While Microsoft continues the prickly business of a forced marriage with Yahoo, Google and IBM have willingly joining forces to deliver what they think will become the tech industry's dominant software model: so-called cloud computing. The companies' CEOs made a joint appearance at an IBM conference in Los Angeles during which they revealed plans for a worldwide network of servers where businesses and consumers could tap everything from personal schedules to engineering applications. "It's the story of our lifetime," said Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "The cloud has higher value in business, that's the secret to our collaboration." Through the cloud, …

The Los Angeles Times likens it to Coke adding itself to Pepsi's Wikipedia page: Hulu, the joint online venture from News Corp. and NBC Universal, has established a channel on YouTube, Google's online video sharing site. Yep, you read that right. The Hulu channel is live on YouTube with dozens of clips from shows like Fox's "The Family Guy" and "The Moment of Truth" and NBC's "The Office". Currently, there are just 37 clips, but Hulu confirmed that the branded site does indeed belong to the News Corp.-NBC joint venture: "It was absolutely planned by Hulu," company spokesperson Christina …

MySpace, which opened up its applications to users last week, has begun charging for premium placement on its Apps Gallery page and on each of its 22 category pages. The featured spots cost between $50K and $100K per week. MySpace is the first platform to actively seek revenue from app makers. This could be bad news for companies with application ad networks as MySpace is now directly competing with them. So far, both Read Write Web and The Social Times report that apps maker Slide, Inc. is the only advertiser, its apps occupying all four featured spots on the …

In a leak to The Wall Street Journal, a softening Microsoft says it's willing to raise its $31 per share offer to $32 or $33, but Yahoo wants between $35 and $37. The companies are still a few dollars apart, but at least it looks as though Microsoft would rather not go hostile. But it also may not budge. Microsoft has been lobbying major Yahoo shareholders for their support, but the software giant has grown reluctant to go hostile with its bid, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Yahoo has the upper hand-a stalemate could still end with Microsoft walking …

New details have surfaced regarding the nature of the bizarre lawsuit that eBay lodged at Craigslist, a company in which it owns a 28.4% stake. The allegation was that Craigslist's board had made a move to dilute the online auctioneer's stake, but it turns out that Criaglist wanted eBay to divest itself from the company altogether. According to the suit, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster was never comfortable with eBay owning a piece of the company, which it considers a competitor. As such, Buckmaster told then-eBay CEO Meg Whitman that Craiglist would "wish to explore options for our repurchase, or for …

Apple is stitching together a bold new vision of computing "that goes far beyond today's hot-selling iPhone and toward a future that combines wireless broadband and touch-sensitive interfaces with built-in motion sensors." However, that's not to say that the iPhone isn't central to that strategy, because it certainly is. The likes of networking giant Cisco Systems, chipmaker Intel and video game publishers Sega and Electronic Arts are working on a varying range of products as well as service enhancements for the iPhone. Cisco is creating software that lets users point their iPhones at their desktop computers and simply flick …

Microsoft is having a company-wide meeting today in which employees get to vet their concerns about a potential Yahoo acquisition. Why should they care? As with any merger, many jobs could be on the line, especially after Microsoft set up a $1.5 billion retention package to hold onto Yahoo employees should the merger go through. If it does, heads are certain to roll at Microsoft's online services division, and many Yahoo execs are certain to leave. Another reason tensions are high is a lack of confidence that the proposed deal would be a success. "Reasons just keep piling on …