Anti-Trust: Microsoft vs Google

[Ben]

An interesting question I heard on Fox Business this morning:

Google has a greater market share, has bought up more businesses and technology, and is closer to a Monopoly than Microsoft ever was. Why is Obama not going after Google the way that Clinton went after Microsoft?

I'm becoming less of a Google fan because of their invasiveness into everything I do on an Internet capable device, but am not in favor of anyone "going after them" to stop this, because I have the choice to use something else. Much like I had a choice to use something besides IE when the gov went after Microsoft. So why go after Microsoft and not Google? One suggestion was that one of the Google founders has given tons of help to Obama. If I remember right though, MS gave (still gives?) more money to Dems than they do to Reps. Thoughts?

[RevDisk]

I don't understand the question. Comparison is same as between orange and a geode?


Microsoft was violating the law and using blatantly anti-competitive tactics to sabotage opponents. They got off with an insanely mild slap on the wrists.
Google, AFAIK, has not broken the law with regards to monopoly on anything or anti-competitive practices. They use Walled Garden to keep out competition, but AFAIK, that's not illegal. Otherwise Apple would be an even bigger target.

[Fitz]

What rev said.

Biggest difference so far is the violations of the law , which were blatant and almost showing off.

[Ben]

I don't understand the question. Comparison is same as between orange and a geode?

I prefer "orange and fisslestup bananafishcow"

[RevDisk]

I prefer "orange and fisslestup bananafishcow"

Yes, that's also a valid comparison to your original question. 

Google isn't a monopoly on anything. They're marginal in the OS department (Chromebooks), Android is open source so good luck claiming a monopoly, search is just a web site, Google Apps for Business is on par with Office 365, their hardware products are not majority of anything, etc. Even then, Google doesn't try to muscle out competition, let alone illegally try to muscle out competition. Bing works fine on Google products. Google hasn't patent trolled anyone that I know of.

So... What's the problem?

[Hawkmoon]

An interesting question I heard on Fox Business this morning:

Google has a greater market share, has bought up more businesses and technology, and is closer to a Monopoly than Microsoft ever was. Why is Obama not going after Google the way that Clinton went after Microsoft?

I'm becoming less of a Google fan because of their invasiveness into everything I do on an Internet capable device, but am not in favor of anyone "going after them" to stop this, because I have the choice to use something else. Much like I had a choice to use something besides IE when the gov went after Microsoft.

You have a choice only until there are no other viable choices.

Back in the day, after being thoroughly whipped by WordStar, I took a friend's advice and bought a copy of WordPerfect. WP was absolutely the best, easiest to use, and most flexible word processing program ever ... and it came with a guarantee of free, lifetime technical support. Back when I first bought WP (around version 3.x for DOS, IIRC), Microsoft Word had something like about a 0.0000001 percent market share.

Then Bill "the Antichrist" Gates and his minions began bundling Word (and Office) with their operating system packages and basically forcing manufacturers to pre-install it on new computers. It got for awhile so the only way you could buy a new computer that didn't have MS Office pre-installed was to go to a computer fair, buy the components, and roll your own. It took less than a decade for Microsoft to demolish WordPerfect's market share, and to destroy the company. WP still exists, but it's now a niche player and WordPerfect Corporation no longer exists -- the program is now owned by a Canadian company.

I see Google doing the same thing. I didn't like it when Microsoft did it, and I don't like it when Google does it.

[Azrael256]

Referring to your peers as minions of the antichrist is unbecoming.  And extremely offensive.

[Balog]

Does Word Perfect still honor their lifetime tech support commitment, to the original DOS based program?

[KD5NRH]

Even then, Google doesn't try to muscle out competition, let alone illegally try to muscle out competition.

Yup; they even avoid tried-and-true competition-eliminating tactics like debugging and customer service.

[Hawkmoon]

Referring to your peers as minions of the antichrist is unbecoming.  And extremely offensive.

I never worked for Microsoft, thus I am not a peer of any of Bill Gates' minions. And I am far from the only person in the U.S. who has likened Mr. Bill to the antichrist.

[Azrael256]

I never worked for Microsoft, thus I am not a peer of any of Bill Gates' minions. And I am far from the only person in the U.S. who has likened Mr. Bill to the antichrist.

I don't think you're getting it.  Stop calling me a minion of the antichrist.  Its a cheap shot and it obscene.

We had rules of decorum in here.  Sticky at the top.

[Boomhauer]

I don't think you're getting it.  Stop calling me a minion of the antichrist.  Its a cheap shot and it obscene.

