14 DAY TRIAL // No matter how objective journalists are trying to be, there is an obvious tendency in today's media to criticize everything or almost everything Microsoft does and to put Google's achievements in a positive and optimist light.
It's hard to say when this has first started and what the reasons behind it are. A careful look would reveal that, after all, these are two not so different IT&C giants, the main factor being age.
Microsoft, the bad company
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen and is responsible for the creation of three extremely popular operating systems, though not without security flaws and bugs. The first was MS-DOS, the second was OS/2, developed together with IBM, and the third was the famous Windows, whose latest version is due for launch this year.
The starting point was the creation of an interpreter based on the BASIC programming language for the Altair 8800 microcomputer, developed by MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems).
In 1980, Steve Ballmer joined Microsoft, and starting from 2000, he became the company's CEO. In 1981, Bill Gates became president of the company and Chairman of the Board, and Paul Allen became Executive Vice President.
Microsoft didn't stick only to operating systems, but also got involved in other projects, one of the most well-known being Office, Encarta, MSN, the gaming console Xbox.
At the end of 2005, the Redmond company had 63,564 employees.
Google, the good company
Initially, Google started as a research project conceived in 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two Ph.D. students at Stanford. Their main hypothesis was that a search engine which analyzes the relationships between websites would render improved results over those using the techniques in those days, which relied on the repetition of the keyword.
In March 2001, Eric Schmidt became a member of the board of directors, and in August 2001, he was appointed the company's CEO.
The popularity of the search engine grew thanks to its uncluttered design, simplicity and the accuracy of the returned results, and the number of user followed a similar trend.
Over the years, after the success of the classic search engine, Google has extended its virtual arms over images, video, groups, news, mail, shopping, maps and many others.
Additionally, there are rumors that Google is planning its own IP-based network in the US, and that it will be built using thousands of kilometers of optic fiber left unused after the late '90s boom. This fiber, which stretches over vast surfaces in the United States, is called "dark fiber".
At the end of 2005, the Mountain View had 5,680 employees.
Microsoft and Google, two American companies
Microsoft has been involved in numerous lawsuits targeting patents and technologies used without permission by the Redmond company in its applications and is currently involved in a monopole war with the EU.
The company's officials also have a problem with the attitude, the statements made over the years by Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates shrouding Microsoft in an aura of giant that has a problem with competing against others, but is unable to come up with something competitive.
On the other hand, Google has always been regarded as an innocent lamb, which does no evil, and with products that manage to become number one on the market.
I recently watched a video material available on Google Video (unfortunately, I lost the link), in which a lady manager talked happily with some employees about how nice it is to work at Google and how everything is super. At the beginning of the material I thought about what an extraordinary work environment Larry Page and Sergey Brin managed to create. But after a few minutes, I had the strange feeling of being brainwashed. I don't know if you've ever opened the door to some cult members, trying to persuade you of the immense benefits of joining them or if anybody ever tried to get you involved in pyramidal business systems (something like Amway). I'm not implying that Google is trying to make everyone apply for a job at their company, but to me it seemed like an artificial reality, where everything is perfect and all persons are good.
I don't know about you, but over the years, I've come to learn that there's no such thing. There aren't any perfect corporations, religions or persons who have no flaws.
Yes, it's admirable that Google opposed the US Department of Justice and managed to keep the users' search queries away from the authorities, but let's not forget that it didn't have a problem entering the China market and complying with the censorship rules. And in this case, Google can say whatever it pleases, but I seriously doubt that the move was aimed at helping the Chinese, not at making more money.
And still, why do some journalists have a tendency to make fun or lambaste Microsoft's every move and praise Google's decisions? Because unfortunately, although it's obvious that Google likes money just as much as Microsoft does, the Redmond company's officials are pushed by an invisible force to make bellicose statements that fuel the anger of the IT community.
The best example is Bill Gates' arrogant statement towards the $100 laptop in which he only slings mud at a device that is truly beneficial for the needy children.
Another reason is Microsoft's inability to come up on the market with something solid, able to threat Google's Internet supremacy and Windows Live Search is the latest proof.
