[clug] Linux Google OS coming.. [SEC=PERSONAL]

[Hal Ashburner]

Microsoft have used their muscle to move in on the netbook market. This
puts microsoft between google apps and the machine where they can cause
trouble to google. (security updates that break ie compatibility with
apps? You can think of other ways they'll do this).
So Google are trying to fight back, make the computer really cheap, no
microsoft, and pay google for the apps or have them adware supported
depending on your preference and the scale of what you require.
All sounds fine and will continue to sound fine as long as they aren't
massively successful.
If they are, how this turns out is unclear, it may continue to be fine.
Or do they use their market share to start jacking up prices, squeezing
competitors, etc (remember when microsoft software was cheap and nasty
instead of just nasty?) or not? Nobody can say, any organisation in
google's position will tell you:
"no no no we're different us." Just like Microsoft did when talking IBM.
Just like apple did when talking microsoft (and forgot very quickly when
they got dominance in personal mp3 players & surrounding
infrastructure.) Oh dear, probably just started a flame war by using an
example.

Also worth mentioning as a google apps user that having all of your data
indexed by google might not be a great thing. Unexpected stuff happens.
Systems of government fall, countries get invaded, let's hope it never
happens here but it might. You're not just trusting google as they are
now, but as they might be in the future controlled by someone or
something you hate. "Don't be Evil" is a fine ideal and I agree with it,
but it's a philosophical discussion for google employees, not something
that offers a consumer any real protection at all.


As you can see from my email address I quite like google but let's all
keep our eyes open.