the anonymous blogger somewhere within the Redmond Compound, to tell you the view from somewhere near the ground. His take: expect nothing for a year; and that it can't be much fun for those inside Yahoo.
The first thoughts:
No one anticipates anything happening by the end of this year, between the additional financial courting that might happen between Yahoo! and other suitors and then the subsequent complicated international regulatory phase. During a US election year, to boot.
The reality:
Most engineers, as expected of engineers, see all the problems and that it's going to be a staggering mess, let alone that there are things that Yahoo! does way better than us and that our stuff should be dropped. Strategic optimists and those looking for a promotion will rebrand it as a synergistic opportunity to align our technological assets into a virtuous, hyper-competitive cycle to benefit our users, partners, and shareholders.
OK, that's what you might expect, but the final rumination is telling:
This will certainly serve as a transition out of the Gates era. Is [chief executive Steve] Ballmer an Ahab figure, chasing the white whale of Google once and for all by roping two whaling ships together? If I write a book on my years at Microsoft one day, will it start out as "Call me Mini," as I reflect on the Microsoft flotsam and jetsam swirling around the world? I hope not.
