If you want to display any kind of message to the user before he enters windows desktop, here's what you have to do:
Goto start->run and type regedit
This will open the registry editior.
Goto HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft
\Windows\CurrentVersion\WinLogon
Create a new string value in the right pane called LegalNoticeCaption and enter the value you want to see. Create another string and name it LegalNoticeText. Edit the value to display what you want. (NOTE: In most cases these string values will already be there so you only have to edit the values)
Restart your computer.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Microsoft/Yahoo merger won’t dethrone Google
A Microsoft/Yahoo merger would pose some new challenges for Google, but it will take more than Microsoft’s proposed $44,6bn acquisition of Yahoo to knock the king of search off its throne. Google’s search market share was 58,4% in December, while Yahoo and Microsoft combined for almost 33% of the market, says Allen Weiner, Gartner’s lead Google analyst. Yahoo holds 22,9% and Microsoft 9,8% of the market, he says.
"It has not been Microsoft’s stated mission, but under its breath Microsoft has always wanted to take on Google," Weiner says.
But there is no reason to think Google’s market share domination will change, even in the face of the combined might of Microsoft and Yahoo, he says. "This is no cause for alarm for Google. It came into this business with no market share. Yahoo was in business before it, Microsoft was in business before it, so obviously it has done things right to become the market leader in search and search advertising."
Microsoft’s $44.6bn offer might actually benefit the smaller search players Ask.com and AOL, both of which can claim to be solid alternatives at a time when the futures of Microsoft and Google are somewhat up in the air. "During say, the first quarter of this year, I think that there is a window of opportunity for both AOL and Ask to get some dollars," Weiner contends. Microsoft’s bid comes in the same week as Yahoo stock hit its lowest point in a year, and Yahoo confirmed plans to lay off 1000 employees.
Despite Yahoo’s troubles, Microsoft and Yahoo together would have some unique capabilities that might pose a challenge to Google, says Jennifer Simpson, a Yankee Group analyst. While search, Google’s key strength, remains a vital part of how we interact with the Internet, search won’t necessarily be the "be-all and end-all" going forward, she says.
To deliver targeted advertising most effectively, companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have to look beyond search to things like social networks and other online forums that will provide a more holistic understanding of online behaviour, she adds.
E-mail is one area that can help companies to understand users, and Yahoo and Microsoft both have more e-mail users than Google, she says. Moreover, Yahoo is fostering social networks with Yahoo 360 and Yahoo Answers, while Microsoft has a Facebook alternative called Windows Live Spaces.
"I don’t know if Google has a holistic understanding of new behaviours going on online, and the concept and formation of groups," Simpson says.
While Microsoft and Yahoo together will be a more formidable competitor to Google than the companies alone, Weiner says we won’t be able to measure the real impact on Google until joint Microsoft/Yahoo products are announced.
Obvious questions include: What happens to Windows Live Search?; Will all consumer products be delivered through Yahoo?; and: Will the companies deliver a combined product?
Most importantly, Weiner thinks a Microsoft/Yahoo venture needs a strong leader. Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, probably would not be the guy, because he doesn’t seem to be "the main influencer in the media portion of their business," Weiner says.
A Microsoft/Yahoo company "would have an enormous global footprint that needs to have a leader that will reflect that," he concludes.
"It has not been Microsoft’s stated mission, but under its breath Microsoft has always wanted to take on Google," Weiner says.
But there is no reason to think Google’s market share domination will change, even in the face of the combined might of Microsoft and Yahoo, he says. "This is no cause for alarm for Google. It came into this business with no market share. Yahoo was in business before it, Microsoft was in business before it, so obviously it has done things right to become the market leader in search and search advertising."
Microsoft’s $44.6bn offer might actually benefit the smaller search players Ask.com and AOL, both of which can claim to be solid alternatives at a time when the futures of Microsoft and Google are somewhat up in the air. "During say, the first quarter of this year, I think that there is a window of opportunity for both AOL and Ask to get some dollars," Weiner contends. Microsoft’s bid comes in the same week as Yahoo stock hit its lowest point in a year, and Yahoo confirmed plans to lay off 1000 employees.
