● Microsoft Hotmail blocking GMX mail for some in Europe

Some European customers of the free GMX Mail service have been reporting ongoing problems with GMX Mail-Hotmail interoperability.

● eBay restricting Webslices to MSIE users, trashing Firefox users

Again, I have no idea if this is made on purpose or not. If it is, it's a true scandal. If it's not, and given the fact the Webchunks extension to Firefox is freely available, it's a shame. Please note that the embedded JavaScript shows no error or related warning... Please also note that if you use a UAString-switcher in Firefox, the result remains the same; that's why I think the client-sniffing is client-side and based on window.external.* MSIE extensions. I hope that eBay is going to fix this as soon as possible, because banning Firefox users seems to me a stupid and counter-productive idea...

● Analyst: Yet Another Microsoft-Yahoo Scenario

In a report Tuesday, Cowen & Co. Analyst Jim Friedland handicaps the different iterations of possible Yahoo-Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) deals in light of the dismal performance of Microsoft’s online-services unit last quarter. The most likely scenario, according to Friedland? No deal at all. But if a deal does take place, Friedland puts his bets on an arrangement which he first floated last October in which Microsoft would trade its online services business and possibly cash for a stake in Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO).