SiliconBeat

In what must be an absolute coincidence, two of the Web’s most vital technology sites unveiled redesigns this week: CNET and TechCrunch. Read the rest of this entry »

The Yahoo showdown with Carl Icahn is only two weeks away. Today, Yahoo got some great news that Legg Mason, which owns 4 percent of the company, will back Yahoo over Icahn. I may yet have to eat crow over my prediction that Icahn would win a shareholder vote. On the other hand, the folks at Legg Mason and I agreed on one point: Both sides should settle this before shareholder’s vote in August 1. In a statement, Bill Miller, chairman and chief investment officer of Legg Mason Capital Management, said:

“We would prefer that the company and Mr. Icahn reach a mutual agreement on the composition of the Board and end this disruptive proxy contest.”

But no matter what happens over these next couple of weeks, I’ve come to believe that the Yahoo ordeal is part of a larger story playing out across Silicon Valley. In 2008, we’re seeing the end of Web 1.0 as several first-generation Web companies are either collapsing, or beginning to wheeze heavily. Read the rest of this entry »

Mergers and acquisitions are clearly the topic of the day here in Silicon Valley. The big headline will of course be Carl Icahn’s official launch of his proxy campaign to oust the Yahoo directors and force a merger with Microsoft.

But there are a couple, smaller but notable ones as well:

• Comcast buys Plaxo
• CBS buys CNET

This expected to be a down year for M&A given all the credit issues. We’ll see if these deals turn out to be anecdotal exceptions, or indicative of greater strength.