Microsoft And Google At War? Are microsoft and google at war?

[minimcmonkey 0]

this is a rather random post. But im sure a fair few people have noticed, that microsoft and google, seem to be at war...For every product google brings out, microsoft seems to try to beter it.And google keeps creating new products to try and get ahead.for instance:gmail - microsoft make hotmailgoogle search - microsoft make live searchGmail IM - micorsoft make live messengerGoogle earth - microsoft make world wide telescope and visual earthgoogle sketchup - microsoft make Virtual Earth - 3DVIAGoogle pack contains lots of free software from other companies likeNorton antivirus - microsoft make windows defenderskype - micrisoft have live messengerectGoogle picaso - microsoft make numerous image tools like photostoryGoogle desktop - mocrosoft make desktop searchGoogle screensaver - microsoft has photo screensaver with windows XPSo what will happen?Can we expect to see google making operating systems in a few years?Will google overtake microsoft?Opinions?

[dimumurray 0]

The real beef between Google and Microsoft is probably fallout from Google's purported tentative partnership with Yahoo!. Microsoft has been trying to buy out Yahoo! for some time now, but the Yahoo! board members have managed to avert all of Microsoft's advances, turning down multi-billion dollar take over bids like they were cheap candy. Currently Microsoft is backing some billionaire stakeholder (can't remember the guy's name at the moment) in the hopes the he'll stage a coup' de' tat, with the goal of replacing the current Yahoo! board members, opening the door for a quick take over.Yahoo! stockholders have voiced concerns as to whether the current board heads are up to the task of running the company, so the board was somewhat vulnerable to 'external' influences like the Microsoft backed billionaire guy. In an effort to smooth over the dangerously volatile situation with their stockholders the Board heads started pushing a partnership proposal with Google. The jist of the deal is that they would be swapping technology and services with Google thereby opening up markets hitherto untapped by Yahoo! and its affiliates. The board heads are hoping the stockholders will favor this deal rather than a buy out from Microsoft. Hence the reason why Microsoft is currently at odds with Google. In typical Microsoft fashion they try to undercut the competition by producing cheaper variants of a given technology. Microsoft has a great support network to foster quick distribution and adaptation of their technologies (usually to the exclusion of everything else). They have been able to leverage this advantage to great effect in the past. When IBM was king of the PC platform in the '80s there was a copy of MS-DOS on every one of their machines. It didn't matter if it was the best operating system or not, all that mattered was market share. They had the power of ubiquity, their software products were synonymous with the IBM platform. Today though the field of play is vastly different. The battle ground is the internet and Google can pretty much call it their home turf as far as search engines go, so no matter what Microsoft produces to compete with Google and its supporting technologies they'll be way behind the curve. Couple that with the current industry wide push behind open-source development and methodologies --with Google being one its forerunners-- Microsoft looks to be the weaker contender in this fight. Still, Microsoft is as tenacious and aggressive in its tactics as they come so whose to say who will be standing when the dust settles..

Edited August 7, 2008 by dimumurray (see edit history)

[minimcmonkey 0]

I suppose so!No, microsoft could not overtake google with anything internet. But google could surely overtake microsoft with a new operating system!I think they should make a browser. It would be so much beter than IE!

[jlhaslip 4]

I think they should make a browser. It would be so much beter than IE!

Or support the current Freeware Browsers (like Opera and Firefox) to be an even stronger presense in the Market.

[gameratheart 0]

