• Wall Street Journal, Thursday, July 30, 2009 10:43 AM

Nick Wingfield writes that Steve Ballmer in particular, and Microsoft in general, may be on the upswing after a series of calamitous events ranging from the failed acquisition of Yahoo last year to problems with its Windows Vista OS and Xbox 360 console. Windows 7 is being praised by advance reviews, Xbox is hot and the new search engine, Bing, is gaining momentum and respect -- both internally and in the marketplace.

"Suddenly you don't feel like a moron for saying you use a Microsoft product," says Keith Richman, CEO of Internet video site Break.com.

The deal with Yahoo announced yesterday "provides some redemption" for Ballmer, Wingfield writes. Pending regulatory approvals, Bing will be the Internet search service on Yahoo, which will sell the ads that run next to the results. The agreement, which is for 10 years, is getting mixed reviews from industry executives, Laurie Sullivan reports in Online Media Daily. Some doubt that it will be a formidable threat to Google; others doubt it will make it to market as designed.

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