Redmond Yawning at Apple-Google Alliance?

Debra D'Agostino writes "Despite the media hype around Google CEO Eric Schmidt's appointment to Apple's board, CIO Insight Executive Editor Dan Briody says it's not that big a story. 'Apple and Google are already plenty tight,' he says. Arthur Levinson, CEO of Genentech, has been on both boards for years. And Al Gore and Intuit Chairman Bill Campbell are both Apple board members and advisors to Google. 'While it's fun to speculate about what an Apple-Google alliance could produce (GoogleMacs? MacGoogle? GoogleTunes?) this move is far from an alliance,' Briody writes. 'And even if it were, it wouldn't be first time that two upstart powerhouses have joined forces in an attempt to unseat Microsoft. Remember AOL-Netscape? Boy, they just steamrolled the team from Redmond, didn't they?'"

Comments

Percpetion != reality

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Perhaps Apple & Google have been tight for years, so this is not news for MS. However, for Joe Sixpack this **is* news and Apple & Google are now two well known names (which they really weren't a year or so back).

I think a lot of people bought and listened to MS because they were the biggest and seemed to be leading the way, so you bought their stuff and did things their way because that was the easiest... Now with two giants providing a different path, MS will start to look far weaker and people will feel that they are now entitled to make non-MS decisions.

Re:Percpetion != reality

[shadowdodger]

Perhaps Apple & Google have been tight for years, so this is not news for MS. However, for Joe Sixpack this **is* news and Apple & Google are now two well known names (which they really weren't a year or so back).

If anyone really thinks that Google and Apple were not well known a few years ago they really need to have thier heads examined. Granted that Google search took a while for it to catch on but at lesat by 2002 it was well known enough. And Apple... don't even get me started.

But on more relavent note, M$ knows what's going on between these two at least as well as the general public, if not better. And I assure you they are not yawning at what's happening, but what precisely do you expect them to do? Go cry to their Mommies and Daddies? Microsoft is doing the only thing that any good company can do when faced with someone better than you catching up with your tails and trying to knock you down. Looking for what to do next. Not trying to hide from what's coming. They are also going one step farther and trying to learn what they can from these two companies. Weather or not they are succesful is something that can be debated amongst your selves.

On a more hopeful note, if Google and Apple ever made any sort of actual loose partnership, it's be the coolest company ever. :)

Re:Slashdot lies.

[kingkade]

If we're lucky, we can all see the fiery explosion that will be the downfall of M$.

Where do you guys come from with all this venom and FUD? God, complete with a $. Your type really seem to think so much alike that I'd swear every one of you are the same person. It's so ironic, it's sad.

Anyway, getting to the point: Maybe I agree or disagree but you should provide some reasoning along with a statement.

Let me try: I don't think there is an alliance, and even Google and Apple together are not going to just "crush" Microsoft. MS' sheer size, marketshare along with its diverse involments in many more markets that Google nd Apple combined coupled with its admittedly dubious business practices are going to ensure they'll be around a *long* time.