Love at First Byte

Microsoft has proposed to Yahoo, will they accept? If they do, the marriage will probably happen late in 2008, but is it a match made in heaven? Sources say the pre-nuptial agreement has Microsoft offering $31 per share in a combination of 50% cash and 50% stock. Microsoft’s best man, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, is determined to see these two joined despite Yahoo’s refusal of Microsoft’s proposal last year.

Proving that Microsoft doesn't intend to take no for an answer, Ballmer wrote that the company "reserves the right to pursue all necessary steps to ensure that Yahoo's shareholders are provided with the opportunity to realize the value inherent in our proposal." Yahoo has yet to ring the wedding bells of acceptance.

Nuance Communications (NUAN:Nasdaq) rose in early trading Friday at $16.12, up $0.23 (1.45%) on a trading volume of 952,330, right around the center mark for the 52 week high – lows of $25.55 and $11.29 respectively. Earlier this month Nuance announced the success of its Dragon(R) Naturally Speaking(R) Medical certified value-added reseller(VAR) partners. Awards were presented to six top partners at Nuance’s First Annual VAR Healthcare Summit in Burlington, Mass.

Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical is the most widely used and successful general-purpose speech-enabled clinical documentation solution in the history of the industry. "The ongoing commitment to shared success and partnership between Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical certified VARs and the Dictaphone Healthcare Solutions division is critical to further drive speech recognition adoption across the healthcare market," said Dr. Bill Wade, vice president, Kaberline Healthcare Informatics. "We have made it a top priority as a company to support Dragon NaturallySpeaking Medical and will continue to provide our customers with the high-quality training, support and value that they have come to expect from working with us."

Arris Group Inc (ARRS:Nasdaq) rose $0.31 (3.53%) to $9.10, on volumes of 207,563, about $2.00 higher than the 52 week low of $6.91. The merger of Arris and C-Cor was finalized Dec 14, 2007 with a stockholder vote of 98% in favour.  Investors and analysts  can learn more about how Arris & C-Cor services have been integrated, advanced product availability and services offered at a meeting scheduled for March 4 & 5th, 2008 at its Suwanee, Georgia laboratories and corporate headquarters. Bob Stanzione, ARRIS Chairman & CEO said “This meeting will provide a valuable opportunity to better understand the strengths of the new ARRIS . . . .Attendees will be able to meet with our technical and financial management team, understand industry spending drivers, learn about he niw technologies shaping the future of our industry and receive a clear view of ARRIS’ financial outlook as well as our strategy for continued future growth.”

Lawson Software Inc (LWSN:Nasdaq) fell in early trading Friday $0.01, or -0.12% on share volumes of 31,617, slightly above the 52 week low of $7.53 Lawson and Dubai based E3 have announced their partnership which will enable E3 to resell Lawson S3 enterprise solutions software applications to hospitals in the Middle East and North Africa. Lawson S3 solutions support some of the largest healthcare organizations in the world, helping them manage their supplies, workforce, and financial systems. Healthcare organizations will be better positioned to manage their businesses so they can focus on providing quality patient care.