Microsoft's consolation prize: Danger

Microsoft may have missed out on Yahoo! (for now), but it's still focused on the "young and enthusiastic, Internet-savvy and socially inclined" user base with its acquisition of Danger.

Microsoft can buy all the hip, cool companies it wants. But they won't make it hip and cool. It needs to open itself up to new ways. The opening up of its business model(s) will lead naturally to the opening up of the culture which will lead to the opening up of its customer base.

Anyway, now Microsoft has more mobile software to complement its Windows Mobile line. Who do you think is going to win in an internal slugfest? Yeah. That's the problem.