Is Steve Ballmer Really the Best Choice to Run Microsoft’s Consumer Business?

At a time when Microsoft (MSFT) is facing challengers to its desktop operating system, productivity suite and handsets, you wouldn’t think the company would be changing up officers on its front lines, yet that’s exactly what’s happening. Robbie Bach and J. Allard, both of whom were instrumental in creating consumer products through Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, are leaving the company as part of a broader reorganization, reports TechFlash. As a result, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, will initially gain greater control over the division, which includes the Xbox, Zune and Windows Mobile products.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Australians Line Up (With Kangaroo Pouches) for iPads

IPad fever flared up around the world Friday, as the Apple (AAPL) device went on sale in the United Kingdom, Japan (where one fanboy has been camped outside a Tokyo Apple store since Wednesday) and seven other countries. Australia was no exception.

In Melbourne, photographer Matt Irwin avoided the lines and had two pre-ordered iPads delivered Friday morning. “I’ve got them in my hot little hands now and can’t wait to have a play with them,” he said.

Mr. Irwin, who specializes in large-format prints, said the iPad’s screen made it a useful tool for a visual artist.

“As a photographer, it’s great as a mobile presentation platform,” he said. “I’m planning on integrating them quite heavily into my business.”

Read the rest of this post on the original site

The Windows Era Is Over

About five years ago, when blogging as an analyst, I asserted that computing and informational relevance had started shifting from the Windows desktop to cloud services delivered anytime, anywhere and on anything. The day of Windows’ reckoning is come: 2010 will mark dramatic shifts away from Microsoft’s (MSFT) monopoly to something else. Change is inevitable, and like IBM in the 1980s, Microsoft can’t hold back its destiny during this decade.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

How to convert video to PSP Video formats

This document will show you how to trim, crop, convert video to PSP video formats at length, you can refer to it step by step and take the conversion an easy trip.

It includes two parts:
1. How to convert video to PSP?
2. How to trim, crop, join and edit video for PSP?

The video formats Aiseesoft PSP Movie Converter support are as follows:
AVI, XviD, WMV (Window Media Video), MPEG, MPG, MP4, FLV (YouTube video), 3GP, 3GPP (cell phone video), Mod, Tod, RM, RMVB (Real Player video), M4V, ASF

The audio formats supported by Aiseesoft PSP Movie Converter are:
MP3, WMA, WAV, AC3, M4A, AAC

Part 1: How to convert video to PSP?
Step1. Please download Aiseesoft PSP Video Converter; you can free download it from here.
http://www.aiseesoft.com/psp-movie-converter.html

Step2: Install and run Aiseesoft PSP Movie Converter, click the “Add File” button to import your videos. If you experience any problems adding videos by directly clicking the “Add” button, you can click “File -> Add file” to add the video files you want to convert from your computer.



Step3. Then Click the “Profile” drop-down list to select the format you prefer for each added file. If you don’t know what formats your device support, you can just select the format according to the device



After you finish all the above steps, please click “Start” to begin the conversion.

Free Trial: Free download Aiseesoft PSP Movie Converter

Next Part: How to crop, edit, join and trim movie movie for PSP?

How to Convert MKV to 3GP

Aiseesoft 3GP Video Converter is professional and teaches you how to convert MKV to 3GP with great video quality and edit output files step by step, so it is an expert of MKV to 3GP converter for mobile phone users. Follow the steps below to convert MKV 3GP.

1 Download and install

Free download Aiseesoft 3GP Video Converter, install and launch it. Then the easy-to-use screen will pop up:

2 Add files

Add the MKV files by clicking the "Add file" button.

3 Select output format and destination

Choose the proper output folder and the profile "3GP" format.

4 Convert

Click "Start" button to convert MKV to 3GP you can play the converted 3GP files on your portable mobile phone like Google Phone, BlackBerry…

How to Convert M2TS to AVI

Please follow this step-by-step guide to convert M2TS to AVI, WMV, 3GP, MP4, etc:

Step 0: Download M2TS to AVI converting program, install and run it on your computer. You will see the main interface as below:

Step 1 Add File

You can click the "Add Files" button to browse your computer and add the M2TS files you want to convert or just drag and drop the M2TS files to the program.

Tip: You are allowed to load several files at one time and check Merge into one file option to output only a long one.

Step 2 Choose the output format AVI

After adding M2TS files, you can select an output format – AVI according to your personal device. Then specify a directory on your computer to save the output files.

