Expect hostility now that Yahoo on Wednesday decided to extend its deadline for nominating a new board of directors to March 14. The move buys CEO Jerry Yang more time to find an alternative to Microsoft's $40 billion bid for the company. Many, including Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, will view the decision as "a scorched earth attempt to hold off Microsoft as long as possible," while Yahoo's business continues to slow and executives leave droves. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang told employees the move would allow Yahoo's board to consider its strategic alternatives "without the distraction of a …

During the Web's heyday, a profitable Internet company nearing $100 million in annual sales while luring a million new customers a month would have found itself on the IPO fast track. But, with a recession looming and tech bubble talk permeating Silicon Valley, Web 2.0 firms are in no hurry to go public these days. Even the more established players like Facebook, LinkedIn and Slide say they aren't thinking about an IPO until 2009, at the earliest. As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says, "We'll do it when it makes sense for us." Why the hesitation? First, the …

The iPhone already acts as a cell phone, Web browser, email client and portable address book, but it's about to become a remote control, a game platform, a photo-editing platform, a device for remotely accessing desktop files, and more, what Apple calls "a full-fledged platform." To date, the iPhone's platform has been open to developers for creating programs through the iPhone's Web browser. The Web-only approach has limited access to the phones more unique features, like its accelerometer, voice capabilities and its touchscreen. In theory, those programs will be made available now that Apple is releasing the iPhone's …

Apple, Inc. will only have half of the projected 1,000 movies available for rent on its Apple TV set-top box by the end of February. The company is blaming the major studios for the delay. The movie studios tell him it's taking more time than expected to get approval from the various rights holders. There are 98 high-definition movies available through the media store, meeting Apple's expected goal by the end of last month. Apple TV's movie rental service was one of the company's major announcements at Macworld 2008. Many analysts believe the service could become …

The Wall Street Journal (link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120468830515212763.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news) reports that Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL have taken merger discussions to the next level, and that AOL is now preparing a proposal that will be taken to Yahoo's board and shareholders. Under the deal, AOL would be folded into Yahoo, with Time Warner taking a sizable chunk--perhaps one-quarter to one-third--of the combined company. Even so, the unnamed people familiar with the situation still believe a Yahoo purchase by Microsoft is the saga's most likely outcome. Silicon Alley Insider's Henry Blodget thinks a Yahoo-AOL merger makes a lot more sense than …