[svlug] Time to dump those yahoo accounts

[Paul Reiber]

Thanks for your spot-on insight, Don!

MS's strategy is clearly aimed at decimating Yahoo even if it can't
acquire it to do so... (similar to the "embrace and/or strangle"
strategies it's become so famous for applying over the years) and then
using what's left of Yahoo! (...their sheep, not their shepherds nor
their wolves!) to wage an attack against Google and/or any other
contenders to their dominance.  It' so obvious a ploy, it's
disturbing.

I'm a (relatively happy) Yahoo! email 'customer', as well as a
M$-HotMail 'customer', as well as a (pleased-as-punch) Google e-mail
'customer', as well as a customer of some unknown hundreds of other
"free" web-based services.  This gives me a perspective into things
that's somewhat unique, especially regarding Microsoft's strategies.

The ability for the 'customer' to export or otherwise grab a copy of
archived emails (or whatever content said site is managing "for you" )
...is, ...IMHO bar none, the most important aspect of any online
service.  The availability or lack thereof of an information
extraction capability is a blatant and obvious indicator of the site's
social, moral, and cultural imperatives, and one of the most important
differentiators one can use as a 'compass' when assessing the
potential of various offerings on the Internet.

...Yeah, ...that.
-pbr