Tip: Click "Settings" button to customize output video/audio parameters: Resolution, Encoder, Bitrate, etc.

Step 3 Start

The last step is only to click "Start" button at the right bottom to complete the conversion of M2TS to AVI.

What' more, this M2TS Converter has powerful editing function. You can crop, trim the video and customize video effect, merge the video into a file and more.The detailed introduction is contained at how to convert M2TS to AVI.

Dell Bets on Smartphone Sales in India

Better late than never. That seems to be Dell’s (DELL) mantra as it seeks to launch its first smartphone in India–the world’s fastest growing and second-largest mobile phone market–to take on the combined Hewlett-Packard-Palm threat it now faces.

“We will launch a smartphone in India later this year,” Steve Felice, president of Dell’s consumer, small and medium business division, said in a post-earnings conference call with Asian journalists Friday.

Dell will also bring more smartphone models to China in addition to the one launched earlier this year, he added.

The move can’t come too soon.

Rival Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), which leads Dell in overall PC market share globally as well as in India, agreed to buy Palm Inc. (PALM) in April this year for about $1.2 billion. H-P is expected to use the acquisition to add smartphone market share to its market leadership of worldwide and Indian PC sales.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Apple Adds a Bit of Pro to Low-End MacBook

With no fanfare whatsoever, Apple refreshed its entry-level MacBook this morning, swapping it out for a faster machine featuring longer battery life and a better video chip.

With a 2.4GHz Intel (INTC) Core 2 Duo processor, an Nvidia (NVDA) GeForce 320m graphics chip and 10 hours of battery life, the updated MacBook is similar in spec to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, though with the more budget-friendly price that has made it successful in the education market–$999.

A nice update to a machine that was last tweaked in October 2009, when Apple (AAPL) gave it a new polycarbonate unibody design, LED-backlit display, and multitouch trackpad.

Not much more to point out beyond that, though it’s worth noting that the machine is identical to the one described in a leak to Vietnamese Web site Tinhte earlier this week.

Icahn’t Get Rid of Yahoo Stock Fast Enough: Billionaire Investor Pares Down

Carl Icahn took another big step into Internet investing oblivion yesterday by dumping even more of his once-massive Yahoo stock stake.

According to regulatory filings, the activist investor–who once stalked Yahoo like Captain Ahab (and just as wackily)–dumped eight million shares in the past three months, going from 12 million to four million.

This has pretty much been Icahn’s selling pattern for the last year.

At the height of his pursuit of Yahoo (YHOO) and fruitless efforts to sell it to Microsoft (MSFT), which resulted in his appointment to the board of the Internet giant and little else, he owned 75 million shares.

Icahn is no longer a Yahoo director–he stepped down last fall–and his shares were all bought at a significantly higher price, so he is likely taking a bath by owning Yahoo stock.

Icahn’s latest prey is Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF), which he is trying to take over. Good luck with the big-game hunting, Carl!

How to Convert ASF to iPhone MP4 on Mac

Step1. Free download Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac Intel Version or Power PC Version, install and run it.

Step2. Add the ASF file into this ASF to iPhone MP4 Mac converter

As the images shows, click Add File button on tool bar to open the dialog and browse your Mac to choose the ASF video file you want to convert.

Step3. Specify an iPhone MP4 format

Choose an iPhone MP4 format from the Profile list. Also the ASF to iPhone converter allows you to extract MP3, M4A audios from ASF file for playing on iPhone. Choose the format you need.

And the iPhone converter enables you to customize the output files furthermore: you can set the output format parameters yourself including video effect, video aspect ratio, video length and more in Settings window.

Step4. Click Start to start converting ASF to MP4 on Mac

After all the settings are set properly, click the Start button to start conversion. Several minutes later, you will find the output MP4 file in destination output folder. Transfer it to your iPhone and you can enjoy it now. More details about Aiseesoft Video Converter for Mac at: Convert ASF to iPhone MP4 on Mac.

How to Convert MPEG to MP4 on Mac

There is no need to worry about how to convert MPEG to MP4 Mac. Aiseesoft MP4 Converter for Mac can eliminate your botheration to convert MPEG to MP4 Mac or MPEG to MP4 convert Mac without any loss of quality.

