The Regis Philbin era is over. Regis said goodbye to “Live! With Regis and Kelly” today after one final look at his 28-year history hosting the morning talk show.

Regis said:

“I wanted this to be a show where people would feel better about themselves, to look at life in a different way, a funnier way… I’ll always remember spending the mornings with all of you.”

The Associated Press reports that a star-studded audience was in attendance to say goodbye to Regis. Kathie Lee Gifford, Regis’ co-host before Kelly Ripa, was in the audience, as well as Katie Couric, Alan Alda, Donald Trump, Meredith Vieira and Tony Danza. Justin Timberlake, Anne Hathaway, and other celebrities filmed tributes for Regis.

So what’s next for Regis? The 80-year-old host says that he isn’t retiring but he doesn’t know what his next move will be.

Regis said:

“Where’s Regis going? Regis doesn’t know. Stop asking me!”

Jerry Seinfeld will be stepping into host “Live! With Kelly Ripa” for a few days until the show finds a permanent replacement.

Here’s a look at Regis Philbin’s final show.

Here’s a look at Regis’ long career on “Live! With Regis.”

The New York Daily news reports that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared on the final show to present Regis with a symbolic key to the city. Walt Disney Co. chief executive Bob Iger presented Regis with a plaque that will be installed outside of the “Live! With Regis” studio.

What do you think Regis Philbin will do next? Will you watch “Live!” now that Regis is gone?

Regis Philbin Says Goodbye to ‘Live!’ [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Regis Philbin leaves “Live! With Regis and Kelly” later this month, his hosting shoes will be filled by Jerry Seinfeld. But don’t get too excited Seinfeld fans, Jerry will only be filling in for a few days.

According to a statement from the show, Jerry Seinfield will join Kelly Rippa as the host of “LIVE!” for three days in November.

Executive producer Michael Gelman said:

“Jerry is a great friend of ours, and a friend of Kelly’s, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s an entertainment icon… It’s a great way to kick off the new beginning of our new show.”

When Regis retires later this month, “LIVE! With Regis and Kelly” will become “LIVE! With Kelly.” Seinfeld will help Ripa get used to the new show from November 21-23. According to Reuters, Jerry and Kelly will be visited by Kim Cattrall, Howie Mandel, Jason Segal, chef Jamie Oliver and Muppet Miss Piggy.

Philbin has been the host of “Live!” for the last 28 years. Regis, now 80-years-old, announced his retirement in January. His final appearance on “LIVE!” will be on November 19th.

Do you think Jerry Seinfeld is a good choice for an interim host on “LIVE!”

[Image via Shutterstock.com]

Jerry Seinfeld to Host ‘LIVE!’ When Regis Philbin Exits is a post from: The Inquisitr

A newly launched program, SearchPerks, gives you frequent flyer-style points for every Live search you perform (up to 25 per day). You download and install a program, which tracks your searches and tallies your total. Then, next spring, you can redeem your points for any number of exciting prizes.

Oh yeah, and you can only do it if you’re using Internet Explorer. (Pure coincidence, we’re sure.)

The move reeks even more of desperation than the company’s CashBack deal back in May. But even that approach — which basically amounted to paying people to use the search engine — didn’t seem to work: Microsoft’s Live Search has lost users since the start of ’08, dropping about 1.5 percent in its share of the search engine market.

(Google, for what it’s worth, gained users in the latest ComScore analysis. It’s now at about 63 percent of the total search engine market. And it’s not even paying people or giving out prizes. Go figure.)

Microsoft’s already on its knees and begging. So what’s next? There’s only one logical step.

You heard it here first.

Microsoft’s Sad New Search Incentive is a post from: The Inquisitr

Weeks after announcing a plan to give discounts for products found through Live search queries, Microsoft has added in a new option to save directly on eBay “Buy It Now” items. eBay offers found via Live will now have built-in “Cash Back” discounts. Unlike the other Live Cash Back partners, the discount is applied directly to your eBay total without the need to use Microsoft’s interface.

The discounts seem to be about 10 percent per item.

Is it just me, or is the smell of desperation getting unbearable?

Microsoft Ups The Ante In Cash Back Program is a post from: The Inquisitr

“Given the evolution of the Web and our strategy, we believe the next generation of search is about the development of an underlying, sustainable business model for the search engine, consumer, and content partner.”

Microsoft has decided that rather that try to be a full scale Google competitor on many fronts, it’s better off focusing on core services that are “sustainable business models.”

All is not lost for those who partnered with Microsoft in these projects (and remember, a lot of the partners were people who didn’t like what Google was doing), Microsoft will incorporate the index into general search and is “encouraging libraries to build on the platform we developed with Kirtas, the Internet Archive, CCS, and others to create digital archives available to library users and search engines.”

Although the jury is still out on this weeks announcement of the Live Search cash-back promotion, Microsoft’s renewed focus on core search and traffic is a positive strategy at a time consumers need choices as Google comes to dominate the space more and more.

Microsoft Changes Direction On Search is a post from: The Inquisitr