July 3 - 9:10am EDT   Yahoo is still entertaining the prospect of a full deal with AOL even in the wake of ending talks with Microsoft, alleged sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Those claimed to be aware of negotiations say AOL's parent company Time Warner is still interested in handing AOL to Yahoo in exchange for a minority stake in the search engine company. The talks aren't said to be as in-depth as when Yahoo still faced the threat of a hostile Microsoft takeover. [full story]

July 2 - 8:45am EDT   Microsoft is actively exploring bringing other companies into a deal that would dismantle Yahoo as it's known today, says the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cites anonymous sources aware of discussions who say Microsoft is still interested in buying just Yahoo's search business but has asked both News Corp. and Time Warner about merging what would be left of Yahoo into one of their respective properties, such as MySpace or AOL. A meeting between Microsoft and Yahoo was scheduled for Monday but canceled because Microsoft has so far been unsuccessful in lining up a partner, according to the report. [full story]

June 4 - 6:50am EDT   Pure Digital on Wednesday is launching its anticipated Flip Mino, its newest entry into its unusually popular simple camcorders. The Mino shrinks the design of the original Flip camera by 40 percent to where it's smaller than a typical cellphone while adding features that aren't present on the originals: the updated software bundled with the Mino lets it upload directly to MySpace as well as providing existing hooks for AOL and YouTube. Pure keeps the concept simple by preserving the 2X digital zoom lens that limits the camera but concentrates on the shot itself. [full story]

May 30 - 10:55am EDT   Microsoft has devised a strategy that would largely eliminate the need to use phone numbers for calling on cellphones, ZDNet says. Echoes would link a user's Windows Live Messenger contacts to a phone number through a cellular provider and would let cellphone users choose one of their IM contacts as the recipient; as information would be automatically linked between the two, users could place calls without ever knowing someone else's phone number, Microsoft claims. The information would be sent automatically to a phone's contact list without needing a dedicated instant messaging client. [full story]

May 6 - 7:10pm EDT   AOL on Tuesday unveiled AOL Desktop for Mac, a brand new portal software for the company's internet services, representing the first such major release in five years. The client offers email, messaging, and web browsing services, as well as access to the company's various content channels. AOL includes easy transition tools, which allow users to quickly import AOL favourites and mail from the former Mac OS X client. AOL Desktop for Mac is available from the company's website. [full story]

May 3 - 10:10pm EDT   Microsoft on Saturday evening triggered surprise by withdrawing its bid for Yahoo. Company chief Steve Ballmer has validated earlier public comments expressing doubt over the viability of concluding a deal and has revealed that Microsoft offered to raise its bid up to $33 per share in an attempt to win over the Yahoo board of directors, which has insisted so far that the initial $31 per share bid undervalues the search engine giant's worth. The Microsoft executive also states that Yahoo has insisted on a higher-still bid and that his firm doesn't consider an extended proxy effort to install a sympathetic board to be effective. [full story]

May 1 - 4:20pm EDT   Microsoft will take action on Yahoo's ultimatum rejection soon, company chief Steve Ballmer has said at a presentation for his firm's employees attended by Silicon Alley Insider. He acknowledges that Microsoft has missed its deadline for altering its strategy but adds that a maneuver will come in "very short order." This could include both a hostile attempt and the previously mentioned willingness to walk away if pursuing Yahoo proves fruitless. [full story]

April 29 - 12:15pm EDT   On Tuesday, AOL introduced Open Voice Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that could bring mainstream VoIP a step closer to cell phone use. The APIs would endow third-party developers and VoIP device makers with open standards that would in turn allow them to integrate AOL Instant Messenger's Call Out service into softphones, SIP-enabled hardware and even Wi-Fi enabled cell phones. This would allow cell phone users to make low-cost voice calls via AIM's Call Out service, which would relay them via the Internet instead of the traditional phone network. [full story]

April 17 - 10:15am EDT   Yahoo is likely to expand its Google AdSense project after initially positive results, say sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal. Both of the involved firms say that early results for the new search ad approach are positive and may result in more outsourcing in the future. Anti-monopoly regulations are a concern given the relative statuses of Google and Yahoo in the web market but might be avoided by limiting the partnerships to certain areas or search types, according to the paper's contacts. [full story]

April 16 - 12:10am EDT   Yahoo and AOL are reportedly examining the potential combination of their respective internet operations, which would involve a 20-percent stake of the former company. According to Forbes Techland, the deal would fold AOL into Yahoo, who would then repurchase several billions of its shares at a mid $30 figure. Time Warner will make a large cash investment into Yahoo for this deal to occur. [full story]

April 5 - 11:35pm EDT   Microsoft on Saturday applied pressure to Yahoo by submitting a letter directly to the search engine firm's board of directors, setting a deadline for the company to accept Microsoft's $31 per share takeover offer. Citing deteriorating economic conditions, the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft refused to increase its bid and gave Yahoo a total of three weeks to accept the $44.6 billion bid as originally made in late January before it would be "compelled" to bypass the board and bring a lower-priced offer directly to Yahoo's shareholders. This will include launching a proxy battle by stepping up pressure to elect a more takeover-friendly board of directors at Yahoo, ... [full story]

April 1 - 8:35am EDT   Microsoft has no intention to raise its bid for Yahoo past the original offer, say sources speaking with the Wall Street Journal. The Windows developer reportedly knows that it can afford to wait for Yahoo and that there is no incentive to spend more than the original $31 per share, which at the time of the original bid amounted to $44.6 billion. Without any imminent rival offers for Yahoo, Microsoft believes Yahoo will have little choice but to accept original terms. [full story]

March 25 - 11:25am EDT   Microsoft may have no choice but to raise the value of its bid for Yahoo, according to a new investment report by Citigroup. Although it started at $31 per share and was characterized as "generous" by Microsoft, the offer is now predicted to increase by an unspecified amount as the Windows developer struggles to overcome resistance by Yahoo's executive board. [full story]

March 5 - 12:25pm EST   Yahoo is extending the deadline for nominations to its board of directors, Reuters reports. While nominations were to have ended by March 14th, they will now take place 10 days after the company announces a date for its shareholders' meeting. The move is openly admitted by CEO Jerry Yang to be a delay tactic, preventing Microsoft from subverting Yahoo in order to ease its hostile takeover attempt. "Microsoft, of course, could still choose to name directors," says Yang in a letter filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, "but our objective here is to enable our board to continue to explore all of its strategic alternatives for maximizing value for stockholders ... [full story]

February 25 - 4:50pm EST   Following Adobe's announcement of the AIR application platform, AOL has unveiled Xdrive Desktop Lite, a backup application based on the AIR standard. Computerworld reports that AOL is offering users 5GB of backup for free, which is accessed using the downloadable Xdrive application – a first time offering for Mac users. Xdrive Desktop Lite gives users drag-and-drop functionality to backup any data. The service is also available in a 50GB flavor, which costs users a yearly fee of $100. [full story]