Key Features

* MPEG to MP4 conversion
* Trim, Crop, set Effect including Deinterlacing
* MPEG to MP4 convert Mac software provides specific parameters of output settings
* Merging all the files you choose into one output file

All of you can free download Aiseesoft MP4 Converter for Mac for a wonderful try! If you are Windows user, download from here.

Intel

PPC

Step by step guide:

1 Free download, install and run this software

2 Add input and choose output file & output video path

You can add MPEG or other video files and choose the output file formats of MP4. Click Browse to change the output video path to where you want.

3 Editing features

You can adjust output effect, capture any clips, cut black edges off your video, and more with the function buttons in the main interface.

4 Start to convert

Press Start and a few seconds later you can convert MPEG to MP4 on Mac.

You must be satisfied with the product you have ordered, purchase it here.

How to Rip DVD in Windows Vista

As we known, there are lots of software incompatible with Windows Vista, then Vista users are confused to where to get they need software. To meet your need, Aiseesoft DVD Ripper is full compatible with Windows Vista. Here is the guide how to rip DVD in Windows Vista OS.

Aiseesoft DVD Ripper works well on Windows Vista, it can rip DVD to almost all popular audio and video formats, including MPEG, WMV, DivX, AVI, XviD, VOB, MOV, ASF, VCD, DAT, RM, 3GP, MP4, 3G2, iPod, Archos, Creative Zen, PSP, Pocket PC, PS3, Dell Axim, iRiver PMP, HP iPAQ; MP3, AAC, WMA, M4A, OGG, AC3, MP2, WAV, AU, etc.

1.Load DVDs

Download Aiseesoft DVD Ripper and install to your computer. install it and run, load your DVD movie from targeted drive. Now learn more about the interface of Aiseesoft DVD Ripper Platinum:

2.Edit DVDs

Aiseesoft DVD Ripper owns the solution to edit DVDs, Click "Effect" to pop up the Edit window, then adjust the effect, also can trim DVDs length according to your preferences. Even crop the DVD video play region to suit for your players

3.Start to rip DVD in Windows Vista

After you finish all the settings, click "Start" on the right bottom position to start to rip DVD for your players.e

For more info: Aiseesoft DVD Ripper

Web Ads Are Growing Again. But by How Much?

We know that the Web ad business (and the ad business in general) is much better than it was a year ago, when it was awful. How much better?

Pick your data point:

The Interactive Advertising Bureau says U.S. spending on Web ads hit $5.9 billion in the first quarter of 2010. That’s a record for the first quarter of the year, but it’s a relatively modest 7.5 percent increase over a very crummy comparison in 2009.

And bear in mind that the IAB’s data include search spending, which means that the spike is in large part a reflection of Google’s (GOOG) health.

Want a bigger number? Try comScore, which says that the volume of display ads, i.e., the kind you might see on this page, shot up 15 percent in the last year. But while comScore (SCOR) says total spending on display ads hit $2.7 billion for the quarter and that the average CPM (cost per thousand impressions) hit $2.48, it isn’t reporting how those numbers compare to last year’s results.

ComScore spokesman Andrew Lipsman says his company isn’t putting out comparative numbers because it has changed its reporting methodology, so it doesn’t have apple-to-apples data. But he allowed that overall spending, and prices, have at least increased “modestly” in the last year.

So that’s not-bad news for display giants like Yahoo (YHOO) and AOL (AOL). And most definitely not for Facebook, which is now selling more ad impressions than any other Web publisher in the U.S.

Invasion of the Market Share Snatchers: BlackBerry Losing Share to Android?

Research in Motion’s BlackBerry is the leading smartphone brand in the United States thanks to its vast core demographic of enterprise power users. But as the smartphone evolves into the standard for the broader consumer market, RIM (RIMM) may see that lead eroded by rivals with sexier devices.

In a research note to clients today, Piper Jaffray analyst T. Michael Walkley says his checks this month and last suggest the BlackBerry is losing momentum at the country’s largest wireless carriers, mostly to handsets running Google’s (GOOG) Android OS.

“While BlackBerry remains a leading smartphone brand, our checks indicate potential sell-through share losses at AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile,” Walkley writes. “In fact, we believe the Bold 9700 continued to lose smartphone share at AT&T following a price increase last month to $199.”

There’s worse. “In addition, our checks indicated further share losses to Android products at T-Mobile and Verizon. At Verizon, our checks indicated slowing RIM sales, as sales managers continue to push Android products such as the HTC Incredible and Motorola Droid. At T-Mobile, our checks indicate weaker BlackBerry sales due to strong sales of Android products such as the HTC MyTouch and the Windows based HTC HD2.”

