Microsoft was Right
Yeah, you read that correctly, Microsoft was right. About what? About Google. Long before Google released Google Desktop or the just-today-released Google Talk, Microsoft was worried. They saw Google as a threat to their operating system monopoly. And they were right.
You can say what you want about Microsoft’s ability to create good software, but they can sniff out competition long before the rest of us do. Notice that it’s now called Google Desktop, not Google Desktop Search? Notice the addition of the sidebar, which Microsoft had planned for something similar in Windows Vista? Notice that Google Talk doesn’t communicate with any other instant message services? Google is trying to control your entire computer and communications, your e-mail, your instant messaging, and possibly next your Web browsing. There have long been rumors of a Google browser being built upon Firefox, could that be around the corner?
Disclaimer: Any viewpoints and opinions expressed in this article are those of Nicholas C. Zakas and do not, in any way, reflect those of my employer, my colleagues, Wrox Publishing, O'Reilly Publishing, or anyone else. I speak only for myself, not for them.
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4 Comments
Goo Google Goo!
Erik Arvidsson on August 24th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
Hey! Just because no one else can make a decent OS doesn't make MS a monopoly
Even though Google repeatedly denies an upcoming GBrowser, I can't help but think they're blowing hot air. I want them to do it for a variety of reasons.
You said MS can sniff competition, and I believe it. I also wonder if they've sniffed a GBrowser, and that was a big motivation to bring back IE development. Of course, that's the main reason I want a GBrowser: to make MS get IE up to snuff.
Jeremy on August 24th, 2005 at 11:56 pm
"Google Talk doesn't communicate with any other instant message services" — sorry, but that's nonsense! It's built on the open source Jabber protocol, thus you can use it from just about any multi-network IM client (Trillian, Miranda, GAIM etc) and the dozens of Jabber-only clients. The only reason it doesn't talk to the other big networks is because THOSE are all closed-source, proprietary networks that won't let anyone in. It's exactly the opposite of what you suggested.
Christopher Clay on September 11th, 2005 at 1:43 am
Chris, I think you've misunderstood. If you are running Google Talk, not Trillian, Miranda, or GAIM, you can't communicate with non-Google Talk users. Yes, of course all those multi-network applications can hook into Google Talk to use it as well, but that doesn't change the fact that Google Talk, in and of itself, doesn't have the ability to communicate cross-network.
Nicholas C. Zakas on September 12th, 2005 at 10:46 am
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