Google Succeeds Where Others Have Failed
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Google Chrome certainly has innovations and given enough time it may prevail as the preeminent browser, but I am talking decades not years. So why do Google think they can create an operating system where others have failed?
This is like Pepsi designing the perfect cup for drinking Pepsi and it becoming the cup of choice for Coke drinkers too. It just ain't gonna happen.
However if they can create an OS which is as good at one thing just as Chrome the browser is very good at being quick, then they might be able to build a niche for themselves. Anything which increases competition is a good thing. Should Microsoft be scared? No.
Google have alwasy targeted business. Google have traditionally targeted the end consumer. There are some execpetions in both directions but for the most part they have been unsuccessful. Although I am generalising here.
Microsoft's reputation was built on thirty years of quality, reliability, innovation, in fact all the good corporate values that large enterprises like. Google are a bunch of young people in California who ride Segway's and wear their pyjamas to work. Microsoft has lacked innovation in their software for the last five years culminating with the disaster that was Vista.
I am writing this on a netbook as I have the option to use a netbook for my work computer. There are some excellent Linux variants which are optimised for netbooks such as Ubuntu 9.04 NBR (Netbook Remix) which I run at home. Moblin and Maemo are two others as is Android which is also owned by Google. However none of these have anything other than a niche in the market. Even the excellent Android is still outsold by Microsoft's appaling Windows Mobile platform.
No, I don't think Microsoft has anything to worry about.
We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware, or have to worry about constant software updates. And any time our users have a better computing experience, Google benefits as well by having happier users who are more likely to spend time on the Internet.
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