Summary: A glimpse at what Google's advancement in the market is doing to Microsoft, the company that attacks Free software more than any other company (or all of them combined)

THE title states the obvious, which is worth pointing out again nonetheless. Joe Wilcox worries that despite Microsoft's software patent traps (e.g. ActiveSync patents [1, 2, 3, 4]), it could be "game over for Microsoft". More here:

Would Microsoft suffer if Google gets Mobile Sync right?

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Sync in the mobile world is already a big thing, and looks set to be even bigger in 2010. According to an interesting article over on betanews, Apple, Google and Amazon are sync leaders as of now, but Microsoft is a player but competing in the wrong game.

Google's main source of revenue is search/ads, but the company is moving into the enterprise with business applications, including operating systems for computers and mobile devices. It makes it harder for Microsoft to just strangle Google.

"Competition Between Google and Microsoft Intensifies," says this article and The Times explains "How Google stole mighty Microsoft’s thunder":

The company was dominant. But not invincible. Today, Microsoft is openly mocked by Apple in its advertising. Computers have become portholes to the internet. Once there, Google is the brand people know and trust. Microsoft’s products are still used but they are not life-changing.

As "An application war is brewing in the cloud" "Google mounts a big WAC attack on Microsoft in the enterprise":

Microsoft’s financial results and its deal with Yahoo have motivated Google to launch a marketing campaign aimed at Microsoft’s enterprise revenue. The marketing will escalate because Microsoft and Yahoo now threaten Google’s crown jewels of search and advertising. Google wants to gut Microsoft’s strongest money machines, which are its applications and enterprise software. Google has been moving slowly into a position from which an attack on Microsoft’s core assets could be launched. With the forces in place, Google’s on the offensive.

According to this new poll which is not representative of the whole population (so cannot be extrapolated), "Gmail [is] Preferred Over Microsoft Outlook":

The team over at Mashable held a poll to find out what mail service users preferred, the Google created Gmail or Microsoft Outlook and the results are in with over 5000 votes.

As this struggle carries on, Free software probably stands to gain (ODF too). Microsoft's pathetic competition to Google Search has no chance and even the logo/branding gets serious flogging (not just a lawsuit for trademark violation).

Microsoft Bing: The Worst-Designed Logo of 2009?

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Brand New, hands-down the most influential and well-read blog on branding design, has just concluded its reader survey, which sought to find the best- and worst-designed logos of 2009. The worst: Microsoft Bing.

More here:

There are plenty of other blogs and sources critiquing the functionality and efficacy of Bing, so what truly brings us all here today is the sad, awful, unforgivable mutilation that has been done to these four poor letters of the Latin alphabet...I can’t even imagine how someone arrives at a design solution like this...There is bad taste and then there is this....Microsoft has never been a paragon of good design, or even decent design. But this is rubbing it in design's face.

One thing that Microsoft and its vassal are still good at would be censorship. From the news:

● Yahoo,Microsoft and Flickr to restrict porn in India

● Microsoft, Yahoo help keep India away from porn?

● Yahoo,Microsoft and Flickr to restrict porn in India

● Yahoo and Microsoft steer Indian searches away from adult content

An investigation by Britain's Guardian newspaper has found that Yahoo and Microsoft's search engines have complied with an Indian law that requires the use of safe search settings, altering the search engine optimization (SEO) landscape for internet users in that country.

Apple too is censoring and some say Google.

I suppose we should be used to it by now, but it’s still disheartening to see U.S. tech companies whose success has been tied to the free flow of information so readily accommodate government censorship elsewhere. The latest examples: Apple, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Google is not mentioned here. It actually has a better track record when it comes to resisting authorities that crave snoops, so Asa Dotzler's remarks were somewhat misguided. It goes back to 2005 or so. ⬆