But RIM’s situation isn’t dire. RIM is one of the five largest mobile phone manufacturers in the world and it makes only smartphones. Still, these market trends are worth keeping an eye on, particularly the likely arrival of a new iPhone at AT&T (T) this summer and a handful of slick new Android smartphones at Verizon (VZ).

While the new Blackberry Bold 9650 and the Pearl 3G might fend off those devices in the enterprise market relatively easily, they’re likely to have a harder time of it in the consumer market.

A “Do Not Call The FTC About Facebook Privacy” Registry? Great Idea, Tim.

Facebook has enlisted a former senior Bush administration regulator to defend its privacy practices in Washington. Tim Muris, an attorney at law firm O’Melveny & Myers who served as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission from 2001 to 2004, is advising the company, whose privacy disclosures and fast and loose handling of user data are increasingly drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

Indeed, on May 5, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the FTC alleging that Facebook has engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices in violation of consumer protection law.

“[The site] continues to manipulate the privacy settings of users and its own privacy policy so that it can take personal information provided by users and make it widely available for commercial purposes,” the Washington-based advocacy group said. “The company has done this repeatedly and users are becoming increasingly frustrated and angry.”

Clearly, the Facebook privacy backlash, which has been building for years now, has begun in earnest.

What better time, then, to seek the help of someone like Muris, who created the popular U.S. Do Not Call Registry and just last week received the Miles W. Kirkpatrick Award “for his significant and lasting contributions to the FTC, antitrust law, and the cause of consumer protection.”

Reached for comment, Facebook said Muris is not an official employee. “There have been some reports that Tim Muris has joined Facebook,” the company told me. “Muris has not joined Facebook.”

But he is serving as a consultant, something sources close to the company have told me, though Facebook declined to comment on.

How to convert AAC to MP3

The next tips will tell you how to convert AAC to MP3 step by step with Aiseesoft Audio Converter.

1. Free download the powerful Aiseesoft Audio Converter, install and launch.

2. Press Add File to add AAC files needed to convert to MP3.

3. Choose the proper output folder and the profile "MP3" format.

4. Click Start button to convert. After a few minutes waiting, you can play the converted MP3 files on your any portable music devices like PSP, iPod.

How to Convert DVD/movies to DPG

Part 1. How to convert movies to DPG with Moonshell/BatchDPG/AviSynth

There are a few things you need to download:

Moonshell

ffdshow

AviSynth

BatchDPG

Microsoft.NET

Step 1: Download all the programs

Tips: When you download Batch from the link in my post, do not forget to copy "avisynth.dll" to C:\Windows\System32 directory.

Step 2: Input

After you install it and you will see the following interface.

In the Input section, you can load the movie you want to convert and you can also add subtitle file and audio file.

Step 3: Output

In this section you need to select a temporary path and a output directory.

Step 4: Video/Audio

If you want, you can change the setting in the video and audio section. But it is set to a good format by default anyway.

To add your movie file to the queue press the button "add" at the bottom and then you can click "run" to start the converting.

Step 5: Insert you SD Card and transfer the extracted Moonshell files and converted DPG video files from your computer to SD Card.

Part 2: How to convert movies to DPG with DPG Converter

You need to download Moonshell if you don't have it in your SD Card and Download the DPG Converter.

Step 1: Load files

Click "Add File" or "File"> "Add File" to load the video you want to convert.

Step 2: Choose profile and adjust settings

You can choose the output profile from a drop-down list “profile”. This powerful DPG Converter can not only convert videos to DPG format, but also can convert your videos to other formats, such as mp4, wmv, avi, mpeg, mov, mkv, flv, 3gp and other popular video format.

You can adjust the settings of the output video, you can adjust the Resolution, encoder, Bitrate, and other specific settings of the video and you can also save the setting as your own profile.

After everything is done, you can click the “Start” button and later you will get your DPG movie.

Tips: You can also do many video editing works with it:

1. Effect: You can adjust "Brightness", "Saturation", "Contrast" of the output video as you want

2. Trim: Tis function allows you to pick up one part of the video to convert. You can do it in 3 ways, a: set the exact start time and end time to trim b: click the "Trim From" and "Trim To" button when you preview the video c: drag the trim bar below the preview window and choose where to start and end.

