NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Oh Lord, please, please don't let this be true. Or, if it is true, please let MS allow them to carry on as usual. What a crappy early Christmas gift :-/

"In a recent conversation with one of our insiders at Microsoft, the source revealed that Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, has acquired Opera Software, makers of the Opera browser. The insider reported that both Microsoft and Google were trying to bid on Opera, but in the end, the software maker took the lead."

UPDATE:  Opera has officially denied the rumors.  Damned insiders ruining my morning.  Sheesh.