Memorial Auditorium

Liveblogging the Steverino (Ballmer) Show at Stanford: Soul Mates!

Kara Swisher in News on May 6, 2009 at 4:40 pm PT

BoomTown went down to Silicon Valley’s most exclusive country club–also known as Stanford University–where Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took to the stage for a talk at Memorial Auditorium for the Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar. Ballmer–who went to and then dropped out of Stanford Business School for a job at the fledgling Microsoft–was in an ebullient mood and even joked about problems with the Windows Vista operating system. Party on, Steve!

Microsoft CEO Ballmer in Silicon Valley to Visit Stanford (and Perhaps Yahoo CEO Bartz?)

Kara Swisher in News on May 6, 2009 at 6:30 am PT

Later this afternoon, BoomTown will be front and center–well, I will probably get seated on the far side and way back–for a speech to be delivered by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at Stanford University’s Memorial Auditorium on innovation and entrepreneurship, aimed at students there who are looking for some advice from tech’s big dogs. Ballmer is, of course, all that, with a blustery bark and an occasional bite. Of course, he’s probably channeling a more charming demeanor in another meeting sources say he plans to have with Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz on this visit to Silicon Valley. The second since Bartz took over Yahoo in January, it’s about whether or not the pair should make nice after a long period of useless acrimony, and strike a significant search and advertising partnership.

Yahoo and Microsoft Deal Progress "Meaningful"–Plus the Deal Team Rosters

Kara Swisher in News on May 4, 2009 at 7:11 pm PT

Recently, BoomTown reported that talks between Microsoft and Yahoo had gotten “hot and heavy.” That mood seems to be continuing, as many sources close to the situation on both sides said that the pair are coming ever closer to a search and advertising partnership deal. “It’s meaningful,” said one source. “The fact that there is even progress and engagement, after so many failed attempts between us, says a lot.” Indeed, there seems to be a lot of engagement between the two sides of late, and some sources think a deal could even be struck within the next few weeks.