3. Crop: You can use "crop" function to remove the black edges on your movie and you can also choose your play area. You can crop your video in 2 ways, a: drag the frame on the preview window b: set the exact crop value

Part 3: How to convert movies to DPG with DPG Converter for Mac

Step 1: Load the video you want to convert by click "Add File".

Step 2: Choose output profile and adjust the setting of the output video

Step 3: Conversion. Click "Start" to begin the conversion.

Part 4: How to convert your DVD movies to DPG format.

Here you just need a DVD to DGP Converter.

Step 1: Load your DVD

Put your DVD to your DVD Drive and click "Load DVD".

Step 2: Choose output profile

You can choose your output profile from a drop-down list "Profile" and also you can adjust the specific setting of the output DPG video, such as encoder, resolution, bitrate and so on.

Step 3: Edit Video

You can edit the effect of the output video including "Brightness", "Saturation", "Contrast" and so on. Also you can "Trim", "Crop", "Merge" video according to your need.

Step 4: Conversion

After all the things done, you can click "Start" button to begin your conversion.

How to Convert RMVB to AVI

Now let's focus on how to convert RMVB to AVI step by step.

Step 1 Free download Aiseesoft Total Video Converter, install it and add RMVB file you want to convert

Step 2 Choose the output format and destination

Want to convert RMVB to AVI files? Choose AVI as the output format and click Browse button to set the path where you want to save the converted file.

Step 3 Customize output files

It is optional for you to further edit the output AVI file, including: trim any-time length clips by clicking Trim button, crop the playing area using Crop function, set advanced output parameters pressing Setting option, and more.

Step 4 Start conversion

The last step is to press the Start button at the bottom of file menu to start RMVB to AVI conversion.

For more details, please go to: convert RMVB to AVI.

How to convert 3GP to AVI

Next you will be shown how to convert 3GP to AVI

1 Download and install

Free download this Total Video Converter, install it and click Add file button to load 3GP video

2 Choose output format and Destination

Choose AVI as output format from the Profile list and click Browse to choose the place where you want to put output video

3 Customize output file

You can reset the output effect in the Effect window below. Drag Brightness, Contrast, Saturation adjustment bars one by one to get what you want. Try Trim, Crop, Merge, Snapshot functions by yourself.

4 Begin converting

Click Start button to convert 3GP to AVI in a few seconds. More info from: 3GP to AVI

Survey: AT&T Drops Three Times as Many Calls as Verizon

After a brief respite, AT&T is back in the news again for claims of poor wireless service. Despite a concerted effort to improve connection reliability and circuit capacity, the carrier is still receiving low marks for dropped-call frequency, a key indicator of wireless customer satisfaction.

Indeed, in a March survey of 4,040 smartphone subscribers by ChangeWave Research, AT&T (T) subscribers reported the highest percentage of dropped calls by any U.S. carrier–4.5 percent. That’s significantly worse than T-Mobile (2.8 percent) and Sprint (S) (2.5 percent), and three times as bad as the 1.5 percent reported by subscribers of archrival Verizon (click on tables below to enlarge).

“AT&T was clearly the worst in the March survey, tacking on yet another increase over the last ChangeWave research survey,” ChangeWave observed. “Furthermore, a closer look at the trends show an increasing number of dropped calls among AT&T customers surveyed, and a steadily decreasing number of dropped calls for Verizon customers.”

And AT&T suffers for this. Just 23 percent of the AT&T customers ChangeWave surveyed said they are “very satisfied” with the company’s service. Meanwhile, 49 percent of Verizon (VZ) customers described themselves as “very satisfied.” A tough break for AT&T, which has been doing its damndest to improve the public’s perception of its network as one overtaxed by the data demands of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone.

That said, it’s important to note that ChangeWave’s research does contrast to a Feburary PC World study that ranked AT&T’s 3G network as the top performer in the 13 markets it surveyed.

The iPhonetoberfest Edition

AllThingsD was back in full force this week, for the first time since before a certain volcano erupted all over the European transportation industry. We made the most of it, with a full stein of doppel-hopped awesomeness just for our readers.

Kara opened the week with a bier-trinken good time at Gourmet Haus Staudt, better known as the infamous iPhone bar. Everyone has been speculating about Jobs’ reaction to the whole debacle, and midweek Kara broke the news that we may just get to ask him. Kara revealed that Mr. Jobs will be one of the headline interviews at the upcoming D8 conference. Kara rounded out the week with some great analysis of Yahoo’s (YHOO) concerning brain drain. Kara will have to ask Carol Bartz about it when they see each other next–hopefully she’ll let us watch.

