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“Throughout this courtship, our view has been, and continues to be, that at some point, Microsoft will acquire all of Yahoo, as we still think Microsoft needs Yahoo to gain scale in the online business and to compete effectively against Google,” UBS analysts Bejamin Schachter and Heather Bellini stated in a research note.

Nonetheless, Yahoo soared as high as 13 percent to $24.14 a share in early trading Monday, following Microsoft’s announcement that it would support activist investor Carl Icahn’s proxy fight to oust Yahoo’s current board and negotiate a possible deal with Icahn’s slate of dissident directors, should they be elected at Yahoo’s August 1 annual shareholder meeting.

“With his most recent statement, Icahn has effectively put tremendous pressure on (Yahoo CEO) Jerry Yang to maintain support of shareholders, given that Microsoft says it will not be able to reach a suitable deal with the current board,” Gene Munster, a senior research analyst with Piper Jaffray, said in a research note.

“We believe that an acquisition of the whole company is now likely in the $31 to $33 range, as we think anything less than $31 could make the deal viewed as even more unfriendly by key Yahoo employees, a constituency that Microsoft wants to make happy at all costs,” the UBS analysts noted.

Munster raised the prospect of an Icahn board gaining control to a 50 percent likelihood from a 30 percent chance.

And while Microsoft in its statement said it would be interested in discussing either a partial asset acquisition of Yahoo or an entire buyout of the company, Wall Street places high expectations on a buyout of all of Yahoo.

Wall Street is largely keeping a cautious eye on Yahoo, despite Microsoft’s announcement on Monday that it is interested in negotiating a possible buyout of Yahoo’s search assets, or potentially making a renewed bid for the entire company.

Wall Street analysts are more bullish on the notion that Icahn may prevail with his proxy fight, now that Microsoft has come out with a statement of support for his efforts and interest in negotiating with a “new” Yahoo board about a potential acquisition of the company’s search business or a possible renewed bid for a buyout of the entire company.

Analysts, overall, still have a “hold” recommendation on the stock, according to Thomson Financial’s survey of 34 financial analysts who follow the stock. Only one analyst has upgraded a recommendation on Yahoo in the past two weeks, raising it to a “hold” from a “sell” on June 25.

The analysts added that they expect that an acquisition of the entire company would likely be in the range that Microsoft was previously willing to pay, which was initially a deal valued at $31 a share and later bumped up to $33 a share.

“While talks with Ballmer and statements from Microsoft make voting for Icahn’s board more attractive for the near term, we expect shareholders would like to see Icahn announce a CEO candidate or other operational plan for the future so that a Microsoft deal is not the only option,” he added.

Of course, establishing a heir won’t allay fears overnight and Apple will need to be active in ensuring that shareholder concerns are addressed before Jobs officially steps down. But if played correctly, Apple won’t have anything to worry about: Steve Jobs will step aside (but stay in an advisory role) and the new leader will take over where Jobs left off.

Not to mention, he’s also the person the majority of Apple’s shareholders have put their trust in and if something were to happen to him without an heir apparent in place, the company’s share price would plummet.

From there, he needs to leave the stage and let this person take control of the Stevenote. Upon doing so, he solidifies this person’s position as the new spiritual leader of the cult, but also allays shareholder fears over what the future may hold.

Because of that, Apple needs to immediately establish an heir apparent and ensure that when Steve Jobs finally steps down, the person who will take his place has the requisite vision and notoriety expected from the CEO of Apple.

Apple, unlike almost every other company in technology space is so tied to its CEO that whenever he appears on TV or says anything of substance, it becomes a major media event and has an impact on the company’s stock price. Beyond that, I would argue that there hasn’t been one CEO currently sitting atop a company that has had the kind of impact Steve Jobs has had.

After this ouster, Jobs watched on the sidelines as his company fell into a malaise. The company’s executives presided over an extreme degradation in the Apple product and practically everyone was wondering how long it would last.

But Jobs didn’t do that with the help of “20,000 or 30,000 Apple employees” like my counterpart on CNBC said Wednesday. In reality, Jobs is the visionary behind every Apple product and the figurehead that keeps the company’s stock price hovering well above $100 per share.

After that, Apple needs to make it abundantly clear that this person’s vision is well in line with Jobs’ and there’s nothing to fear when he leaves. Apple should explain that Jobs hand-picked his successor and due to the indelible mark he has left on the company, the heir to his throne will stay the course going forward.

But Apple can’t wait any longer. At the next Apple presentation or Stevenote, Jobs needs to take the stage and announce before the world his heir apparent. He doesn’t necessarily need to say when he’ll be leaving or even that he will, but he certainly needs to let this new person take the limelight.

