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Google-Microsoft Crossfire Will Hit Consumers

Posted by Soulskill on from the why-i-wear-kevlar-when-searching dept.

theodp writes "Newsweek's Dan Lyons doesn't know who will be the winner in Google and Microsoft's search battle, but that's not stopping him from picking a loser — consumers. As we head towards a world where some devices may be free or really cheap, consumers should prepare to be bombarded by ads or pay a premium to escape them. 'The sad truth is that Google and Microsoft care less about making cool products than they do about hurting each other,' concludes Lyons. 'Their fighting has little to do with helping customers and a lot to do with helping themselves to a bigger slice of the money we all spend to buy computers and surf the Internet. Microsoft wants to ruin Google's search business. Google wants to ruin Microsoft's OS business. At the end of the day, they both seem like overgrown nerdy schoolboys fighting over each other's toys.'"

4 of 336 comments (clear)

  1. Speaking of funding-via-ads: Apple! by ItsJustAPseudonym · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    From the article: "Apple recently applied for a patent for a technology that not only shows you ads but also forces you to watch by freezing your device until you comply."

    Shyeah.

    1. Why the heck is something like this patentable? (No, don't answer. That's basically a rhetorical question. All kinds of insipid concepts get patented. I just hope this one does not make it.)

    2. This behavior will basically make the Apple product behave like a single-threaded device, at least for the duration of the ad. I've got news for Apple: The world is going multi-threaded. Consumers are coming to expect the flexibility that multi-threading provides, even if they don't know the underlying reason for it. If Apple products start acting like single-threaded devices, it will reflect poorly on the quality and capabilities of those products.

  2. Re:Business as usual by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    So, why did you post AC? This post deserves a couple mod points, but no one is going to waste them on AC . . . . .

    --
    "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  3. alternative badAnalogyGuy by stimpleton · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    "they both seem like overgrown nerdy schoolboys fighting over each other's toys"

    they both seem like deviant perverts who want to be the dominant. One wants to be the Giver, while neither wants to be the Taker. Meanwhile consumers will end up covered in the fallout.

    --

    In post Patriot Act America, the library books scan you.
  4. Re:History lesson by Hognoxious · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    STFU, n0b.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."