Digital Daily this week featured posts on a series of high-profile acquisitions from everyone’s favorite tech giant. John reported early in the week that Apple (AAPL) acquired Intrinsity, the firm behind those A4 chips driving iPads everywhere. Flexing their market-cap muscle again, Apple also bought up digital assistant software maker Siri, whose iPhone app can do things like call you a cab or find you a restaurant, all via voice. John finished out the week with some post-game analysis of what the fallout from the HP-Palm acquisition will be. We can be sure of one thing, HP (HP) won’t force Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein to handle an iPhone. They give him hives.

Media Memo, fresh off new-baby hiatus, opened up the week with news of the acquisition of the cell phone insider
Boy Genius Report by Jay Penske, who will add it to his already rich stable of blogs including that of celeb gossiper Nikki Finke and Bonnie Fuller. Midweek, Peter took a look at Hulu’s numbers after a Comscore (SCOR) report came out saying they were gaining ground, despite losing both Stewart and Colbert as traffic drivers. Peter rounded things out with a post we’ve been waiting for since we got word of the Flashless iPad. It looks like Wired is going back to the drawing board and rebuilding its magazine application on a platform that isn’t banned.

Walt focused on computers of the folding variety this week with a column that runs down all the things you need to know beforebuying a laptop today. The mailbox was full to the brim, and Walt dispatched the questions with his usual all-knowing ease. Weekend Update was particularly interested in hearing all about using the Kindle in Japan. Katie dedicated her post this week to all things video chat. Weekend Update is a little creeped out by the whole thing, but we may have to get used to it if that next iPhone has a camera on the front side.

Stay tuned for the coming weeks. We’re ramping up for the D8 conference, and this is the best time of year to be an AllThingsD reader.

Yahoo Confirms Hiring of Former Microsoft Exec Blake Irving as Chief Product Officer

Yahoo said it has hired former Microsoft exec Blake Irving (pictured here) as its chief product officer.

Reporting directly to CEO Carol Bartz, Yahoo (YHOO) said in a statement, Irving will “lead the company’s products organization, which is responsible for the vision, strategy, design and development of Yahoo!’s global consumer and advertiser product portfolio.”

In other words, the exec many think the company desperately needs to spur innovation.

Irving replaces Ari Balogh, who announced last week he is leaving the company as of June 3.

Balogh was also CTO, but Yahoo did not say who would get that title.

In related news, Prabhakar Raghavan, head of Yahoo Labs as chief scientist, will now report directly to Bartz.

The Yahoo announcement confirms a post BoomTown wrote last week about the company’s effort to hire Irving, a longtime Microsoft (MSFT) exec whose last job there was corporate VP of its Windows Live Platform group.

He left the software giant several years ago to spend time with his family and had been teaching at Pepperdine University.

Irving had been at Microsoft for 15 years, always commuting to its Redmond, Wash., headquarters.

According to his Facebook page, Irving now lives in laid-back San Luis Obispo, midway between Silicon Valley and Los Angeles.

Sources said after time off, Irving had recently become eager to re-engage in the Internet sector.

Yahoo has long wanted to hire Irving, many said. And in nabbing him, the timing is fortuitous, as the company is in the midst of launching its massive search and online advertising partnership with Microsoft.

The hiring also stems the tide of Yahoo’s exec exodus. Balogh’s parting is one of many among top Yahoo execs recently. Ad sales head Joanne Bradford departed the company to join Demand Media, while longtime tech exec Ash Patel said he would not return from a sabbatical he took last year.

Here’s Irving’s post on his own hire on Yahoo’s Yodel Anecdotal blog:

Yodeling Hello to Yahoo!

As the newest Yahoo! employee, at the risk of being highly corny, I’m delighted to yodel my first purple-hued shout-out to the 600 million people and tens of thousands of advertisers and publishers who enjoy Yahoo!’s products every day.

Some of you might ask why anyone would say goodbye to surfing and cycling the Central Coast of California or travelling the globe with their family to take on the job of leading products and technology at Yahoo! My answer’s pretty easy–meet just some of the brilliant people at Yahoo! that want to change the world, and then scan the amazing list of leading products around the globe these people have delivered at scale. When I think about what this company has meant to anyone who has used the Internet, worked in the Internet industry, or wanted to reach people across the world, there is simply none better.

