Yahoo is in the final stages of its search for a replacement to outgoing CEO Jerry Yang, The Wall Street Journal reports. One of the main candidates under consideration is Carol Bartz, the former CEO of Autodesk, a public company that builds design software used in engineering. "She's on the list," said one source, adding that Bartz impressed the Yahoo directors she's met with so far. That said, it's unclear whether Bartz is the front-runner or a background candidate. Other sources tell the Journal that the board is now leaning toward an external pick to replace Yang. Former Vodafone Group …

It's a common problem to all avid Facebook users, says Adweek's Brian Morrissey: "You look at your friend list and wonder who these people are." Well, Burger King wants to help you do something about it. The fast-food chain has come out with a new application that rewards people with a coupon for a free Whopper for anyone willing to cut 10 friends from their friend list. Each time a friend is axed, the app sends a notice to the ex-friend via Facebook's news feed explaining that the user thought a free Whopper was worth more than their friendship. …

In an interview with the Financial Times, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer upped the pressure on Yahoo to sell its search business to the software giant. Ballmer hinted that the best time to reach a search pact was now, during the management transition currently taking place at both companies. "We now have someone in place running our online business, and Yahoo's out looking for a CEO," the Microsoft CEO said. "If a search deal is to be made, it's probably to be made in the interim period for new leaders in both places." Late last year, Microsoft brought in …

How big a loss is the Verizon mobile search deal for Google? BusinessWeek's Rob Hof says it depends on how Verizon positions search on its devices. However, as browsing via the mobile Web becomes more important, Hof wonders whether such deals are "less important than they used to be." According to Nielsen Mobile, only 20% of mobile subscribers use search on their phones. Of those, 60% use Google, 18% use Yahoo and only 6% use Microsoft. Hof deduces that since Google's only exclusive deals are with Sprint Nextel and the Android-based T-Mobile G1 phone, "it's clear that most people are …

After several delays, Palm finally unveiled its new smartphone, the Palm Pre, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, along with WebOS, the mobile operating system on which the device will run. The new products left many wondering whether the once-mighty handset maker is poised to make a long overdue comeback. Not so fast, says GigaOm's Om Malik. A pretty device, to be sure, Malik says the Pre offers features that are now typical of many smartphones. As industry analyst Michael Gartenberg points out, Pre's feature set is the minimum equivalent of what it takes to grab a …

Rumors that Google is planning a massive round of layoffs among its temporary workers were corroborated somewhat by a new regulatory filing this week, but VentureBeat says details of the layoffs remain murky. "Google seems to be going to some lengths to keep some of this information under wraps," the blog said. The SEC filing showed that Google currently has 24,400 employees, including 4,300 interns, temporary workers and contractors. But that last figure doesn't jive with what co-founder Sergey Brin told the (San Jose) Mercury News last fall--that Google employed close to 10,000 temporary workers. So did Google just layoff …

TechCrunch writer Michael Arrington caused quite a stir in the blogosphere yesterday with this report that an investment group was planning a coup to takeover Yahoo with debt supplied by Microsoft, a rival and one-time prospective buyer of the Web giant. Under that deal, the group, comprised of Silicon Valley execs and investment bankers, would make a takeover bid for Yahoo at a (low) premium of 20% the company's current price of around $20 billion, or $13 per share. Arrington said "a complicated financial structure" would finance the deal, but Microsoft, with a $23 billion cash hoard, would …

In an interview with PaidContent writer Tameka Kee, Norwest Venture Partners principal Tim Chang expressed concern about two well-known Silicon Valley startups that he thinks will find it hard to grow their revenues or raise new money this year. "I'm concerned about Facebook," Chang said. "Microsoft isn't likely to renew its search-advertising contract--at least not at the same rate--and Facebook makes a significant amount of money from that deal. Imagine if you lost $300 million worth of revenue--how would you make it up? It's not going to come from advertising, even if they have other ad platforms." As Kee points …