The future of Yahoo is anything but secure.

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First, at the time of an initial public offering (IPO) of Alibaba in the future, Alibaba will be required either to repurchase one-quarter of Yahoo!'

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We hope you're as excited as we are about the future that lies ahead for all of us--together as one Yahoo!

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But for Allen Weiner, a research director at analyst firm Gartner and someone who has followed Yahoo's progress since the early years, the future of search is not going to be purely about the technology powering it.

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For Yahoo, the deal provides tens of millions in cash-flow for its own future makeovers.

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