If Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) wanted to buy a stake in Facebook (as last week’s WSJ indicated), perhaps comments from the Redmond company’s CEO today were an attempt to negotiate a lower price. Interviewed by The Times during a London engagement yesterday, Ballmer said: “There can’t be any more deep technology in Facebook than what dozens of people could write in a couple of years, that’s for sure. I think these things [social networks] are going to have some legs, and yet there’s a faddishness, a faddish nature about anything that basically appeals to younger people.”  (Oh, Steve, you old fuddy-duddy!) The WSJ had ran an anonymous source claiming Microsoft was offering between $300 million and $500 million for a five percent stake, valuing Facebook at up to $10 billion. Ballmer’s comments could scotch that talk, or - for the cynics amongst you - could suggest a public barter. Then again, Ballmer reckoned GeoCities “had most of what Facebook has”.

- Advertising: Meanwhile, after addressing a gathering of media buying agencies representing the majority of the UK’s £13 billion annual ad spend, Ballmer said Microsoft’s aQuantive buy “proves his commitment” to advertising (via Times). And, raising a flag for EC competition officials scrutinising Google’s (NSDQ: GOOG) DoubleClick acquisition: “I think everybody would like to see – in advertising and search – Google get some competition.”

- Software: Ballmer also made stronger noises about moving from pay-for to ad-supported software. Via Telegraph.co.uk: “It’s not in the next two, three, four years, but in the long run it’ll happen. Some of that money will come through subscription revenues, some will come through transaction revenues and some will come through advertising revenues. The average consumer really doesn’t like to pay for thing. ... I think there will be some subscription businesses, and yet I think the rest of the group will be either ad-funded or essentially not for profit.”

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