Google vs. Microsoft

I wasn't planning to follow up my blog on "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" quite so soon. However, a couple of articles in the Search Engine Journal (SEJ) changed my mind.

This morning's SEJ talked about the newly announced distribution partnership between Google and Sun Microsystems. Google's Toolbar will be distributed with Sun's Java. This deal brings Google into direct competition with Microsoft.

What it also does is bring open source software in direct competition with proprietary software (see yesterday's blog).

Bill Gates' Microsoft is the prototype for a proprietary (closed source) company. We all know that Microsoft's programs only run on Microsoft's operating system. However, "an application built on Sun's Java can be run on any platform regardless of the architecture." (SEJ 10/4/05) Java's operating system fits Google's open source philosophy to a tee.

Remember my blog of 9/23 (Keep an Eye on Google)?

Rob Sullivan is quoted in the Search Engine Journal as saying: "Google could become a viable alternative to Microsoft. And not just Microsoft applications, but Microsoft as a whole . . . This is the true power of the deal today . . . I do expect to see them [Google] taking aim at Microsoft and what it has accomplished. Because this is all in line with Google's mission of making the world's information universally accessible. All I can say is I hope Bill Gates has a big enough war chest because he's going to need it."

I bring this to your attention because it promises to be a huge battle in the Internet cultural war. Google is pitting its open source philosophy against Microsoft's proprietary culture.

Start placing your bets.