I won’t rehash the argument here, but it does beg one question: where is that heir apparent and who is he or she?

Check out Don’s Digital Home podcast, Twitter feed, and FriendFeed!

Earlier this week, Apple started a firestorm by telling its shareholders that Steve Jobs’ health is a private matter. I argued both here on The Digital Home and on CNBC’s Closing Bell, that Steve Jobs’ health does matter and with no heir apparent in sight, how can shareholders feel secure in their investment?

Think of it this way: before he was ousted, Jobs was the most important element in Apple’s strategy. Sure, he made mistakes and the company suffered, but his tenacity was what kept that company going.

And then, Steve Jobs came back and, well, saved the day. He presided over the greatest gain in shareholder value the company had ever seen and restored his company to the position of one of the most feared, yet popular brands in the business. Along the way, he made countless investors multimillionaires.

Downgrade rights have long been a part of the Windows license for certain versions, particularly for businesses. That said, the option gained notoriety with Windows Vista. With Vista, the downgrade right was not only marketed by computer makers, but, once Microsoft stopped selling XP, some PC makers sold Vista machines that were “pre-downgraded” to Windows XP.

Microsoft hasn’t detailed exactly how downgrade rights will work with Windows 7–beyond confirming that users will be able to go back to XP–but presumably the rights will be attached to the Ultimate and Professional versions of Windows 7.

With
Windows 7, Microsoft is hoping to have an operating system that people won’t want to downgrade from. That said, it does plan on offering users that option.

Microsoft is actually expanding that Vista downgrade rights program slightly, the company confirmed on Monday. Under the new program, PC makers will be able to ship pre-downgraded machines based on anticipated demand for those systems. Until now, computers makers could only ship XP-downgraded machines if a particular customer had specified that is what he or she had wanted.

Also, as noted earlier Monday by ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft plans a similar program for Windows 7, allowing users to go back not only to Vista, should they choose, but also to Windows XP.

Businesses with volume-licensing deals covering Windows have long had the right to use any earlier version of Windows with their PCs.

So how do you think Nike reacted to this Yahoo posting? Ignored it, perhaps? Launched a PR campaign featuring Liu Xiang hopping on his good ankle? Not quite.

What can Nike gain from behaving like a granny who’s just had her handbag stolen by a tiny teenager and asked a big, burly policeman to find the man who took it? The company’s actions serve only to highlight the issue more, when letting a sleeping blog lie might have allowed for this little conspiracy theory to waft its way into the annals of obscurity.

Now the odd thing is that this isn’t the first time someone has accused Nike of having more than a digit in live sporting decisions.

I will pause now to allow you to perform your best double take.

OK?

When a curiously subdued, possibly drugged, and entirely sleep-walking Ronaldo played for Brazil in the 1998 World Cup Final, there were more than a few commentators willing to debate whether the only reason he had been on the field at all was because Nike, the team’s sponsor, had insisted.

Community service in a sweatshop, perhaps?

Many Chinese faces were moist when Liu Xiang, a very pretty 110-meter hurdler, suddenly withdrew from the preliminary heats of the Olympic competition.

Nike, once the brand that championed all who challenged authority, seems to have suddenly taken on the mantle, as well as the athletic supporter, of a regime not known for its fondness for allowing people to just do it.

(Credit: CC bbaunach)

Mr. Brooks told The Guardian newspaper: “This isn’t about a debate on freedom of speech. It’s simply helping us to identify the person who posted it.”

It all looked a little odd. He was apparently seen kicking an iron door in an aggressive manner shortly before the race. He went out onto the track and suddenly declared his ankle wasn’t up to the task. He limped off in apparent agony.

Shortly afterward, someone who claimed to be a member of Nike’s inside lane, wrote a post on a Yahoo message board that accused the company of being complicit in Liu Xiang’s sudden exit.

Which suggests that Nike either has a good suspicion as to the person’s identity. Or not.
It might also suggest to some that Nike has temporarily lost the part of its inner brain that judges when to stir things up and when to move right along.

The story begins with tears and might end in many more.

And I wonder what the “government departments” will do to the person who posted this tale.

Unless, of course, it isn’t a conspiracy theory at all, and they fear that this one little rumor might give credence to a quite staggeringly cynical story.

I wonder if they called Jerry Yang first to see how this blogger nonsense works over there. (Web debate on this subject in China is already being, how can one put it, edited.)

When the rebel becomes king, it doesn’t mean the people will suddenly be smiling.

“We have immediately asked relevant government departments to investigate those that started the rumor,” said Nike spokesman Charlie Brooks.

