Clash of the Titans
Determination, vision, and sometimes a little shady or illegal activities are required to get ahead in this cutthroat, technology arena with Microsoft, Google, and Apple. And these supergiants are no strangers to this game and have shown they are worthy opponents. They have earned the right to stand atop the pedestal of technological innovation, and each has travelled their own unique path to this point. That is why I feel it is time to take a brief look back into their history, determine where they are headed, and question who will be left standing… “There can be only one.”
Microsoft
Where to begin? Shady business practices, stealing, lawsuits… yep, those are basically prerequisites if you want to play this game with Microsoft. Don’t let Bill Gates’ poindexterish look fool you, he’s pretty much the original bad boy in the tech world. He started Microsoft in 1975 and turned it into a contender but not without getting his hands dirty.
During the 90's Microsoft was doing good, apparently just a little too good. They were sued by Apple for allegedly stealing elements from their operating system that was beyond any agreement made, and for extra good measure they were also slapped with an antitrust lawsuit filed by the US government for anti-competitive business practices. Hey, you can’t fault the guy for trying can you? Anyways, when the dust had settled, Microsoft endured all of it and pushed on. Today, their products and services are everywhere. The Windows operating system is going strong and their business software such as Microsoft Office is relied upon everyday in offices all around the world.
If you add to that their search engines Internet Explorer and Bing, the creation of the Xbox video game console, Skype, and their acquisition of Nokia, not to mention a number of other services they offer, then Microsoft is definitely a battle tested opponent.
Vast and powerful, the word empire always comes to mind when thinking of them. Not bad for a company that was created by a couple guys still in college. But, will their voracious appetite be their downfall? Are they spreading themselves too thin with all of the projects they are involved in? Without a question, they are the leaders in search engines, mapping, and analytics software (for the moment), but what about some of their other ventures? Artificial intelligence, drones, partnerships with the military and more fill the multiple facets of the Google superpower.
Give the above… I still must ask if big, bad Google is showing a softer side now? Let’s take a look at Google+ for a moment. This social network has lots of potential but has somewhat stalled for the moment. Could this explain why they are considering allowing children under 13 to create accounts? What’s next, a family friendly Youtube? (unfortunately, you can’t hear my sarcasm).
I see this as a sign of weakness on their behalf. I mean, you can’t be kissing babies while at the same time you are possibly setting the stage for the singularity theory, can you? Then again, Google isn’t above engaging in shady activity either. Remember, they did require users to unknowingly, to a certain extent, create Google+ accounts in order to access YouTube. Many users still do not realize this fact. I think I am getting it now… this is just part of their master plan for world domination. I’m not putting anything past them. As entrenched as their services are in our daily lives, they will be very hard to conquer.
Apple
You just gotta love this company. Started in a garage, it’s founder is forced out, they nearly go bankrupt, founder is brought back, everything turns out great. They should make that into a movie! The question is, did the adversity that this company has overcome make it stronger, or is Apple an aged, punch drunk boxer that’s past his prime and ready to be knocked out?
Without a doubt, Steve Jobs’ desire, work ethic, and ego were second to none. Unfortunately, those traits ultimately led to his dismissal and in the midst of it all, Microsoft (allegedly) swiped Apple’s operating system like they were taking candy from a baby. However, a wiser Jobs returned to Apple like an exiled General returning to lead his soldiers into battle. The result? Cutting edge developments in the following years such as the iOS operating system, iMacs, MacBooks, iPods, iTunes, iPhones, iPads and the list goes on and on.
But, what happens when your leader dies? As we know, Steve Jobs passed away and it is very unclear if the new leader will be able to expand upon what he started or if Apple will fall once again. They have risen above adversity in the past so I would never assume that they are down for the count. It is Apple.
?
The real question remains… is their another superpower in the making? Maybe our friend Marky Mark Z is getting ready to put his big boy pants on. Facebook has acquired Instagram, Face.com (think face recognition), Lightbox.com, WhatsApp, Oculus (virtual reality time), PrivateCore secure server technology and much much more. But what NEW innovations has he really done for us lately?
To be continued…
-By Bill Nolan
