Microsoft and Yahoo

Microsoft has announced it’s attempt to buy Yahoo for a cool 44b or so. Read about it here and here.What does this mean for RIA developers like us?

On the surface, this deal seems inconsequential to rich internet application development, but then one has to think back to all the support Yahoo has given to the flex/flash platform with their own apps. Besides their recent snafu with Yahoo maps, services like Flickr and Pipes have always been flash friendly with fully supported APIs.

Then Microsoft comes along, and what do they happen to be pushing hard right now… ? - their very own Rich Internet platform, Silverlight.What’s going to happen to all the flash friendly apps hosted by Yahoo? Will they go the way of Yahoo maps?  Will Microsoft slowly replace those services with silverlight? Aral Balkan wonders the same thing.

Anyways, the windfall of this possible acquisition should be interesting no matter how it plays out for the rich internet application world.  We here at Figaro Interactive would be sad if Microsoft killed the innovative and flash friendly culture at Yahoo!.

Oh and anyone else get excited when Aral asks, If Microsoft buys Yahoo!, will Google buy Adobe?