The suggestion was that Nike knew Liu Xiang couldn’t win, so they told him not to run, as a disappointing performance would harm their investment in him far more than a heart-tugging withdrawal.

Yes, Nike, the brand that prides itself on the iconoclastic and fantastic, has asked the not fantastically democratic Chinese government to root out this rogue and, well, shake him by the sleeves of his t-shirt, perhaps.

It all just feels so very, very unNike. Think about it.
A brand that so many still admire thanks to Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Spike Lee, and remixes of old Elvis tracks, working together with “government departments.” In China.

The Associated Press reports that Verizon will introduce the Flex Double Play bundle starting next week for those who combine a Verizon Wireless plan with broadband or Fios TV, the company’s cable TV service.

Verizon Communications says it will offer discounts to landline-free wireless customers who combine Internet or TV service from the company. The discounts will range from $8 to $21 a month, depending on the wireless package.

The discount applies to DSL service with downloads at 3 megabits per second, and to Fios (fiber-optic) broadband at up to 20Mbps, the AP reports. The fastest DSL plan, at 7Mbps, and the fastest Fios service, at 50 mbps, are not eligible for the bundle.

Ditching that old-school landline could pay off.

The FlexDouble Play represents the latest pricing move by wireless operators to appeal to consumers who are dropping their traditional phones and looking to consolidate their communications bills.

Now, how about a cool-retro discount for those of us who still like to talk on phones with cords attached?

PassPack Desktop performs in much the same way the Web version does, although you can access it while away from your browser.

Since Adobe’s AIR is cross-platform (download for Mac or Windows), PassPack’s developers have chosen to spend more time developing it than the browser-based Gears iteration. Plus, if you’re a user of multiple browsers, including some that fall outside the Gears love (like Opera (download for Windows or Mac)), the desktop application will work without issues.

The application’s claim to fame is that you can access your passwords while offline and without the use of your browser. If you don’t feel like installing a new, standalone app, you can get similar functionality by trying out the offline version of PassPack that takes advantage of Google Gears to let you do this while away from an Internet connection.

PassPack is a password-saving service I first checked out back in January of last year. This past week it released a really cool and smart password-saving tool that exists separately from your browser and lets you manage your passwords while offline. It also syncs up with PassPack’s cloud storage to let you access your shared passwords, then sync them to multiple, authorized computers.

(Credit:
CNET Networks)

One current weak point with the AIR app (that’s due to be remedied soon) is that any locally created passwords will not sync back up with your central PassPack account, so if you’re intending to add any new ones you should do that in the Web version instead. The tool also requires the use of an incredibly strong packing password that will roll up all your other passwords. Like I said when I first checked out the service, you’re best to write it down somewhere as without it there’s no way to recover notes and passwords stored in your account.

The Times attempted to reach Fisker Automotive, but was unsuccessful. Someone who picked up the phone at the San Francisco law firm that is representing Fisker Coachbuild said it is “the firm’s policy not to comment on litigation,” according to the newspaper.

Last month, Tesla began commercial production of its all-electric Tesla Roadster, which costs $98,000. The company has dealerships in Los Angeles and Northern California. Production of the roadster had been delayed because of problems with the car’s transmission, among other components. The company also had a change in top management last year.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in San Mateo County Superior Court in California. Tesla hired Henrik Fisker, CEO of
car design firm Fisker Coachbuild, last year to design the body of its all-electric WhiteStar sedan. In the suit, Tesla alleges that Fisker and Fisker Coachbuild Chief Operating Officer Bernhard Koehler accepted the contract “to gain access to confidential design information and trade secrets, then announced a competing vehicle,” according to a New York Times article.

Fisker, who last fall started Fisker Automotive–a green-leaning sports car company–recently announced an REV named Karma.

Electric-car maker Tesla Motors has filed suit against a competitor, claiming the company stole trade secrets and copied design ideas.

Last year, Tesla said it plans to come out with WhiteStar, an all-electric passenger sedan, in late 2009 or 2010. At the time, it said the price would range from $50,000 to $70,000.

“I think it’s ironic that Fisker chose to name his car the Karma, when what he’s done is very bad karma,” said Adam C. Belsky, a lawyer at Gross, Belsky & Alonso who represents Tesla, told the Times.

The company, based in San Carlos, Calif., said in February that it plans to produce two types of its WhiteStar sedan–one being completely battery-powered, the other being a so-called range-extended vehicle, or REV, wherein a small gas motor recharges the battery as the car is driven.

Tesla said it decided to scrap Fisker’s design for the WhiteStar and began working on a new design when it found out he was going to be a competitor, according to the Times article.