Microsoft has cut the price of the U.S. consumer versions of Windows Vista. The Ultimate Edition fell from $399 to $319 and the Home Premium Edition went from $159 to $129. The Register nails it: "It's hard to believe that millions of Windows XP users were just waiting for Vista to get a little cheaper before committing themselves." Why don't they just put XP back on the shelves? That seems easier. (Photo by mkeefe)

A pile of internal emails (PDF) between Microsoft execs have surfaced as part of a suit against the company. The suit alleges that the company mislead customers in 2006 labeling PCs "Windows Vista Capable." And to judge by the emails from Microsoft execs, Microsofties agreed with the plaintiffs. One exec, Mike Nash, writes that Vista turned his $2,100 PC into nothing but an "email machine." In another, exec Steven Sinofsky confessed his Office team didn't start work on a Vista version until late 2006 because "No one really believed we would ever ship." Read the rest for yourself, below.

Since Microsoft announced its $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo on February 1, shareholders have filed six lawsuits against Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and the rest of its board, according to the company's annual 10-K report. Two lawsuits from Michigan pension funds allege Yang and the board breached their duties to shareholders when they rejected Microsoft's bid. Two of four California plaintiffs, however, allege the board erred by supposedly favoring Microsoft's unsolicited proposal. Almost 27 million Yahoo shares traded hands today. Why didn't these complainers just sell their shares? That seems easier.

Microsoft acquired Israeli ad-targeting firm YaData for $20-$30 million, according to reports. YaData's technology is supposed to help Microsoft discover "unique customer segments" — which sounds similar to what News Corp. has been doing with MySpace users, lumping them into demographic groups to get higher ad rates. For local VCs Giza and Ofer Hi-Tech, it simply translates to a jackpot. [PaidContent]

Microsoft has finally figured out that, despite being one of the world's most powerful corporations, it is getting its ass handed to it in the advertising arena. As annoying as those "Mac vs. PC" ads are, it's pretty amusing that the richest man in the world is having his company's consumer credibility shredded by the cultivated stubble and shrugs of Justin Long, who isn't even funny or anything. Now, Microsoft has struck back by handing a $300 million consumer advertising account to Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the HOT and HIP young Miami agency that brought us campaigns like the Miller Lite "Man Laws" and Burger King's scary, big-headed "King" figure. Things are about to get weird. A guide to what to expect, after the jump.

Google has hired investment banker George Boutros to tell it what to do about Microsoft's bid for Yahoo. Back in 2001, Wired magazine profiled Credit Suisse M&A man George Boutros. "Boutros is known in M&A circles as a briefcase slammer," Adam Lashinsky wrote. "The kind of negotiator who will do whatever it takes to make the other guy blink." In this case, that means spending $9 billion or more of Google's ever-growing cash pile.

Google relaunched JotSpot, a group wiki it acquired in 2006, as Google Sites today. It's a collaborative wiki. Whatever. For a PR-friendly feature list, go check out Google PR. What we want to know is: What took so long? And why did Google bother?

Yesterday morning, Microsoft's Hotmail and many other Windows Live services were knocked offline, but came back after a few hours. Tonight, I tried to go to hotmail.com and got the above error message after more than a dozen redirects.

Bill Gates may have stopped using his Facebook profile. Now he's planning to join LinkedIn, according to Beyond Binary. On Thursday, Gates will use LinkedIn Answers to ask "how technology can be better utilized for charitable causes." Charming. But since LinkedIn is said to be planning a "notable advertising announcement" for the same day, our guess is that the real news will be a Microsoft-LinkedIn ad-serving deal.

European Union regulators fined Microsoft 899 million euros — $1.35 billion and counting — for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust decision. The order said Microsoft overcharged for patent licenses and documentation which developers needed to build applications on Windows. Compliance with this antitrust order is the reason Microsoft released 30,000 pages of documentation last week — all under the guise of being "open source" friendly. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the euro hit an all-time high against the dollar this morning, priced at $1.5057 to €1. If Microsoft had just settled this in 2004, instead of fighting, it would have saved $400 million. (Photo by AP)

What does AOL topper Randy Falco think of Microsoft's hostile Yahoo takeover? He hopes it bloodies both parties and Google, too. "I hope they beat each other's brains out over search and leave the display market to us," Falco said at the IAB conference. He cited the wisdom of a role model: "I think it's a mistake. But I think Napoleon said never interrupt your enemy when they're in the middle of making a mistake." Falco hasn't been this nasty since he mocked laid-off AOL employees last Christmas. What gives?

Microsoft's Hotmail is down in the Northeast. Other Microsoft websites are sporadically reachable but extremely slow for many users. I'm located in Boston and cannot connect to Hotmail or Live.com. The MSN network status page for Hotmail claims there are no network issues at this time, but that's clearly incorrect. This is the second major service outage this week, following Pakistan's takedown of YouTube over the weekend. Is Hotmail down for you? Let us know in the comments. A Microsoft's flack's PR-speak comment is below.

"They're toads," Tony Kornheiser recently said about bloggers on a radio show for which he is paid good money. "They're little toads. Actually, they're pimples on the behind of the greater body politic in this country and in this city. And because, because they have access to airwaves and three or four people read them, they think, 'Oh, I'm very important.'" Kind of like radio hosts! But enough of that goofball, there are nine bigger blogger-haters who deserve derision — not because bloggers don't deserve constant mockery, but because insulting an entire class of people always guarantees failure.

The late Ric Weiland, employee no. 5 at Microsoft, left a $65 million fortune to the Pride Foundation of Seattle, a gay and lesbian nonprofit. Weiland committed suicide in 2006 at the age of 53. He's said to have struggled with depression. But depression is a medical diagnosis, not the explanation for a life. One wonders what he struggled with: Not likely loneliness, since his partner, Mike Schaefer, survived him. And not likely overt prejudice, since Seattle is among the most painfully politically correct of cities. His legacy, and this mystery, are all we have left of Weiland.

2008 has not been kind to tech stocks, especially the Valley's leading lights.

Microsoft exec Kevin Johnson wrote an email to his team today and later put a copy online. At 1,800 words, you'll never get through it in what's left of Friday. Here's the 100-word version:

Two Detroit-based pension funds representing police, firefighters and public employees filed suit against Yahoo, alleging CEO Jerry Yang and the company acted in bad faith by placing "personal distaste for Microsoft ahead of shareholder welfare" and pursuing "value destructive" alternatives. The suits follow another from the the Wayne County Employee's Retirement System of Michigan. Why don't they just sell their shares? That would be easier.

Microsoft platforms and services exec Kevin Johnson hates your Friday afternoon. That's why he chose 2 p.m. to "leak" the below memo to the SEC. Charming. Highlights: Johnson says Microsoft expects to complete the Yahoo acquisition by the second half of 2008. He also seems to promise that "while some overlap is expected in any combination of this size" layoffs will be limited. The rest, below.

ComScore's January 2008 search rankings are out. Google, AOL and Ask.com had slight share gains at the expense of Yahoo. Search queries were up significantly across the board with Ask and AOL as the big gainers. Here's the chart:

Sergey Brin told press gathered at the Googleplex yesterday that he finds Microsoft's Yahoo takeover attempt "unnerving." Because see, the Internet is meant to be wide open and not controlled by one powerful company, Brin told the AP.