So are ya'll hiring? Do I have to piss in a cup and go through a background check? Any sign on bonus for a seldom used soul?

[Fitz]

I don't think you're getting it.  Stop calling me a minion of the antichrist.  Its a cheap shot and it obscene.

We had rules of decorum in here.  Sticky at the top.

I was unaware you were an MS employee. I am but a lowly contractor.


And to hawkmoon: Google is nowhere close to the level of [woohoo, new word for the cuss filter!] that MS had in its antitrust heyday. There's really no comparison..

There's quite a bit of difference between the two

[Fitz]

So are ya'll hiring? Do I have to piss in a cup and go through a background check? Any sign on bonus for a seldom used soul?

We have a sign on the door leading into my team's area 'Abandon all hope, ye who SharePoint here"

[Gewehr98]

I think sometimes we forget that APS is comprised of all walks of life.

That, or we don't, and just don't care?

Gawd, I hope the latter's not true...

[Fitz]

I think sometimes we forget that APS is comprised of all walks of life.

That, or we don't, and just don't care?

Gawd, I hope the latter's not true...

Regarding your edit of my post. Sorry bout that. Was honestly not trying to circumvent it. Just got to typin and didn't think about it.

Apologies.

[BryanP]

I don't think you're getting it.  Stop calling me a minion of the antichrist.  Its a cheap shot and it obscene.

We had rules of decorum in here.  Sticky at the top.

Welcome to the same club as those of us who work for the .gov but not the .mil.   

[Ben]

Welcome to the same club as those of us who work for the .gov but not the .mil.   

 

[RevDisk]

Welcome to the same club as those of us who work for the .gov but not the .mil.   

Unfair comparison. Microsoft doesn't take my money at gun point[1]. 

A poster here worked for the DHS and occasionally was sad when I made negative remarks about DHS. However, he acknowledged my objective statements were true. My opinion statements were just that, subjective. I made numerous comments explaining that DHS was our Stasi, NKVD, etc. Currently, DHS is not as bad as the Stasi, NKVD and others of that variety. But it easily could and through the magic of scope creep, would try to be.

If you don't like the public perception of the organization you voluntarily affiliate with...  Quit or change the perception. Microsoft historically deserved all the scorn and ridicule that could be heaped on it. They regularly engaged in illegal and unethical behavior. AFAIK, they've mostly reduced their illegal and/or unethical behavior to just being part time instead of a core mission objective.


[1] I've worked for the govt, as well as the military.

[Azrael256]

The scorn and ridicule are mostly just annoying, and occasionally amusing.

What I don't care for is the name calling.  Not here, anyway.  I thought we were above that.  Yesterday was disappointing in that regard.

Also, to be totally fair, the antitrust comparison isn't where I would look.  Google isn't (IME) anti-competitive, they just want to know everything about you. And everyone you know. And everyone you see. Possibly to absorb your consciousness into the cloud, I dunno.

[Ben]

Unfair comparison. Microsoft doesn't take my money at gun point[1]. 

A poster here worked for the DHS and occasionally was sad when I made negative remarks about DHS. However, he acknowledged my objective statements were true. My opinion statements were just that, subjective. I made numerous comments explaining that DHS was our Stasi, NKVD, etc. Currently, DHS is not as bad as the Stasi, NKVD and others of that variety. But it easily could and through the magic of scope creep, would try to be.

If you don't like the public perception of the organization you voluntarily affiliate with...  Quit or change the perception. Microsoft historically deserved all the scorn and ridicule that could be heaped on it. They regularly engaged in illegal and unethical behavior. AFAIK, they've mostly reduced their illegal and/or unethical behavior to just being part time instead of a core mission objective.


[1] I've worked for the govt, as well as the military.

I'm pretty sure that like me, Bryan just let's it be water off a duck's back. Some of us are guided by an oath of office, regardless of what the agencies we work for do. Personally, I'm more annoyed that I try to uphold my oath and am constantly thwarted by my colleagues and superiors. I make jokes about Fed employees as much as the next guy, if not more.

I also make fun of guys who think helicopters are dark green instead of black. 

[p12]

I also make fun of guys who think helicopters are dark green instead of black. 

So, what the hell color are they?

[roo_ster]

So, what the hell color are they?

Dark green.

I just live with the ridicule, as does Rev. 

[Ben]

So, what the hell color are they?

It doesn't matter what color the ones you can see are. 

[cordex]

It doesn't matter what color the ones you can see are. 

Seems that it matters even less what color the ones you can't see are.