Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft, Google, and the Impact on Free Software Revisited

Google logo



Summary: Microsoft fails to slow Google down; Google harms Microsoft's profits; Windows-only Microsoft Web rationalises temporary support of Google

IN ITS brutal fight against Google, Microsoft continues to rely on PR and lies. Fortunately, however, Microsoft makes little or no headway, despite huge investments.



Microsoft relies heavily on unethical deals (e.g. destroying Yahoo! [1, 2]) and miracles.

"Microsoft’s Bing fails to ping as Google continues to take search market share



[...]

The Yahoo!-Microsoft deal remains subject to regulatory approval.


Regardless of antitrust barriers, Microsoft has already caused great damage to Yahoo! -- damage which is also a problem to Free software.

Microsoft's CEO rules out further destruction of companies, except Google. Microsoft's trouble is that with Google dominating many parts of the Web (new study, which the Gerson Lehrman Group agrees with), Microsoft's main cash cow is unable to compete, especially if attempts are made to preserve huge operating margins.

Either way, Google Apps remains a dominant force with more than 1 million businesses using the application already and no sign of slowing down. Cloud computing is here to stay and Google and Microsoft will be fighting this out for years especially after the launch of Office Web Apps.


At the moment, as TechCrunch reminds us all, Microsoft fights Google using regulators.

Brin’s attitude is that if Microsoft or Amazon want a similar corpus of digital information, they should go scan their own out-of-print books.


Microsoft has already tried this and failed (it subsequently killed the product), so its whining about Google here is a case of sheer hypocrisy. Yahoo! is also being used to promote this agenda.

For those who wonder why Microsoft would be a disaster on-line, recall why Microsoft was found guilty in Korea twice this year [1, 2]. There is apparently a bit of a reversal this week, but the details are revealing nonetheless.

Court Defends Microsoft Browser Monoculture



[...]

The South Korean government insists that Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser should be the only option for doing encrypted communications online and the Supreme Court has no problem with it.

[...]

So basically, Linux, Firefox, Chrome and Opera users will continue to be prevented from banking or purchasing products online, and Mac users will have to buy Windows CDs to keep their devices from being reduced to fashion items.

[...]

It is estimated that around 99 percent of Korean computers run on Microsoft's Windows operating system, and a similar rate of Internet users rely on the company's IE. The main reason behind the dominance is that virtually all encrypted online communications here are made to rely on Microsoft's Active-X controls. The tool, introduced in 1996, is designed to work only on IE.


Microsoft not only spreads ActiveX controls; it also spreads Silver Lie these days (while harming Web standards along with Novell). This is why Microsoft should ideally be kept off the Web. A Web without Microsoft is a Web that GNU/Linux computers and devices can access at ease.

"There has recently been an exchange on email with people in the Office group about Office and HTML.

"In one piece of mail people were suggesting that Office had to work equally well with all browsers and that we shouldn’t force Office users to use our browser. This Is wrong and I wanted to correct this.

"Another suggestion In this mail was that we can’t make our own unilateral extensions to HTML I was going to say this was wrong and correct this also."

--Bill Gates [PDF]

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Open Source Initiative (OSI) is Microsoft, It Presents Microsoft-Controlled Projects Like They're Everything That Exists in the World
They're not assessing the real data, they keep track only of projects foolish enough to choose slavery under Microsoft
Links 08/12/2023: Cyber Resilience Act in EU and Denmark Embracing 'Blasphemy Law'
Links for the day
Linus Torvalds Cannot Easily 'Offend' Companies Anymore, But Weeks Ago He Explained Why (Linux Support and Hardware Documentation Has Significantly Improved)
new clip
Links 08/12/2023: Tidal and Simplilearn Layoffs
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, December 07, 2023
IRC logs for Thursday, December 07, 2023
[Video] The Media Facilitates Microsoft's Abuse, Bribes, and Growing Threats to National Security
The failure of the media to properly and independently explain what's happening will continue to doom the media
[Video] The Next Ten Years of Techrights in a World With Changing Threats and Technological Landscapes (or Trends That Are Buzzwords/Cargo Cults)
The video of today talks about the site's (and capsule's plan) for the future
Wikipedia is Vandalism, Brought to You by Microsoft and Bill Gates
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Lennart Poettering and Fellow Microsofters Turn GNU/Linux Into Windows, Expect Poor Reliability With systemd-bsod
turning Linux into Microsoft Windows
The Effort to Silence (Squash) GNU/Linux Advocates and Press Coverage
If nobody even mentions it anymore, does it still exist?
Links 07/12/2023: Climate Events Occupied by Their Enemy, Workers Going on Strike
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, December 06, 2023
IRC logs for Wednesday, December 06, 2023
A Googlebombing Campaign Targeting "Gemini" Takes on E-mail, Too
Google can do Googlebombing too (the term is even named after it)
[Video] Microsoft Without a So-called 'Common Carrier' (Windows Monoculture)
Windows Has Fallen
[Video] To Combat Efforts to Cancel or Kill the Career (and Reputation) of the People Who Made GNU/Linux We Must Rally the Community
nobody speaks better for projects and for licences than their own founders
Rumour: Major Finance Layoffs at Microsoft Next Week
If the rumour is true, we'll be hearing barely anything from the mainstream media next week
Links 07/12/2023: More EPO Patents Squashed, More Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine "Glitches" Found
Links for the day
Still Not 'Canceled'
Ted Ts'o, Jan Kara, Linus Torvalds last month
Google is Googlebombing the Term "Gemini"
Could Google not pick a name that's already "taken"?
Links 06/12/2023: Bitcoin Rebound, China Downgraded by American Firm, Yahoo! Layoffs Again
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news
Shooting the Messenger Using Bribes and Secrecy Bonds
We seem to live in a world where accountability for the rich and well-connected barely exists anymore
The Myth of an Aging (or Dying) GNU/Linux Leadership
Self-fulfilling prophecies as a tactic?
Links 06/12/2023: Many More December Layoffs
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, December 05, 2023
IRC logs for Tuesday, December 05, 2023
PipeWire 1.0: Linux audio comes of age
Once upon a time, serious audio users like musicians and audio engineers had real trouble with Linux
This is How 'Linux' Foundation Presents Linux to the World
Right now it even picks Windows over Linux in some cases