not getting involved - eh lech! eh, eh! ;)

Personally, I have seen no real harm of all the free stuff they're offering. And honestly, it's really up to the end user to use and abuse their free systems after all. If they're offering free wifi all over the place for whatever use, I'm not at all bothered by that, in fact I personally invite our new overlords.

google just gotta make sure they don't turn into a 'microsoft' type corporation.

*tries to imagine

They would run the digital communications market.

But I would say that google is MORE widespread than Microsoft. Google is used not only by Windows users, but almost everyone else connected to the net also, regardless of operating system.

It would be crazy though. I also aggree that there are laws preventing either company merging to prevent a market manopoly (not that there already isn't)

if google bought ms, that would be one thing, if ms bought google, that would be fucking scary.

From what I hear, its gonna take a hefty video card just to run Vista (with its goodies) decently. But if your not going to use the "goodies", whats the point of Vista? I dont think Vista is gonna be a big hit either. Looks like its just a XP reload with a bunch of Eye Candy.


Google Inc. took a step toward challenging Microsoft Corp.'s dominance of computer software with the announcement Tuesday of a collaboration agreement with Sun Microsystems Inc.

The move could lead to Google offering next-generation word processing, spreadsheet and collaboration tools that would take on Microsoft's industry-leading Office suite of software.

But for now its significance may be mostly as a symbolic shot across Microsoft's bow, signaling Google's intention of attacking the world's biggest software company head on.

Aside from a plan to offer Google's toolbar program with downloads of Java software, details of the agreement were scant. Though it could lead to a new pipeline for Sun software to millions of computers, there was no firm commitment.

Some downplayed the announcement as a publicity stunt that probably would not have occurred had Google CEO Eric Schmidt not spent 14 years of his career working at Sun under CEO Scott McNealy.

The alliance would be a boon for Sun if Google had promised to buy some of the company's sophisticated computers, but no ironclad commitments were announced.

"There really isn't much depth to this partnership," said industry analyst Rob Enderle.

"I think Eric is doing this as personal favor for Scott," he said. "It provides a certain amount of press and visibility to Sun when there hasn't been very many positive things going on at the company."

Sun's shares edged up a penny Tuesday to close at $4.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where Google's shares fell $7.68 to finish at $311. Microsoft's shares lost 52 cents, or 2.04 percent, to close at $24.98.

As part of the agreement, Sun will offer Google's search toolbar with downloads of its free Java software, which is required to run a variety of Web-based applications and works with multiple operating systems.

The two companies, which did not disclose terms of the deal, said they also agreed "to explore opportunities to promote" other Sun technologies, including the freely available OpenOffice.

OpenOffice, an offshoot of Sun's StarOffice, is a leading challenger to the ubiquitous Office suite, a major cash cow for Microsoft. Both offer a word processor and spreadsheet among other applications.

"OpenOffice is already an alternative, but if Google gets involved in supporting it, that could be the thing that puts it over the top," said Forrester Research analyst John R. Rymer.

Neither McNealy nor Schmidt would say when or how Google might distribute Sun's software. Both said the Google toolbar option for Java downloads — the toolbar provides quick access to Google search, spell checking and a popup-ad blocker — is just a first step in a significant agreement.

"We only want to talk about what we're talking about here now ... we expect more," McNealy said.

Microsoft did not immediately comment.

OpenOffice could provide a vehicle for Google to diversify its sales, which are driven almost exclusively by online advertising. So-called office productivity software generates more than $10 billion in annual sales, estimated Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney.

"We believe this creates a potentially interesting new revenue opportunity for Google," Mahaney wrote in a research note Tuesday.

The deal could eventually boost the fortunes of programs that work on multiple operating systems, eating into Microsoft's profits from its dominant Windows computing environments.

Increasingly, many of the applications that computer users value most — such as news and weather tickers — run as Web services independent of the operating systems on their computers.

Java is a backbone of those Web services, along with Microsoft's .NET architecture.

Since it was launched a decade ago, Java has been used to power Web-based applications, standalone programs, cell phones and other gadgets across a variety of computer operating systems.

