Could Windows lose out to web services?
“Google threatens Microsoft’s position on the Internet, and could potentially lock Microsoft out of its existing distribution channels and reduce the value of Windows.”
~ Recent memo written by a group of Microsoft executives
That, in a nutshell, is the biggest fear haunting Microsoft as it celebrates its 30th anniversary with a major Company Meeting and a drive to ship Windows Vista next year.
According to CNET News.com in a much-linked to article, that fear has been an internal battleground for years. Five years ago, Microsoft engineer Ben Slivka described the “nightmare” : “The Web … exists today as a collection of technologies that deliver some interesting solutions, and will grow rapidly in the coming years into a full-fledged platform that will rival ~ and even surpass ~ Microsoft’s Windows.”
News.com reports : “As part of a management shuffle, Microsoft said Tuesday it would make hosted services a more strategic part of the company and fold its MSN Web portal business into its platform product development group, where Windows is developed. … Just about the only thing that’s changed over the last decade is that Microsoft’s amorphous nightmare has a name: Google.”
The question Microsoft has to answer now is, “If the Web, not the PC, is indeed the next computing platform, should Microsoft embrace it wholeheartedly, or do everything in its power to ensure that Windows stays at the center of the computing universe?”
