In my mind, Microsoft Hardware makes some excellent stuff; keyboards and mice that cost a little more than most, but usually with better build quality and an eye to details that help make the user experience a better one. Today, that vision has received the equivalent of a swift kick to the crotch, thanks to the Microsoft Hardware team deciding that it would be a good idea to venture into the realm of laptop cooling add-ons alongside such luminaries in the overpriced accessories line i.e. Targus, Belkin and Logitech.

The Microsoft Notebook Cooling Base may be slim and portable, and while it comes with a cable clip and is USB powered, this just reeks of Microsoft trying to charge through the nose for something thats produced for really cheap while also boasting negligible benefit, if any. Even better, the Notebook Cooling Base with an asking price of US$29.95, can easily be replaced by something as simple as a book, or just about anything that props your laptop up from the table for better air circulation. Heck, with a few spare parts, some wire and a couple of minutes, you could easily build something that works as well for so much less.

Next question: is the thing Microsoft Vista-capable, or Vista-ready?

So Google just announced they’re walking away from a proposed deal with Yahoo worth hundreds of millions of dollars (USD, of course). It was pretty obvious that Yahoo was hankering for the deal, simply because the money would have been huge, even after deducting off Google’s share of the loot, potentially increasing Yahoo’s revenue by up to 25% in the first year of the deal. Eventually, Google decided the deal wasn’t worth it, what with antitrust fears and regulators breathing down their necks throughout.

It’s widely presumed that the deal was initially cooked up as part of efforts to block Microsoft’s offer to acquire Yahoo, with Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang holding out for more than the US$33 a share offered by Ballmer and gang. Microsoft eventually backed off.

Now, Yahoo’s taking another beating in the face of their breakup with Google, their share prices in a continuous tumble. Not unexpectedly, Yang’s singing a different tune now. Speaking at the recent Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, he openly indicated his willingness to sell Yahoo to Microsoft.

To this day, I have to say that the best thing for Microsoft to do is to buy Yahoo. I don’t think that is a bad idea at all…at the right price, whatever the price is, we are willing to sell the company.

In the wake these developments, would Microsoft be keen to restart negotiations to buy Yahoo’s search business? It certainly looks like Yang might be willing to accept a price less than the US$33 initially offered. Who says you can’t find great bargains in tech anymore?