Will SharePoint Gain Tighter Bonds With Groove? - Page 2

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Ballmer likewise drew raucous laughter when he said, "We're clearly number 3 in search … obviously we're trying to complete our [proposed] acquisition of Yahoo."

However, he said, no matter how the Yahoo deal goes, the company is continuously working to improve its Live Search. One addition he promised for later this year is blog searching capabilities.

That may be all well and good, but improving Live Search will not be enough, said one of DiMichillie's colleagues.

"Microsoft's position in search is still untenable," Matt Rosoff, consumer strategy analyst at Directions on Microsoft, told InternetNews.com. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) continues to turn in stellar quarters, while Microsoft's search share remains in the single digits. On top of that, the bid to buy Yahoo undercuts the company's message of confidence.

Indeed, Ballmer as much as proved that himself onstage.

When he asked the 1,800 MVPs how many use Live Search, only a handful put up their hands. The story was the same when he asked about Yahoo Search. However, when he asked about Google, nearly everyone in the room raised their hands.