Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Google and the Coming Search Wars, Revisited (04 Apr 2005) Several people responding to my Google article argued that I had simply overestimated Microsoft, which, they said, was now at best mature and possibly in decline. I increasingly feel that they were correct. By relying too heavily on its monopoly control of Windows and Office, Microsoft has painted itself into a corner. Both Microsoft and its products are now large, aging, complex, and very expensive, rendering them vulnerable to attacks from below. Open source software, with its low cost, transparency, and decentralized development model, threatens the very foundations of Microsoft’s power. Large computer vendors, corporate users, and governments have become increasingly frustrated by Microsoft’s behavior, and they are actively funding subversion, most notably in the form of the Linux operating system and applications based upon it. And, as I shall discuss at length in my forthcoming article, they’re winning. Article URL: http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/04/wo/wo_040405ferguson.asp Read 224 more articles from Technology Review Magazine sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: It's the content, stupid: search engine optimization     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy