Prediction: Google and Apple go to War.

http://thenextweb.com/2009/07/08/prediction-google-apple-war/

by theforay • 17 years ago

14 16 17 years ago

roc• 17 years ago

No more than Toyota and BMW are at war.

Regardless of how good Google's products get, their core business doesn't involve building the products that Apple is building. And even if beige box PCs came with an operating system and applications that better compared to a Mac, they'll still lack that integrated quality-assured ecosystem joining them together.

E.g. For the average user, a web-app-focused OS is going to have even more confusing UI inconsistencies than Windows.

jacquesm• 17 years ago

For a war to exist you have to have a frontier.

The 'google' territory centers around eyeballs, ads and possibly at some point in the future paid services (though it looks like google wants to avoid that).

The 'apple' territory is a unified media presentation vision centered around slick hardware and a common user interface design.

The 'microsoft' territory is mostly (xbox) centered around licensing software.

All three companies have a completely different take on how to make money of their IT business. Sure there are overlaps, and for sure there will be users crossing over from the one service to the other.

But if this were a 'real' war google would be selling hardware (or worse, giving it away), Apple would be getting in to the search business and microsoft would be going for the eyeballs at the expense of their licensing strategy.

Some of this is happening, but at least for the foreseeable time things are relatively stable and market shares will slowly fluctuate, no 'mass casualties' are expected.

For an idea of what happens when there is a war check out what happened to digital research, netscape and altavista. Skirmishes, yes, sure. War ? Definitely not.

alain94040• 17 years ago

Precisely. Will the Google OS be the best at video editing, so that when I plug my camcorder, I can edit video footage of my kids intuitively? Manage my photo album?

Apple has shown their strenght in combining great apps with tailored hardware so that simple "multimedia" tasks just work.

Anything can be replicated, but so far, I haven't see Google go after the same target at all.

pmorici• 17 years ago

The Google OS appears to be geared more toward business than the home user. I mean email / Docs / Spreadsheets? That's a business combo. The Mac has Music / Movies / Photos that's for home.

fiaz• 17 years ago

I really can't take such articles seriously anymore because they very simplistically confuse companies with tribes and competition with war...

Microsoft, Google, and Apple have figured out ways to make money in different ways. Whatever Google has to offer, it is going to help Apple and Microsoft further delineate what they do best. I hardly see this as "going to war".

ben_straub• 17 years ago

Google sells ads. Apple sells hardware.

mighty• 17 years ago

They both make operating systems, browsers, and web apps.

stcredzero• 17 years ago

I think they'll be more like Intel and Microsoft. They'll benefit each other. Hopefully, they'll keep benefitting us.

zimbabwe• 17 years ago

This is my second-favorite rumor ever, because it keeps coming up (Android vs iPhone, Gmail vs MobileMe, AppleSecretSearch vs Google Search) and because the origin of it is: There are two supercool companies, and people would rather see supercool things duke it out violently than have a quiet amicability wherein the CEO of Google is on the Apple board. Fact is, Google and Apple excel at two different things. Google can't release any product at Apple's price point because they can't achieve such an anal level of quality, Marissa Mayer's 30 shades of blue be damned. Apple can't compete directly with Google because they insist on making pricey products that cost money, and because making a free suite of things completely contradicts their philosophy.

My favorite rumor is the Apple vs Nintendo rumor, because first off it makes more sense (iPod touch vs DS), and second off because both companies make excellent products but design them from different points of view, Nintendo focusing on innovative gaming and Apple focusing on its outright perfectionism. The one that would be my favorite rumor but is absolutely true is Google vs Facebook, and that's the one that interests me most if Google's making its own OS. Facebook acquired Parakey a few years ago, and since then rumors of it launching a webOS have been scattered about. Interesting to see how they take advantage of this announcement.

otherland• 17 years ago

The site has a ad banner with sound, very intrusive, 'congratulations, you won!', it may embarrass you if you open at work.

ntoshev• 17 years ago

And the article is not worth enduring the torture (hint: use the Readability bookmarklet on such pages if you really want to read them).

thenextweb.com had been banned here before, and I think it should be again:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=637738

edw519• 17 years ago

Apple was never going to be anything other than a niche player in the personal computer marketplace, and they knew it all along. Why else would they commit so many resources to co-opting the personal music and cell phone markets? Apple has already won the wars of its choosing.

omouse• 17 years ago

You mean to say that Apple is first and foremost a hardware company.

bhousel• 17 years ago

I think Apple is first and foremost an industrial design company.

pyman• 17 years ago

Quote: "I'm certain this is the beginning of the end for Ubuntu and Linux"

It's funny how ex-marketing dudes, who now call themselves "social media experts", write crap just for the sake of it.

jemmons• 17 years ago

This is not an article. It's just some guy talking. There is not a single sentence in this post that would not be improved by asking the question "Why?"

Today saw the announcement of ... something I’ve wanted for quite some time; an ... OS with the web and Google’s services as its backbone.

Why do you want this? Is there something wrong with your current method of accessing Google's apps? What is it? What do you expect this new OS to improve?

The move by Google is sure to leave Apple and Microsoft shaking in their boots

Why?

I’m certain this is the beginning of the end for Ubuntu.

Why?

Since the increasing development and improvement of Google Apps, the increased speed of Chrome, the release of Android and now, the Google OS. I’m left torn.

Why? What do these technologies have to do with one another? Do they interoperate? What do they offer you that you didn't have before?

My current commitment to Google Apps has left me ... entertaining ideas of what it would be like to truly incorporate all my primary web services into an operating system

What would that be like? What benefit would it offer? Why do you want this?

I’m left wondering what Apple can bring to the table between now and Google’s OS release

What should they bring? What does the new Google OS offer that you think Apple should incorporate in OS X? Why would that improve it?

The point is this. As long as Google and web applications continue to improve at the rate they are, [Apple is] going to have to start thinking far more Google-like.

For love of all that's good, why?! What does it mean to think more google-like? What is wrong with how Apple is thinking now? What improvements is google making? How are those superior the improvements Apple's making (if, indeed, they are not completely orthogonal).

this is the beginning of an era of Google dominance, the likes of which we’ve never seen before

Why?

The company is slowly but surely taking over every aspect of our lives ... for some its scary, for me... I’m excited.

Why?

And for now at least, the one company I want to see step up to Google’s surge in dominance is Apple

W-H-Y?

and I predict they will, but its not going to be easy.

Predictably: why?

I propose a new rule. If you're considering posting something to HN, think how a fifth grade teacher would mark it up. If there would be more red than black on the page by the end, maybe give it a miss?

Prediction: Google and Apple go to War.

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