Mr. Whyte; 

I agree that microsoft is being forced to change because of the way times have changed. It is likely that much of their change is due to the way newer companies are doing business in today's world.

I suppose it is possible that google would have played the same way that microsoft did if they had both started at the same time.

It seems that google wants to use the adage that the best experience may be someone elses, and that is what makes them behave the way they have in todays market.

One thing that does appear quite certain is that the dominance of google in the search world has positioned them to be taking fire from other companies wishing they could be the belle of the ball.

The pace seems to be quickening also. Thanks for raising the issue Mr. Stopforth.

I mainly agree with you Murugan. This graphic visualization out of Mother Jones points out a lot of interesting things related to the current power struggle in computing.

When looking at the market value of Google and Microsoft (in march/april '07 at least) it turns out that Microsoft almost doubles Google. Apple, with its market value of 109 billion isn't even on the chart. These figures seem to suggest that it's not only hard cash that counts these days, but also public appearance and momentum. As can be seen in the same graph, Microsoft has been around way longer than Google and Yahoo––and seems to have sticked to its 1980s business ethos for too long. On the other hand: Apple has been around longer than Microsoft, yet has been able to adapt to the sign of the times.

It's lonely at the top, and when you reach it to there you will get picked on. This is what starts happening to Google now, and they could have seen it coming. In my view, Google only in perception can be seen as the new Microsoft. Both companies' strategies traditionally have been so far apart however, that I can't see why Google would be hated for the same reasons as Microsoft used to be despised. I think it's mainly Google role as supposed leader of the pack that makes people question its intentions. Would you agree?

It seems as many of Microsoft's major competitors notably Google and Apple have moved to the head of the pack amongst the most dominant companies in the world, the attacks on Microsoft have subsided. As you mentioned, companies such as Google and Apple have wrested majority of the media attention away from Microsoft.

The mediocre entrance of Vista created at best ripples throughout the world instead of the usual colossal waves as with their previous versions of Windows. This certainly has also contributed to Microsoft being pushed off the main stage. We are at a point now where we can choose from other really good operating systems that can compete with Vista.

Mr. Gates departure certainly creates a fresh face for Microsoft as they venture into new business opportunities and the web frontier. This is a necessity for their survival. They have been knocked down by Google with full force that they needed to reinvent their strategic goals to produce new products and services for the web.

It is certainly not an easy challenge for Microsoft to surpass Google because; Google is a very smart organization that is well aware of how to play successfully in the today’s new global economy.

Nevertheless, Microsoft does have enormous financial resources providing them the opportunity to rebrand, reorganize, and adapt to today’s new rules of the online arena. Despite their loss of the number one spot the are still one of the Shaq’s of the business world.

Hi Mike,

 The writing has been on the wall for quite sometime that the focus of the tech world is nowmon Google. At least for now, they cannot replace interms of market capitalization but certainly they getting more scrutiny now as this piece suggested:

Relax, Bill Gates; It's Google's Turn as the Villain

I think both Google and Microsoft dominance reflects a product of their times. Google would mostly have played the same rules as microsoft did in the 80s and 90s had it been in existence then. What we now see in the way Goolge operates reflects the times in which we are now. Many businesses and corporations have suffer serious loss and some to even extinction for simply not responding to the 'prevailing wind'. As you rightly mentioned, being at the top brings with it added pressure and expectations and how Google responds  both now and the long time remains to be seen. 

Should this 'old microsoft' like behaviour by Google scare us into submission to their whims and caprices? Certainly not!! As this article pointed out, it's time to put our thinking caps to do exactly what Google did over theyears to out paced Microsoft:   

 

 

If Google Is the New Microsoft, That’s Precisely Why They Shouldn’t Be Feared

 

Ultimately the digital age is about data.  MS has been king of accessing that data through OSs and Apps.  Once the public became internet aware, content was positioned to be come the result of that access.  Google provides that access in one way or another and the technology behind the access is secondary.

There will exist a world, ultimately, where the concept of an OS or App is not even a thought, sort of like "what brand stering wheel is in your automobile?" as the app and os will no longer be of consequence.  Even the widget (gadget) utilized will become less important if we look back to the day when just about every US home had a black rotary phone secured to the wall or counter top and brand or style did not matter the the vast majority of consumers.

Ultimately Google is the pioneer company, not the first or the last, that has provided an awareness of data to the masses, first and foremost.  I view Google as a massive librarian and how they choose to manage, disribute, and make available the archives of existance is a monumental balancing act.

I do not know if this position is good or bad.  I suspect it is neither, but the result will be the determining factor and hopefully will not be washed, cleaned, and sterilized amidst a marketing created perception when the end game is all about the content.

Microsoft knows all this.  It will be very interesting to see how they respond, if they respond, or if they try to take us down a yet undiscovered path.