From wildly popular services like Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Flickr and Yahoo!’s mobile sites and apps, to Yahoo!’s best-in-class content properties like Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance and Yahoo! Sports, to many, many other great products across the world, Yahoo!’s product portfolio continues to be the envy of the industry. Those incredible services and their respective audiences bring tremendous value for advertisers, which is why Yahoo! serves up 10 billion ads across its network every day and is the #1 publisher of online display advertising. How can anyone not want to be a part of that?

And that’s just what consumers and advertisers see from the outside. Inside Yahoo!, there’s technological and scientific brilliance everywhere you look. With 500 patents, one of the world’s largest cloud computing infrastructures, and top scientific talent across computer science, machine learning, economics and social sciences, I’m awed at the caliber of people I’m going to be working with. The intellectual horsepower doesn’t stop there–I’m looking forward to working with some of the smartest and best-in-class talent around the world in marketing, advertising sales, partnerships, programming, service engineering and operations. The commitment Yahoos have shown over the years to delivering the best experience to both consumers and advertisers is one of the key things that attracted me here. We’re in the business of delivering bespoke experiences to our consumers, partners and advertisers and I’m looking forward to working with all of you to build on that reality.

This week marks an exciting new journey for me personally, and I’m thrilled to be sharing my experiences and background with the world class people at Yahoo! We have big opportunities, as well as big challenges ahead of us, and I’m getting ready to dive in and work with this great team to make Yahoo! even more central to daily online life than it has been over the past decade and a half.

My first day in the office will be May 17th and I can’t wait to get started. Stay tuned for more as I get settled and dig in with my new team.

‘Nuff said.

–By Blake Irving, Future Chief Product Officer, Yahoo!

And here’s the official press release:

Blake Irving Joins Yahoo! as Chief Product Officer

Chief Scientist Position, Held by Prabhakar Raghavan, Elevated to Report to CEO Bartz

Sunnyvale, California–April 19, 2010–Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) today announced the appointment of Blake Irving as Chief Product Officer. In related news, Prabhakar Raghavan will continue to lead innovation efforts at Yahoo! Labs as Chief Scientist. Both Irving and Raghavan will report directly to Carol Bartz, CEO. This new leadership will focus on speeding key inputs and decision making into product strategy and direction.

Ari Balogh, current head of products and technology, will be leaving the company on June 3 for personal reasons and will work closely with Irving to ensure a smooth transition. Irving will assume the position on May 17.

“Blake brings to Yahoo! genuine large scale Internet expertise from a mature company known for world-class technology. In addition, Prabhakar has invaluable technological insights and expertise that I look forward to having my executive team hear more directly,” said Bartz. “With leaders like Blake and Prabhakar, I am confident that we will increase technological innovation and deliver against our vision to be the center of people’s online lives.”

“Yahoo! has an impressive product and technology portfolio that has provided unparalleled value to its customers at scale,” said Irving. “I look forward to working with the team to bring forward more unique and highly personal experiences to Yahoo! consumers, deliver on the company’s promise of Science, Art and Scale to Yahoo! advertisers, and develop the amazing talent at the company so we may continue to deliver more and faster innovations to the market.”

As Chief Product Officer, Irving will lead the company’s products organization, which is responsible for the vision, strategy, design and development of Yahoo!’s global consumer and advertiser product portfolio.

Irving was most recently a professor at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management in Malibu, California. In his prior role as corporate vice president of the Windows Live Platform group, Irving led a team of 4,000 to build and operate Microsoft’s Internet-scale services platform, advertiser and developer ecosystem. Irving also held a variety of development and general management positions at Microsoft.

Before joining Microsoft, Irving held development and product marketing management positions at Xerox Corp., Oki Electric Industry Co. Ltd. and Compaq Computer Corp. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University and a Master’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University.

Raghavan joined Yahoo! in 2005, and serves as Chief Scientist and head of Yahoo! Labs. Raghavan’s research priorities include text and web mining, and algorithm design. Prior to joining Yahoo!, Raghavan was the chief technology officer at Verity and held a number of technical and managerial positions at IBM Research. He is a consulting professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and former editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Association of Computing Machinery. He has co-authored two textbooks on randomized algorithms and information retrieval. Raghavan received his PhD from Berkeley and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, as well as a fellow of the ACM and of the IEEE.