Thursday, October 06, 2005

Google declares war on Microsoft

Link
"GOOGLE HAS confirmed that it will launch free spreadsheet and word-processing software online and take on Microsoft in one of its biggest markets.

Under the deal, Google will allow web users to access Sun's OpenOffice from a toolbar.

Sun's Australian spokesman Paul O'Connor bubbled that the deal was a wake-up call for Microsoft:

'At the moment most people are used to having to pay for software packages, but at the end of the day, the value is in the content and services – not in the software itself,' he said."


No duh! I don't know how many times I've gotten into it with people over intellectual property and so-called "piracy" who lamely conclude their arguments with the bold economic assertion (stated in a tragically pained, kind of whiney voice): "But without copyright, how will software developers make any money?"

Hello people, ever heard of World of Warcraft? Everquest? Google? Trying to own the bits is moronic, the value-added is in service and support.

1 comment:

J. Willard Curtis said...

The entrenched industries fear the future, because it means [gasp] that they might have to adapt their business models to conform to the market instead of vice versa.