Double Click Move

Implications: Google announced that it would pay 3.1 billion for the ad outfit DoubleClick.
This is less of a function of the value but more about what it can provide Google (and what is could have done for Microsoft).
DoubleClick has something that Google doesn't have; a vibrant advertising business for banners/display ads


Analysis: The Google toolbar has a new partner in the world of advertising.
DoubleClick. 

Google has been a one-trick pony in terms of just being a search tool.  This is indeed another trick for the company. 

Display ads will account for more than 40% of the $19.5 billion expected to go to online advertising this year, according to a Mar. 7 eMarketer report.  Google grabs about two-thirds of the search advertising market. Much of that growth has stemmed from the ability of search engines to find consumers who have demonstrated an interest in a certain product.

Whether one likes it or not, internet ads are here to stay and banner ads will flourish.  With Google riding this wave, they stand to be the leader in advertising/search marketplace. 

DoubleClick will gradually start to leverage Google's targeting capabilities with its customers. Google's ability to match ads with consumers will be particularly helpful for publishers that have inventory they can't sell through their in-house sales force.

I am sure Google is exicted about the prospect of using DoubleClick's relationships to target ads in the future. 
The leading platform technology provider and the leading monetization engine together to leverage the advertising community.  Microsoft let this one get away.