Google and Microsoft End Their Five-Year Cease-Fire (bloomberg.com) 40
Microsoft and Google have decided to stop playing nice. From a report: The two tech giants recently ended a years-long truce during which they agreed not to aim their substantial lobbying firepower against each other. With regulators around the world threatening to impose limits on the power of the biggest technology companies, the two rivals -- which compete in web search, cloud computing and artificial intelligence -- are now free to step up behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts and public complaints against one another. The old non-aggression pact, forged at the time by two new CEOs wanting a fresh start on a formerly acrimonious relationship, had already been fraying before it lapsed in April. The companies feuded publicly over a proposal to force Google to pay news publishers for content and squabbled more quietly over technology for selling search ads. Neither company is eager to extend or renew the alliance, according to people familiar with each companies' thinking, who weren't authorized to discuss confidential relationships.
Google owns the phone market now (Score:4, Interesting)
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Well they "own" the android smartphone market. Not to be confused with the feature phone [wikipedia.org] market.
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I recall quite fondly when Slashdot reported Ballmer throwing a chair and saying he was going to "...fucking *kill* Google !!!"
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This is a post Ballmer Microsoft.
Gates Was manipulative
Ballmer was aggressive
Nadella is pragmatic
Microsoft lost a lot of ground under Ballmer, being aggressive and dismissive towards major threats. Apple and Google really blindsided Microsoft, and hit them where it hurt the most. Having people diverge from the Microsoft Echosystem.
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Azure with the Corporate Customers. However for the smaller business they seem to want to trend with AWS.
Gamers Microsoft has a good foot hold. However XBox has a tough fight with SONY Play Station, nearly all the time. But Microsoft still dominates in PC Gamming
Corporate Customers is Microsoft's real meat. Microsoft is really being the next IBM, because Corporations don't like change, and Microsoft compared to the others out there is good at being consistent.
Re:Google owns the phone market now (Score:4, Interesting)
But Microsoft still dominates in PC Gamming
I think you mean Windows dominates in PC Gaming. It's Steam that dominates in PC gaming.
Why are you celebrating monopolization/domination? (Score:5, Insightful)
Since for many users their standard computer has shifted from desktop to phone. Microsoft already lost the war with Windows Phones and already lost their browser to Chromium. Microsoft kind of admitted defeat by announcing Android apps for Windows 11 but they were already locked out of the Google Play store so had to rely on Amazon instead. Meanwhile Apple has their full stack with the M1 range of Macs. Microsoft only really has Azure, Gamers and Corporate customers left.
There's so much wrong with your statement, starting with Microsoft's browser is based on Chromium. It's actually pretty nice if you use it. It's a bigger portion of traffic than you'd guess. It's above Firefox and quite high for our most valued sites.
Google definitely doesn't own the phone market. Look at how many iPhones are around you when you walk around.
Azure is extremely popular and well regarded. XBox is doing quite well also and there's a TON of money in windows + office, so these are hardly consolation prizes
Also, Bing is a worthy competitor, makes a lot of money today, and has a bright future
My problem with your statement is that you're encouraging bad behavior. The new microsoft plays well with others. This should be lauded. I want microsoft products to connect to my favorite products and services. I don't want to use Groove, I want to use spotify. If i needed to run mobile apps, I'd rather run them from a more established player. I just want a working OS + XBox games pass for PC. They seem more than happy to take my money for both and play well with others.
The old microsoft sucked ass, but the new one seems to be trying to make me happy as a customer. I don't care if they dominate. I just want their stuff to work. Microsoft's growth, momentum, and strategy has been impressing me in the last 5 years. Google's has disappointed me....from phones to cloud services to tablets to Google Fiber to Google Fi to even Google WiFi...great potential, bad execution. Google seems to be stagnating or losing ground while Microsoft is gaining. And regardless, we want healthy competition, not dominance. I like choices.
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"Google definitely doesn't own the phone market. Look at how many iPhones are around you when you walk around."
In NA perhaps, go anywhere else and you'll go days without seeing an idevice.
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Look at how many iPhones are around you when you walk around.
Selection bias: iPhones are much more popular in America than in the rest of the world. Even in America, iPhones are more popular in cities and blue coastal states.
So the places making money? (Score:2)
Look at how many iPhones are around you when you walk around.
Selection bias: iPhones are much more popular in America than in the rest of the world. Even in America, iPhones are more popular in cities and blue coastal states.
So...you mean the profitable areas? What's the GDP of the Blue Coastal States vs Red inland states? I'd rather dominate sales in California than Montana. Last I checked, Apple is #1 and Microsoft is #2 in valuation. They're also #1 in revenue. So...why are you dismissing them?
