In an effort to take on the Google’s online storage efforts, it seems Microsoft is about to launch a new online storage service. The word of this online storage drive effort is embedded deep in the Fortune magazine story on Ray Ozzie. (Business 2.0’s next issue has an interview with Ozzie by John Battelle. Its a good read!)

Microsoft is planning to use its server farms to offer anyone huge amounts of online storage of digital data With Live Drive, all your information—movies, music, tax information, a high-definition videoconference you had with your grandmother, whatever—could be accessible from anywhere, on any device.

Mary Jo Foley has dug up more details and points out that this online storage effort is called Live Drive. I have to wonder what impact it will have on dozens of online storage companies that are popping up all over the place?

Last time eBay announced Skype-related revenues, it worked out to about $318,000 a day. According to eBay’s first quarter 2006 earnings report, Skype generated revenues were around $35.2 million, or up 42% increase from the $24.8 million reported in fourth quarter of 2005.

On a per-day basis, the revenues turned out to be $391,111 and change. In order to make their own internal $200 million in Skype 2006 revenues target, the revenues would have to hit about $599272 a day. That’s about 53% growth. No wonder, I just can’t seem to get the hefty $2.6 billion tag out of my mind. Just to be clear, these are revenues and not profits.

For past few days, a screenshot captured by a Yahoo user is leading to a lot of speculation about Yahoo coming up with its answer to Google’s WiFi efforts. There are a couple of reasons why this isn’t going to happen – and none of them have to do with the fact that it was a screenshot of a mere marketing survey etc etc etc. (Niall has his take on why too much has been made of this screenshot.)

The first reason Yahoo is not going to go off on a WiFi binge is because of its past: the company has a very healthy and strong relationship with the Baby Bells. The relationship is pretty simple – Yahoo stays out of the access business, and Bells drive traffic to Yahoo sites. Yahoo makes money from advertising, and kicks some of it to the incumbents who in turn offer a cheap-plan to compete with cable companies. It is a great game, and believe it or not, everyone is happy – except the cable companies.

The second reason Yahoo is not going off on a WiFi-tanget, is actually the first reason. AT&T, Yahoo’s staunchest ally, has cobbled together a big enough WiFi footprint around the country through internal efforts and partnerships with the likes of Boingo and GRIC. AT&T currently sells a $1.99 a month package to its DSL customers and charges a bit more from non-DSL customers. Cingular, which is now part of the new AT&T also has its own WiFi networks in select airports and Amtrak stations.

The bottom-line is that Yahoo can easily re-sell these wi-fi networks, or offer for them as free ad-supported service. Interestingly, the so-called proposed Yahoo Messenger On The Go product is just like the current deal between Skype and Boingo Wireless. (Except you have to pay for the Skype-Boingo offering, and Yahoo offering could be free.)

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Which is why I was totally flattered by corporate big brother Fortune’s latest cover story, How To Invest In The New Net Boom (Carefully.)

I don’t just mean that Fortune’s cover reminds me of ours (see photo). I mean that big brother is actually venturing into my territory, trying on my clothes, listening to my music and hanging out with my friends. Metaphorically speaking! (Of course, we’ve done the same thing to big brother.) So I figured, since it’s all in the family, I’d offer some respectful advice to my elders…

The Fortune story is certainly very different from a Business 2.0 story. It is about investments, for second-hand participants. Business 2.0, on the other hand, is about those who do things, not simply invest in stocks, and then pray. And that’s where Fortune gets into trouble. Fortune talks about the New Net Boom, only it is not so new. It’s been going on for quite a while, and readers of Business 2.0 have lived it.
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What: Wall Street Journal is hosting an e-debate between Alan Meckler, chief executive of Jupiter Media, and Jason Calacanis of Weblogs Inc. (now part of AOL, a dvision of Time Warner) The debate is about can bloggers make money and a living off their blogging efforts. Jason says yes, Alan says no.

What it really is: A cheap way to generate page views for WSJ. Alan says no, because blogs are putting the hurt on his business, and he did not get a piece of the action first. Jason says yes, because he has many million reasons to say so.

What it really is #2: A debate as important as arguing why April comes before May.

Question to ask: Can blogging networks pay between 50 cents to $2 a word to their contributors and make money?

Bottomline#1: Bill Tai, general partner at Charles River Ventures in a chat pointed out that that “publishing is a few moguls make a lot of money off the people who love to write.” I think in some ways, that is not going to change, with or without blogs. What is not going to change is that people (like yours truly write) because they love to write and have something to say.

Bottomline#2: From a business perspective, I think Cynthia Brumfield has the best response... “blogs are much more akin to old-fashioned, high-priced dead-tree newsletters. Newsletter publishers (how quaintly archaic that terms seems) used to target niche markets, put out a steady stream of insiderish content ignored by the consumer and trade press and charge through the nose for it. Now, however, blogs are starting to fill that niche.”

Simply Hired, a vertical search engine for jobs has raised $13.5 million in new funding from News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media and Foundation Capital. The latest round of financing brings the company’s total funding to $17.7 million. Foundation Capital and Fox Interactive Media will be getting board seats as well. I am told Ross Levinsohn of FIM is going to sit on the board of the company. Simply Hired and Indeed are two major employment related vertical search engines. Google has also made a cautious move in the “jobs” space as well.

Back in December 2005, I had reported that Simply Hired was in the process of raising fresh money including an investment from Foundation Capital. Previous investors in Simply Hired include Ron Conway and Kanwal Rekhi, well known angels in Silicon Valley. Simply Hired is a Business 2.0 Next Net company (Full List Here), and had burst on the scene with its Simply Fired contest. (Disclosure: I was one of the judges for the Simply Fired contest.)

Siemens, which sold off its mobile handset business to BenQ is said to be exploring the sale of its communications business, aka Siemens Communications, according to a German news daily. Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reports on rumors of talks between Siemens and Motorola.

It was reported earlier that company might consider breaking up parts of its business and selling them off on piece meal basis. German publication Manager Magazin reported that there were talks between Siemens an Nokia.

All this is simple speculation, but one cannot deny that the telecom equipment industry is going through a serious realignment largely because of shrinking service provider base, and competition from low-cost suppliers from China.

The networks themselves are going through a change, creating new opportunities for some, and snatching away business from others. Lucent-Alcatel merger is only the beginning of an industry wide consolidation, many predict.