Google Gears to Grind Microsoft, Help Linux? Jun 20, 2007, 17 :15 UTC (0 Talkback[s]) (10138 reads)
Slate: Gears of War
"Office isn't the only Microsoft hegemony that Google Gears could help destroy. One of the defining differences between Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux is the application lineup. That's given the crew in Redmond, Wash., tremendous power: It's not purely happenstance that Mac users wait longer for new versions of Office and never get some programs, such as Outlook and Access. But technologies like Gears render the operating system largely irrelevant. Remember the Milk couldn't care less whether it's running in Internet Explorer on Windows or in Firefox on a Mac. Neither could I, since it's exactly the same useful service on both platforms. If productivity applications migrate to the browser, you could choose whatever OS you pleased--your apps would work anywhere and everywhere..."
"While not really arguing with this argument, I'm not that sure what 'killing' Microsoft means. There were aplenty cases in the history, when something buried by others is still pretty much alive. For such a huge entity as Microsoft, not only from software point of view, but economically--I'm not sure anyone can explain how can it 'die.' I'm not saying that disappearance of Microsoft is not possible--it is. But Microsoft has so huge impact on technological way of life in our world, and especially on world's economy (Microsoft's software, hardware, platforms, intellectual property--and I mean in its pure logical sense of inventions, its financial base)--that I believe its almost a stand-alone machine which needs no human interaction to function. Too much effort and resources are put in it. So much, that its 'death' seems to be possible only as a result of sudden unexpected surprise (like aliens invasion). So, yes, Microsoft will (I'm sure of it) loose its hold on a desktop and in business. But that doesn't mean it will die. It will shift its act into other areas, and as any other meta-organism it will keep fighting for its life. So, Microsoft's death? Not visible on my radar..."