Why does everyone talk about how cool it would be if Google made their own OS? Don't people know how difficult and costly it is to do? And they'd need to make a lot more software to make it feasible - a file explorer, a Zip Archieve viewer and a Control Panel to name a few. Then again, Google is known to support Ubuntu on much of its software and has it's own modified version of Ubuntu running on some of it's corporate computers, and considering how versatile Linux is, making a new OS from the existing shell would not be too difficult a task...A Google Browser? Never heard of that idea before, but that would sound pretty cool and would definately take them a step further in the "Google OS" direction. But I agree with jlhaslip - it'd probably be better in the long run for them to support the current Freeware Browsers to be an even stronger presense in the Market. In fact, they already do in many ways...Microsoft vs. Google is quite a popular topic overall, and one that'll be on people's lips for a while. But there's a key difference between the two companies - Microsoft is about Computers, Google is about the Internet. Though the two may be competing with each other in some ways, they are too different in others for either to be considered a true competitor to the other, and that's why I think it's wrong to take a side at the present time. But considering both companies' contributions, the costs involved, and the history of the companies, I'm going to say that if Google does at any time wan't to become a true competitor to Microsoft and make it's own OS or whatever, then I back them all the way. Google for the win, that's what I say.

[saitunes 0]

I honestly don't know about being at war, to be honest I didn't even know that Microsoft has released those services. (other than live search and hotmail) I just thought that microsoft was all about copying other people's Ideas. Look at all the 'new' things in vista that were already in os x, and all the freeware stuff that Microsoft copied the ideas...Google building an operating system, I really dont know how soon it would happen or even if it would happen. I could possibly see them releasing a sort of 'web based' system. or at least a virtual drive in which you can work on documents (with google docs) and do various other sorts of files. I could see that, maybe doing a re-mastered linux. Developing a few programs for it.I would fully trust a google operating system... unlike Microsoft

[A200 0]

A google browser?

Already done!

Google Chrome!

I can't see Google introducing an OS, sorry. It would be really hard, as it would need to support every single game out there that works on XP or Vista to be successful. Would a google OS be free? Or would it be $100? $200? Who knows. How would they distribute it? Microsoft currently make mice, keyboards, webcams etc. Google would have to match those as well.
In a nut shell, I think it wouldn't be feasible for Google to introduce and support an OS. I would rather they stick to what they do currently and do it well.

Lachlan

[csp4.0 1]

Google Operating system has ALREADY been made... Just not available to the public. It is called (well, nicknamed) "Goobuntu" from the name, you can probably easily tell that it is either a Google modified version of uBuntu or just Google modified version of a plain Linux Kernel... Google isn't "evil" like microsoft... Their slogan says so... :)But the thing is... hmm... unlike before I don't have much to ramble on about... :?Anywhom... If both were to invade each other's "area" of business, then Microsoft would certainly lose... If Google gets shut down, the entire internet would basically "collapse" well, maybe not collapse but something similar... If Microsoft were to become defunct, then its another happy day for Linus...

[-Sky- 0]

I don't think Google would release an Operating System yet. Besides they have not long just released their own browser although the Google Chrome browser also sucks like Internet Explorer....I mean, they need to make a better skin for the browser, and that annoying scroll thing is a joke. I simply cannot work with that/them kind of browsers when on the Internet. It would annoy me when I am on here too, and possibly also on cPanel. No way am I re-installing Chrome. :)Why would Google and Microsoft be at war anyway? There is no reasons to why they'd be at war.

[radames 0]

Google probably will have their own version of OS and computer too like Mac. All are possible, this is business if you don?t innovate you die.

[rayzoredge 2]

I'm not sure if anyone noticed the horrid mistakes that OP made with who made what and the whole chronological mess that the original post contained...Microsoft came before Google. Google started its whole stint from being a simple search engine. Microsoft started as an operating system company.Hotmail was out before GMail. I believe Live search has been out, even before Google Search. GChat came after MSN Live Messenger. Norton Antivirus is by Symantec, not by Google. Same with Skype; it is its own gig.If you're going to look for support in rallying up the troops, Google has us by the hand, coaxing us with its open-source movement, free software, a fresh new look on things, and "wanting" to better the Internet. Microsoft will have the backing of companies and naive consumers with its own hand in just about every corporate application possible as well as being rather omnipresent on most machines in the world nowadays. It's not so much of a "war," but moreso an existence of giants.

[delivi 0]

Most of the people have a misunderstanding that Google is first to introduce all or most of its Products/Services. Actually it is not true, Google has enhanced existing technologies and added new features and has also made some lesser known technologies, popular and made avialble to the average user. Let me make a few corrections to what minimcmonkey has said.

