Seems Steve Ballmer is getting impatient. Microsoft yesterday set a 3 week deadline for Yahoo to accept it's $31/share buyout offer. Microsoft has referrred to market studies, showing Yahoo losing it's market while the internet continues it's popularity. If Yahoo has not made a decision in 3wks, Microsoft is threatening a proxy fight and to take their case directly to shareholders.

Read the article here

UPDATED * Yahoo is still ready to face off Microsoft over the $41 Billion offered buyout, saying that they are not opposed to Microsoft buying them but want more for the purchase.

Read the latest here.

Interesting. Question: how would such a merger affect, let's say, email accounts?

That is an interesting query. Yahoo and Microsoft currently 'share' messengers, meaning you can add Yahoo contacts to your MSN Messenger. I think should Microsoft win the merger, they will incorporate Yahoo's messenger and mail system into their own. They majorly revamped their mail system to 'Live' and I doubt they'll let that die with the merger.

Pretty much, Microsoft is mainly interested in Yahoo's search engine presence for ad revenue. No secret there. What concerns me is the partnership AT&T has with Yahoo for their high speed DSL. Would AT&T work with Microsoft if they absorbed Yahoo?

That question affects me greatly because I have AT&T/Yahoo DSL

Doesnt Microsoft know that Yahoo! is part of AT&T I have internet DSL from AT&T/Yahoo!

Partnership =/= ownership. AT&T collaborates with Yahoo on DSL Internet, but AT&T owns Yahoo just as much as Yahoo owns AT&T.

FIXED