Lately, there has been so much change in the software industry; it can hardly go without notice in this column. Microsoft and Google have started a war that will last for quite some time. Google has encroached on Microsoft’s territory, and Microsoft doesn’t appreciate it too much.
Over the years, Microsoft has gone from the obvious choice in quality software development to easily one of the most notorious monopolies in history. Let’s face it: people love to hate Microsoft. Whether its Spyware, Viruses, or security flaws, it’s always Microsoft’s fault. Say someone decided to look at some dirty websites on your computer, and now every time you open Internet Explorer, a popup of a “fully clothed average looking woman” takes up your entire screen. You need to get it off before the wife gets home so she doesn’t get suspicious, yet the stupid thing just won’t go away. Your darling gets home and what do you do? You blame Microsoft, of course. It was their stupid browser that let the ActiveX control download, and it was their stupid Operating System that let the Trojan execute, anyway. It’s all their fault.
Then there is Google. The company everyone seems to love, no matter what they do. If I may quote my co-author on this one, “There were some things Man was never meant to know, for everything else, there is Google.” Ah yes, <i>for everything else, there is Google</i>. It’s starting to turn more into a reality than a joke. Google moved from their wonderfully successful search engine, into a full range of software industries. Typically, the early bird gets the worm, especially in the world of computers. In this case, Microsoft happened to get the worm, but that worm has a very patient poison waiting to plague its predator. That poison happens to be called “Google.”
If you look at the markets Microsoft has gotten itself into over the last few decades – Operating Systems, Messaging Clients, web development, search engines, web mail, just to name a few – take a look at what Google has come out with in the last year alone. Google Talk, a direct competitor (and advancement) of MSN Messenger has been taken very well over the last few weeks alone. Gmail is growing to offer a very friendly, user-oriented web mail service that people are really enthusiastic about. Google itself has expanded to offer the best search engine in the world, with more features loaded into it than most even know about.
All the new product launches from Google has been held in high praise by most everyone in the technology industry. Finally, we have a direct competitor to Microsoft who has a very solid financial base they can rely on. Now, you might wonder how Google has managed to draw so much away from Microsoft in so short a time. It’s very simple.
For years, Microsoft has had a market that has speculated that they are getting screwed. Prices on Operating Systems are insanely high for the average person, yet, since there is no competitor that can last without Microsoft buying them off, there is nothing the market can do about it. We’ve looked for every excuse to sue Microsoft, just to get some attention. In my opinion, we can thank the hackers out there for Microsoft’s current reputation. They find holes, and exploit them, just so people will blame Microsoft. I like to think so at least.
Then there is Google, again. Google hasn’t changed in as long as I’ve used it (around 5 years.) Its interface is still the plain white background, with the plain search box, and the easy to read results. It tallies relevant links towards the top somehow, and even suggests spelling to you. Its customer base has expanded exponentially in recent years, yet, its interface hasn’t changed one bit. It’s slowly been gaining a loyal base of customers. Their products are clean, they work every time, and they are <b>free</b>.
Lately, they’ve started to hire young, inexperienced engineers to do all their work. Why do this, when they could be getting lead developers that have been around for years and know the system inside at out? Because they want innovation. Why hire older people to do the same thing they’ve been doing for a decade or more, when they could hire someone to do something, heaven forbid, different? They need innovation. Google also encourages their employees to be innovative in their own right – they give them 20% of their clock time to work on personal projects – anything they want to do. All of a sudden, these projects come out of nowhere, and people look at them and say “Hey, I like that.” That is Google’s trade secret. They are creative! Who wouldn’t want to work for a company who gives their employees freedom to work on their own? If it takes reinventing the wheel to invent something better, why not take a shot at it?
Microsoft made a fatal company mistake when the security threats were bogging down every MS OS that was open to the internet – they failed to defend their reputation by proper marketing. They let the consumer blame them for the flaws, when it really wasn’t their fault, and they didn’t do anything about it. They let the average Joe think “Hey, Microsoft isn’t such a great company.” This mistake cost them dearly in the long term. The long term is just now starting to show up to them, and they are just now seeing what a mistake they made. Google, the company with a reputation for rock solid products that work right every time, has started their offensive.
Now, to abstractly quote something I read on Slashdot about something Steve Balmer said in an e-mail to another executive: “I’m going to *editted for those under 13* crush Google. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again!”
Sorry Steve, I think you’ve overshot yourself this time. I think we’ll be using Google Operating Systems not long after Vista comes out. My prediction: two years, and Google will be the dominant software company in the world.
Begun, the Software Wars have.
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