 

Microsoft is not exactly copying Google's Products. Microsoft had a few of its Google competing services long time ago Google was known to the public. For Instance,

 

* Hotmail is the first web based mail and it came into existence in 1996 and Google's GMail was launched in 2004.

But I won't deny the fact that Hotmail was enhanced with AJAX and increased hosting space after GMail was launched, to catch up with competetion and now known as Windows Live Hotmail.

* Mircrosoft Live Messenger was first released in 1999 as MSN Messenger and Google's GTalk was released in 2005.

* Google Earth was launched in 2004 (after acquiring Keyhole,Inc. the maker of Google Earth). Keyhole made its product in 2001.

Whereas Microsoft's Virtual Earth and Live Maps are based on its own products Microsoft TerraServer (launched in 1997) and Microsoft Map Point (launched in 2000).

 

I don't view Google as a competeor to Microsoft. All I fear about Google is that it is posed to become the next Microsoft, in dominating the Internet (Google has bought numerous new startups, just like MS so finally we are gonna endup with two gaints one Microsoft for Desktop and Google for the Web.

[innosia 1]

Most of the people have a misunderstanding that Google is first to introduce all or most of its Products/Services. Actually it is not true, Google has enhanced existing technologies and added new features and has also made some lesser known technologies, popular and made avialble to the average user. Let me make a few corrections to what minimcmonkey has said.

 

Microsoft is not exactly copying Google's Products. Microsoft had a few of its Google competing services long time ago Google was known to the public. For Instance,

 

* Hotmail is the first web based mail and it came into existence in 1996 and Google's GMail was launched in 2004.

But I won't deny the fact that Hotmail was enhanced with AJAX and increased hosting space after GMail was launched, to catch up with competetion and now known as Windows Live Hotmail.

* Mircrosoft Live Messenger was first released in 1999 as MSN Messenger and Google's GTalk was released in 2005.

* Google Earth was launched in 2004 (after acquiring Keyhole,Inc. the maker of Google Earth). Keyhole made its product in 2001.

Whereas Microsoft's Virtual Earth and Live Maps are based on its own products Microsoft TerraServer (launched in 1997) and Microsoft Map Point (launched in 2000).

 

I don't view Google as a competeor to Microsoft. All I fear about Google is that it is posed to become the next Microsoft, in dominating the Internet (Google has bought numerous new startups, just like MS so finally we are gonna endup with two gaints one Microsoft for Desktop and Google for the Web.

I think that Google must compete with Microsoft, ITS A MUST

Its to prevent microsoft from dominating IT world from internet to wide distribution of software

Though unlike microsoft that sells even include for personal use product, I think currently Google only sells for corporate and their business with microsoft is somehow different. But google must make it so that they can compete very well with microsoft, if not a giant company ruling a world is not funny, Google needs to prove that this world is fair, not monopoly product just how I perceive IE distribution in OS package, though MIcrosoft wins in trial, but software company needs to make a competitive environment to ensure that we are not controlled by any company

[-Sky- 0]

I think either Microsoft or MSN, saying MSN is going to be a needing-to-pay thing soon. I just hope they actually don't do this. I like MSN, and I can't be assed to pay for that aswell for me to use it.

[kudmus 0]

Well the guys who wrote this blog don't seem to see a fierce beef. Instead they see MS benefiting from the developments at Google.

Microsoft came before Google. Google started its whole stint from being a simple search engine. Microsoft started as an operating system company.
Hotmail was out before GMail. I believe Live search has been out, even before Google Search. GChat came after MSN Live Messenger. Norton Antivirus is by Symantec, not by Google. Same with Skype; it is its own gig.

Very true! This guy misled me and I ended up thinking Google bought a chunk of Skype. I guess on the others he was not being particular about who started it but he wanted to compare what they have side by side. Although he said some thing like MS strives to better what Google will have done I think he was now refering to the latest technologies like what you find in Google applications.