I don't think that buying Yahoo is a good thing for Microsoft. Instead, they should continue to out innovate their competition. One thing that has been a weakness for Microsoft recruiting has always been that they can't get many great developers. Really, really good developers can work wherever they like. If they prefer to live near family over Redmond, they typically tell Microsoft 'no' when asked to join the firm. Others, like me, say yes and then eventually decide to leave because one can't develop Microsoft product outside of their core development centers (Shanghai, China; Bangalore, India; Cambridge, England; Fargo, ND, USA; Silicon Valley; and Redmond, WA, USA). They avoid the many big cities that have first rate developers. My short list for new development centers in the USA is as follows:
- Denver, CO
- New York City, NY
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Atlanta, GA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Washington, DC
I think that Microsoft should also consider locating near the best CS schools in the nation. MIT, Stanford, and Berkeley are already covered. These other cities should also be on the list:
- Madison, WI
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Champaign-Urbana, IL
If Microsoft had something besides MCS available outside of Redmond, I would have looked for an open position in the Chicago/Madison area when I left the company in late 2006. I think that Microsoft would be able to beat Google and any other contender if they opened more development centers in more cities. HP, Intel, IBM, Google, and other companies pursue this idea with a passion. I think that Microsoft should exercise its muscle in distributed environments, messaging, and finance to allow more of the USA's best CS students a chance to work for Microsoft AND live where they want to live. I know too many superstars that want oh so badly to work for Microsoft but the move to Redmond is one thing too much. These are guys and ladies who won't do the consulting thing but really want to work on product. If Microsoft has a few billion burning a hole in their pocket, this is how they can make more money—by investing in people across the US (and yes, in other countries as well!)