This week Thursday, Microsoft Corp. Ceo Steve Ballmer said, Microsoft is willing to invest in Internet search business up to 10% of its annual income. "Our shareholders, I told them we were willing to spend 5 to 10 percent of operating income for up to five years in this business, and we feel like we can get an economic return" said Ballmer in a business conference. Bing has grabbed 12.1% of US internet searches for the week June 8-1, up from June 1-5. However, Google has 65% share in the market. When this was reminded to Ballmer, he answered, "You don't go from 8 percent to 80. You have to be patient, we invested in Xbox for years and now it generates nice economic returns for us," he added, referring to the company's popular gaming console. Microsoft has operating $4.4 billion  in last quarter means that for a quarter $440 million and per year $1.8 billion to develop and advertise Bing. 

I always thought that why Microsoft hasn't done so much in internet area not just in search engine but in all internet related areas, because everything shifts to internet: software, advertise, information with cloud computing etc. And I see the answer now as Ballmer said "If we could have one do-over I would probably say I would start sooner on search," said Ballmer. "Sometimes the error you make is what you don't do and don't see. Our mistake wasn't that we didn't see the technology change coming, we didn't see the business change coming."  [Reuters]