After Yahoo, Microsoft Amps Up Search Effort

CEO Steve Ballmer is spinning Microsoft’s failure to acquire Yahoo expertly, telling analysts today that, unburdened by the search giant, the company can be more frisky and adaptable in its fight with nemesis Google, the Wall Street Journal reports. Actions might speak louder than words, though: Microsoft announced yesterday it would give the leader of its online efforts the boot, and restructure.

Though Ballmer is confident in the new tack, he acknowledges forging ahead alone is a risky, and costly, endeavor. Profit is on the horizon, but “we're going to need to continue to invest until we get greater scale,” he said. “I'm not going to say it's not a big bet. It is; I'm not going to say it's not risky. It is.” (More Microsoft stories.)