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An uneasy silence between the two companies ended with a meeting earlier this week to review Microsoft's impressions of what a combination with Yahoo might look like.

Shakespeare's famous and oft-misinterpreted quote from Henry VI would read a lot differently if the Butcher said, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the bankers." But Yahoo and Microsoft did this, in a way, when they met on Monday.

The Deal Journal blog said the absence of high-powered bankers from Microsoft and Yahoo's recent chat seemed "odd, if not downright wasteful." Some big name bankers cooled their heels, presumably at a lucrative hourly rate, while the tech companies talked turkey:

So why did Microsoft and Yahoo keep all the high-priced, presumably well-prepared bankers out when the two companies had their first talks since January 31?

It could be seen as a sign of a kindler, gentler, less impetuous Microsoft that is thinking ahead and trying to win over Yahoo management to ease the way for the deal. That Microsoft hasn’t been apparent in all the aggressive talk of proxy fights and unsolicited bids.

Ultimately, the less than formal discussion had one purpose: to move the two sides toward some sort of center, where a merger could finally happen with the right amount of compromise.

Getting there could be easier, as BloggingStocks suggested Microsoft could spin off its Internet business, merge that with Yahoo, and let that become a prominent web destination with the ability to acquire more online properties, too.