Opinion: Yahoo - Microsoft, not a monopoly, but raises serious questions about the future

Like any start-up, we eye the future with hope for a fair shot to win. Our plans to make it on our own are tempered by the reality of the major players on the internet. NewsCup shares the concerns of Google and Yahoo! employees that the merger may change the innovation climate.

Microsoft has been involved with Apple for years, and recently with Facebook. Arguably, those companies are not lost for innovation, and they are well positioned to meet their corporate responsibilities as profit making businesses - a perspective held from the outside. Microsoft also has a strong position with Novell/Suse which the jury is still out on, except that their work with patents there inspired some of the GPLv3.

In principle, Diversity is the key for business health, and for the moment, the internet is still wide open, with Google and Yahoo! supporting Open Source and innovation. The question is how Microsoft will play with Yahoo IP and patents. While Google and Yahoo aggressively acquire IP, they seem to do so as defensive measures. Microsoft has the reputation of going on offense. If the DMCA and MPAA and are an indication, offense doesn't go over well, and we hope, regardless of the outcome, that new opportunities will be made, not lost.