I like it. Not because people say it will change the search business. To me Yahoo! is way more than search.
Along with Google, amazon and eBay, it is showing how to transform delivery of software and economics of IT infrastructure. It is a VC which nurtures and provides an exit for a number of creative startups.
Someone in the telco industry told me recently, the best acquisition BellSouth made was AT&T. Not for its long-distance business. Not for its brand. For its lobbyists in Washington, DC. Overnight it became a player at the highest levels.
Similarly with Yahoo!, Microsoft is becoming a player at the lowest levels in the Valley. Where a lot of innovation is happening.
Update: Michael Krigsman asks a fair question about whether this dilutes MS's enterprise focus even more. The issue crops up frequently including when Tony Scott was recently named CIO.
