feeling the ripples

So Microsoft has been circling Yahoo like a vulture. Microsoft now says that it’s not interested anymore, no deal. I don’t buy it and I don’t think this is the last we’ll hear of the whole debacle.
On my little consumer/member side of things, I’m feeling the ripples.
First off is the exit of Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield and his great resignation letter to Yahoo.
While the letter is hilarious and witty, there’s a lot of truth behind it. The thought of a Microsoft-owned Flickr makes me uneasy and I can promise that if it comes to pass, I will delete my account. I can just picture MS re-engineering the Flickr platform like they did with Hotmail (didn’t it take them over 6 years to re-build Hotmail on MS software?)
Second off is the exit of del.icio.us founder Joshua Schachter. According to reports, version 2.0 of del.icio.us has been in the works for a while now, but is sitting in the backyard up on cinder blocks being idle, waiting for its turn.
Microsoft has the exact opposite effect of the Midas touch. Truly amazing. Thanks for nothing MS.