In 2008 Microsoft attempted to buy Yahoo, but the $45 billion offer was rejected. However, Ballmer didn’t give up on the idea and he said why: he wants to buy Yahoo and build a search powerhouse that can give Google a run for its money better than it does now. 

 

Ballmaer also specified that Yahoo interests Microsoft because it has a vast volume of searches, while the search technology would be provided by Microsoft. 

 

The Microsoft CEO said he talked over the phone to Yahoo’s freshly-installed CEO Carol Bartz and they will talk more after she had settled in.  "I'm sure, when it's appropriate, we'll have a chance to sit down and talk," he said. "Whether a deal gets done or not, who knows?"

During the interview the loud-mouthed Microsoft CEO trashed-talked Apple again and said that its customers pay a very high price for the logo and nothing more. When talking about why Apple’s Macintosh sales dropped 16% last month, Ballmer said that fewer people are willing to pay an extra 500$ for a computer that has the same hardware, but a different logo, especially in the current economic environment. 

 

Although not at al an impartial observer, Ballmer is most likely right. According to Jeff Bertolucci from PC World, the average Apple tax is of about 300$, and for it, users get just a few advantages such iLife. However, that’s not enough to compensate for the $300, unless you really like the fruit logo on your computer.