Despite Yahoo’s troubles, Microsoft and Yahoo together would have some unique capabilities that might pose a challenge to Google, says Jennifer Simpson, a Yankee Group analyst. While search, Google’s key strength, remains a vital part of how we interact with the Internet, search won’t necessarily be the "be-all and end-all" going forward, she says.
To deliver targeted advertising most effectively, companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have to look beyond search to things like social networks and other online forums that will provide a more holistic understanding of online behaviour, she adds.
E-mail is one area that can help companies to understand users, and Yahoo and Microsoft both have more e-mail users than Google, she says. Moreover, Yahoo is fostering social networks with Yahoo 360 and Yahoo Answers, while Microsoft has a Facebook alternative called Windows Live Spaces.
"I don’t know if Google has a holistic understanding of new behaviours going on online, and the concept and formation of groups," Simpson says.
While Microsoft and Yahoo together will be a more formidable competitor to Google than the companies alone, Weiner says we won’t be able to measure the real impact on Google until joint Microsoft/Yahoo products are announced.
Obvious questions include: What happens to Windows Live Search?; Will all consumer products be delivered through Yahoo?; and: Will the companies deliver a combined product?
Most importantly, Weiner thinks a Microsoft/Yahoo venture needs a strong leader. Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, probably would not be the guy, because he doesn’t seem to be "the main influencer in the media portion of their business," Weiner says.
A Microsoft/Yahoo company "would have an enormous global footprint that needs to have a leader that will reflect that," he concludes.
Microsoft Would Borrow To Fund Yahoo Acquisition, CFO Says
In a sign of just how badly Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) wants Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO), the software maker's CFO said Monday that the company would borrow cash for the first time to fund its proposed $44.6 billion acquisition of its Internet rival. Microsoft had previously said it would use a mix of stock and cash to purchase Yahoo.
CFO Chris Liddell on Monday said the cash portion of the deal would be more than $20 billion. He added that Microsoft could cover that amount with existing cash, but would prefer to use external funding for a portion of it. "We could fund most of that through our cash holdings, but it's likely we're actually going to borrow for the first time. It will be a mixture of the cash on hand, plus debt," Liddell, speaking to a group of financial analysts, said of Microsoft's Yahoo bid. Liddell didn't say how much external financing Microsoft would seek.
Liddell's disclosure shouldn't be too surprising. Microsoft had about $21.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents at the end of its most recent quarter. So the company, in the absence of turning to the capital markets, would have to use virtually all its cash -- plus more than $20 billion in stock to buy out Yahoo.
Microsoft's cash reserves took a hit last year when the company completed its $6 billion acquisition of digital advertising agency aQuantive. The deal, which closed in August, was an all-cash transaction. Microsoft's offer values Yahoo at $31 per share, which represents a 62% premium over Yahoo's closing stock price the day before Microsoft's announcement Friday that it intends to purchase the company.
Microsoft's willingness to go into hock to acquire Yahoo is an indication of the strategic importance it places on the deal as it seeks to catch Google in the Web search and advertising markets. "We're trying to increase scale and increase capacity to give ourselves a better chance to be more successful more quickly," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said at Monday's analyst meeting.
Yahoo has said it is considering Microsoft's offer, but it has yet to respond formally.
Also at the analysts meeting, Liddell declined to say whether Microsoft was already buying up Yahoo stock on the open market in an effort to exert greater control over the company's board. "No comment," Liddell said in response to a question on the subject.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Please leave ur comments for god's sake!!
Guys, when u visit this blog its very important that u people leave your comments. Its a question of our survival among the blogging community. And very importantly we request you all to suggest ways in which we can improve our blog.Please also inform your friends about this blog.We will be updating our blog on a regular basis...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)