FACEBOOK

Microsoft is bidding once again for Yahoo. I don't know anyone who uses MSN. I know plenty of people who use Yahoo. Not for search but for other things like finance. Yahoo has some great stuff, but Jerry never figured out how to best monetize it. If Microsoft buys it I suspect they'll just screw it up by forcing users to install apps they don't want (i.e., Silverlight) and by creating new and annoying password schemes. Microsoft does not understand the internet. They never have.

On a different subject, News Corp. made a big mistake buying MySpace. They should have put in a bid for Facebook instead. MySpace is so 2005. If you're 14 and have ADHD you're on MySpace.

Wildcard: Smartphones are replacing PCs and traditional laptops. In my house I am using my iPod Touch more than my PC. I don't have to wait for the computer to boot up so I can check my e-mail, weather, stocks, and favorite blogs instantly, anywhere in the house. Snowflake was on to something when he blogged about posting via his smartphone while dealing with the consequences of his latest wheat grass shot.

RIM is integrating Facebook as a distinct app, rather than a web page. I think a smartphone player will bid for Facebook, then license it out to the other vendors. I think it will be Apple.

Companies like Dell and Toshiba and Lenovo are toast. I would include HP on the toast list, but they do a lot more besides PCs. The internet appliance companies of the future are Apple, Nokia, LG, Acer and RIM. Within a few years you'll be connecting your smartphone to a docking station for monitor and keyboard and you won't have a PC.

Posted by Lou Minatti