Eric Boyd (pictured here), a high-profile techie from Yahoo who left the company for a start-up last year, is now headed to Microsoft to work for its digital group, now run by another ex-Yahoo, Qi Lu.

UPDATE: Microsoft confirmed the hiring, although declined to provide further details.

Boyd–who is well-known for his card-counting team exploits while at MIT (which was later made into a movie)–had been VP of platform engineering at Yahoo and worked on a variety of projects there.

With the addition of Boyd, sources said, Microsoft has acquired a huge swath of the top tech talent of Yahoo, many of whom came to the software giant because of Lu and to also escape the turmoil at Yahoo.

Read More »

Meet Satya Nadella, the man in charge of search technology for the just-struck partnership with Yahoo.

How the search business of Microsoft evolves, improves and, most of all, out-innovates–especially in the face of heretofore withering competition from search behemoth Google–is going to be a big factor in the success of the deal with Yahoo.

In fact, Yahoo has essentially put its search technology eggs in Microsoft’s work-in-progress basket, which must make a series of innovative leaps, or else.

Read More »

Unless there is some major glitch, there might finally be a search and online advertising deal struck between Yahoo and Microsoft at long last.

Top executives at Microsoft–including SVP of the Online Audience Business Group Yusuf Mehdi, search head Satya Nadella and top digital exec Qi Lu–have all flown down to Silicon Valley from their Redmond, Wash., HQ today to iron out the remaining issues.

If all goes well, the deal could be announced within the next week, sources said.

Said one person close to the situation, “It is down to the short strokes, for sure, it is just a question if we can finally close this.”

Read More »

Here are three screenshots of Microsoft’s internal test of a new search product called Kumo.

The long expected upgrade to Live Search from Microsoft is being tested for a public rollout later this year.

Sources at Microsoft said the company has not yet decided whether it will keep the Kumo name, which sounds a little too much like that crazy dog from the Stephen King novel.

Maybe that’s the point, at least related to Google. (Chomp!)

In Japanese, actually, Kumo has two definitions–cloud and spider.

Read More »

It seems that since Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is playing it coy about whether she wants to do a massive search deal with Microsoft or not, the software giant is just going to keep hiring her search tech team out from under her.

Today, Microsoft said it had hired Larry Heck, VP of search & advertising sciences at Yahoo Labs, who will work in its online unit.

It’s like the rapture, except geekier.

Read More »

According to several sources, more restructuring is about to hit Microsoft’s online division as various departments are moved among and between its top execs, with changes to be announced as early as today.

While BoomTown is still gathering information, it looks like longtime Microsoft exec Yusuf Mehdi, who is now in charge of marketing, online audience business development and product management for MSN and the search properties, will get more added to his portfolio, including overall business development for the online properties.

Mehdi could eventually get purview over programming for MSN too, said several sources.

Read More »

BoomTown loves a good memo and here’s one that two of Microsoft’s top online execs, Yusuf Mehdi and Satya Nadella, sent out about the deal the tech giant signed with Dell and Verizon to distribute its search and other products.

Microsoft is opening its fat wallet to do such deal and try to best archrival Google.

Here’s the memo.

Read More »

Microsoft moved up its announcement of former Yahoo tech star Qi Lu as its digital head.

BoomTown reported on the selection this morning.

As part of the changes, Microsoft digital ad head Brian McAndrews, who had also wanted the job, is leaving.

Here’s the full release.

Read More »

Former Yahoo tech star Qi Lu is poised to take on the big job of being Microsoft’s top digital executive, according to several sources inside and outside the company.

The appointment could be announced as early as next Monday.

A variety of details is still being ironed out, including whether the well-regarded techie Lu will be “paired” with another executive at Microsoft with more general business experience.

Read More »

Here’s part of an internal memo BoomTown obtained about some small, but interesting, changes at Microsoft’s MSN unit, sent out by the GM of its Global Media Group, Greg Nelson, which is under the leadership of–well, frankly–a confusing panoply of people.

That’s why I have been haranguing Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for a little digital clarity, especially around its consumer digital businesses and brands.

Ballmer has been searching for an overall head of that business, and it will fall to the person he ultimately selects as digital head to figure out what to do next.

Until then, let’s rearrange some chairs!

Read More »

Yesterday, BoomTown reported, based on sources, that Yahoo search exec Sean Suchter was headed to Microsoft.

Now it’s official. Here’s a Microsoft statement on the hiring of Suchter, an important tech leader at Yahoo, from Satya Nadella, SVP for Search, Portal and Advertising.

Read More »

Yesterday, BoomTown opined that Microsoft was nearing a decision on who would become the head of its digital efforts.

And, according to several sources and some puzzling by me–if the deal can be sealed–I think that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s top choice is former Yahoo tech star Qi Lu.

If Ballmer manages to pull off the hire of Lu–on the heels of already grabbing another top Yahoo search exec, Sean Suchter, which I posted on yesterday–the aggressive exec could almost be bypassing a Yahoo search partnership he has long sought by sucking the talent right out of the place instead.

Read More »

At least Yahoo got one day of stock euphoria, on the news that its CEO Jerry Yang was stepping down, before Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer dropped yet another bomb on the troubled Internet giant by saying once more with feeling that he is not at all interested in buying it.

Yahoo shares plummeted on the news, dropping below $10 a share to close at $9.14, down $2.41 or an astonishing 21 percent.

While lack of interest in acquiring Yahoo is a sentiment that Ballmer has expressed more times than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said “maverick” in the presidential campaign, Wall Street continues to hold out hope that Microsoft might swoop in and make a new bid for all of Yahoo.

It will not. Let’s repeat. It. Will. Not.

Read More »

Yahoo–which has stuck to its guns by staying in the search business, even though many think it is a losing game and should be sold off to Microsoft–has lost a key engineer in that arena to–uh-oh–Microsoft.

Sean Suchter, the VP of Search Technology at Yahoo, was also deeply involved in Yahoo’s efforts to open up its search platform, initiatives the company has touted aggressively as a bright spot in its not-so-lustrous landscape.

Read More »

Another week, another nonpick for the still-outstanding position to lead Microsoft’s digital business.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has cast about for more than three months, both internally and externally, for the person who will turbocharge Microsoft’s Web efforts, but no one has emerged a favorite.

Nonetheless, new prospects include former Cisco exec and current Joost CEO Mike Volpi, sources said.

Read More »