A key component of Sun's decade-old Java, its application-running platform, was the source of one of many rifts between Microsoft and Sun over the years.

Sun first sued the world's top software maker in 1997, claiming the Redmond, Wash., company rewrote elements of Java specific to Windows. Later, Microsoft said it would yank Java entirely from its ubiquitous software.

The wrangling ended in spring 2004, when the companies surprised the world with a $1.95 billion settlement and 10-year collaboration agreement.

Both Sun and Google share the common root of Stanford University. Sun — short for Stanford University Network — was founded there in the 1980s, while Google got its start there in the 1990s. And one of Sun's co-founders, Andy Bechtolsheim, gave Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin $100,000 in 1998 to incorporate their young search company.

Sun has lost $4.5 billion since June 2001, although the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has recently started to show signs of recovery.


But basically it's world domination between Google and me, and world domination is hard work and I'm lazy, so I'm happy to give Google a shot at it, if they don't get it working I suppose that I have to rule the world with my iron grip.

*drops juice box* DAMN MY GIRLISH GRIP!

Well, it's not even a secret of anykind, that MS pushed IBMs OS/2 Warp from the market, so if somehow Google would get the big guns Sun, Apple and themselfs to the PC SO market and SHOVE IT to MS, I'd be on the front row giggling like a little girl with pigtails and cotton candy.

Mini, yeah, I've heard great reviews from friends and peers about OO, and have been tempted to give it a whirl myself. But there's nothing in my line of development that even requires ANY kind of office software so I haven't even gotten around to trying it out. It even looks less flakey than MS office without all the retarded XP-like interface changes. Not sure what they have in mind though for the web-accessible version, I just hope to god it's not written in java. Java makes baby jesus bawl.

lech, me thinks that OOo is already written in Java, either that or the code is written with a pair of mittens, since it works so slowwwww, sooooo slowwwww sloooooow!

But I agree with you, if they make the online version and they make it with Java, they are only going to piss people.

Krak, Google has been pretty big speaker on syndication, standards and other that kind of shit, so I'm not so sure that they'll make another half-assed browser, instead, I think that they are either going to buy one of the current ones OR start jointly working with one.

Why would google release a browser? Firefox is just fine. In fact, google quite likes firefox, I believe.

As for the Google + OpenOffice thing...imagine having boundless internet storage for office documents. And online collaboration. I have no insider information on this one (not that I could tell you if I did...lousy NDA), but that would be my guess for that one.

I don't see it as so much of a "killing microsoft" sort of thing as a lot of "journalists" will report it. I see it more as we want to make the coolest, best tools available for everyone.

But I am by no means a spokesperson for the company. Just the humble opinion of little 'ol me.

Ok, I take it back, it's the same old google toolbar by the previous developers which doesn't function entirely the same as the one in IE did. I can't get rid of some of these buttons or add any other customized buttons to that toolbar. What a waste of space :/

I thought this was their master plan (zoom for full world domination details)

That's the new google feed reader :)

Wow, a google feed reader now as well?

I personally love google. I used to have a real thing against monopolies and companies that became absolutely massive, but I've taken a different stance on Google.

I suppose it's because I genuinely find all of their services useful. Gmail is great because it does it so differently compared to other services (much like how vanilla works actually). Maps is fantastic and has actually helped me out loads of times (even down here in the UK). Images is particularly useful. And Video looks set to be just a bit of fun.

Also, you're not really forced to use Google as you are forced to use, say Windows (yes, I know you can use any other operating system, but most offices have windows installed and there's not much you can do about that). If I wanted to, I could happily use the web without using any of google's services at all, you have a choice.

That said, I do think that there is a bit too much fanboyism developing regarding google. Google talk is a good example of this, a lot of people praise it's simplicity but really, it's just a bit rubbish :P

kaa--google talk will get better. trust me. =)

david, yeah, you can remove some, but not all of them, the one i want to get rid of most is the little input/comb box but it's fixed in there. as well as not being able to add anything else (other extensions/buttons) into the same bar. That alone renders it kind of a space waster not worthy of my firefox :D I've got other extensions which do most of the jobs I need for it either way :D