Technology. The business war between Microsoft and Google has the Internet and business communities riveted. This is the best business rivalry in years, better than Coke/Pepsi, better than Microsoft/Sun, better than Microsoft/Apple (okay, I’m stretching with the last one). At least for the moment Google is perceived to be, potentially, maybe (no one’s sure) a fundamental threat to Microsoft. Who knows, maybe later today Google will release (in beta, of course), an online suite of products superior to Microsoft Office that will be file compatible with Office, allow users to store documents with complete security and privacy on Google servers, and put Microsoft out of business (sans Xbox, of course) by the end of the week. Disruptive technology, thy name is Google. Well, its possible, isn’t it?
Robert X. Cringely writes most entertainingly on this subject this week, in his article Paper War.