Dude...I get it. I like my pixel, but it's foolish to dismiss Apple because people you don't like prefer them. They're over 50% of marketshare everywhere I see: tech conventions, coworkers (all engineers), the subway, restaur
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So IE is based on Chromium. MS has given up on even writing their own browser. They lost.
Google does own the phone market. Android is more than 80% market share, and more than 50% in the US. Apple will still be a big player for a while, but the world is Android.
Bing might make money, but its a distant 2nd in search.
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So IE is based on Chromium
No, Edge* is based on Chromium
*Not Edge Legacy
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There's so much wrong with your statement, starting with Microsoft's browser is based on Chromium.
Um what? His statement is factually true as a MS themselves has said Edge is based on Chromium. [microsoft.com]
Azure is extremely popular and well regarded.
Popular, maybe. Well regarded is an opinion that not everyone shares.
Why would you want 71.93% of the world? (Score:2)
According to StatCounter, in 2020, Android owned 71.93% of the worldwide mobile operating system market share while iOS took 27.47%. https://www.mobileapps.com/blo... [mobileapps.com]
So...do you want users or profits? Most of the world can't afford to waste money on your highest-profit endeavors. I'd rather dominate the USA, Japan, and Europe than Bangladesh, Zaire, and Mongolia. If I were a phone company, I would rather be in Apple's position than Google's. You can mock those people and their iDevices all you like, but Apple is laughing all the way to the bank....selling them overpriced gear they replace too often...buy too many accessories for...and sign up for services they barel
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Since for many users their standard computer has shifted from desktop to phone. Microsoft already lost the war with Windows Phones and already lost their browser to Chromium. Microsoft kind of admitted defeat by announcing Android apps for Windows 11 but they were already locked out of the Google Play store so had to rely on Amazon instead. Meanwhile Apple has their full stack with the M1 range of Macs. Microsoft only really has ..., Gamers and Corporate customers left.
The games I play are all on Gog now, except two MMORPGS, both closer to 20 than 10.
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I think the point is how is this legal? Clearly they have plenty of lawyers that reviewed the deal, especially since it wasn't secret, but it still looks like an illegal non-compete agreement to me (I only practice law online based on what I believe the law to be without reading it).
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How is it that big tech can agree to not compete with each other in certain aspects of business? Why aren't our congress critters launching anti-trust lawsuits at this?
Because they are not making an agreement to suppress competition ---
Even monopolies are allowed to make agreements with one another Not to disparage one another, Not to sue one another, or regarding how they Lobby. Anti-Trust would be specifically if they collude about things affecting what terms , prices, and selection for goods/services
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basically the same as WalMart colluding with Target not to compete in certain markets or make comparisons about each other in those markets
That is fine... If you mean Walmart and Target forming an agreement Not to mention the opposing company in their advertising, because such an agreement will have a legitimate business reason in regards to backend costs such as potential for legal disputes that is not about interfering with competition in the marketplace for goods and services.
Even if they are monopolies
They should merge into a new company (Score:1)
called GooSoft.
Sounds awesome (Score:2)
Let's hope it's a very long war of attrition with heavy casualties on both sides.
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Let's hope it's a very long war of attrition with heavy casualties on both sides.
I'd prefer it being a short war of attrition with heavy casualties on both sides, personally. I don't need to have every other news story for the next decade be about how Microsoft burnt Google or vice versa.
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Of course, even if it's a short war the same story will keep getting posted here as a dupe anyway....
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Yeah, but then it's only a couple of weeks, not a decade!
Paraphrasing here (Score:5, Insightful)
There is an old African saying "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers."
I fully expect to be negatively impacted by their fighting, very shortly.
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There is an old African saying "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers."
I fully expect to be negatively impacted by their fighting, very shortly.
In economics, the expression is more like "Where competition is thriving, everyone wins".
Though both may be savage places, a free market and the African wilds behave very differently. You can't always apply the lessons from the one to the other. Consumers only stand to gain when the competitors who sell the widgets we use get back to competing.
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In economics, the expression is more like "Where competition is thriving, everyone wins".
They are increasing competition in lobbying, not competing to improve their services or lower prices.
Lobbying is a non-productive activity that can distort and corrupt democracy.
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"When elephants fight" and "Where competition is thriving" are two very different things. And if they haven't got attorneys smart enough to figure this out for them, the grass (consumers) will see both of them in court, courtesy of the FTC.
We'll get them both cut down to size to where the lawn won't suffer.
Fine With Me (Score:2)