Microsoft and Yahoo further deepen ties

First came the way Yahoo's music store only sells music that's copy protected by Microsoft digital restrictions management (DRM technology.  In other words, it only plays back on Microsoft PlaysForSure-compliant products.  (By the way, the way Yahoo just doubled the price of its portable music subscription service is a perfect example of how DRM technology is like a Trojan Horse. What? You subscribed because of the low low price and now you don't want to pay the new fare? No problem, as long you don't mind waking up one morning to find all of your music gone.)  Second came the the way Microsoft and Yahoo made their instant messenging systems compatible with each other (in part, to fend off Google).  Now, comes even more alignment between Yahoo and Google when it comes to the Open Content Alliance.  According to a story in this morning's  Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

In a surprise move, Microsoft said it would create its new MSN Book Search service by working with the Open Content Alliance, a group founded to digitize and index books and other media. The group's founding members include Yahoo!, the very competitor from which Microsoft is trying to untie other parts of its Internet search business.

Untie? Seems like the two are getting cozier.  Not drifting farther apart.