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Google and Sun - a partnership to kill Microsoft or a deal with the devil?
As you have probably already heard, Google and Sun have
partnered up to distribute the Google Toolbar with Sun's Java.
While this may seem like a minor deal in the grand scheme of
things, upon further reflection I find this could be the deal
which will ultimately break Microsoft.
While the implications could be huge and far reaching, only
Google knows for sure what it wants. We can speculate however
and that's what this article is all about. Is such a deal good
for Sun (and Google) or is it a pact with the devil?
At first glance, such a deal doesn't seem like much. After all
java to most people is just a plug in for your Internet browser.
What good would such a deal be to Google? Well lets take a look
at what Java can do. The following is taken straight from Sun's
website:
The Java programming language is robust and versatile, enabling
developers to: Write software on one platform and run it on
another. Create programs to run within a web browser. Develop
server-side applications for online forums, stores, polls,
processing HTML forms, and more. Write applications for cell
phones, two-way pagers, and other consumer devices.
Let me break this down for you - point by point:
Write software on one platform and run it on another
To me this says it all - platform independent applications. What
is one thing Windows does well? The programs generally run only
on Windows. Developers usually have to port applications to run
on other operating systems like Mac or Linux. But an application
built on Java can be run on any platform regardless of the
architecture.
Create programs to run within a web browser
This is an area Google lacks in somewhat. Sure they own search
and have some great web based applications such as Gmail, but
there are so many potential other web based applications out
there. From web based collaboration software to web based
application suites (such as office applications). The
possibilities are endless.
Develop server side applications
Again, since Java is platform independent, different types of
server applications can be built for websites regardless of
their operating system. An E-commerce system could be developed
which would easily plug into a website whether it was ASP or PHP
based. This would be a huge competitive advantage for Google.
Write applications for...consumer devices
Portable web is the future. There is no doubt about it. Rather
than building mutiple platform dependent applications, one could
again develop a java based platform independent application.
Since it's independent it can not only run on your desktop or
within your web browser but also your cell phone, blackberry or
PDA.
So, now that we know what Java can do, lets take a look at what
Google can do with Java:
Compete on the Desktop
Virtually any application could be ported from it's current
Windows based version to a platform independent Java version.
Even current Google applications like Picasa and Google Earth
could now be available to non-Windows users.
Obviously, there is a potential to compete with current
Microsoft products as well. The first that comes
to mind is
Microsoft Office. One would expect this to be one of the first
areas Google moves into.
Imagine the potential though. I think of how good that would be
just for me personally. My computer runs Fedora (a version of
Redhat Linux) yet for other reasons (games) my son's computer
runs Windows XP.
When he needs help with homework it can be trying because he
uses Microsoft software and I use open source. If we could
collaborate on something which doesn't care what OS it runs on,
it would make our lives so much easier.
And that leads to my next point - collaboration.
Compete with future Microsoft products
One thing Microsoft has been getting better at, but is still
lagging in, is online collaboration. Sure they have Exchange
Server and Sharepoint, but those systems are somewhat cumbersome
and don't always play together nicely.
But imagine a system which is (again) platform independent and
web based and allows collaboration among multiple users from
different areas using a shared application base. The system
could incorporate version control for shared documents, as well
as calendaring, email and other communications.
This system could be hosted by Google (of course) but be open to
who you want. In other words, you could openly collaborate with
clients, or co workers regardless of what system you are using -
you could connect and read email with your PDA, schedule
appointments with your laptop and even have a Google Talk VOIP
conversation with your cell phone. The possibilities are
endless.
Take Over the Desktop
To go even a step further, what if Google built a small
lightweight version of Linux that hosts links to web based
versions of the Java applications. You could then have this
light Google Linux stored on a USB device.
That way, no matter what computer you use, you could reboot it
into the USB version of Google's Desktop and have all your
customizations and settings just like you would at home or the
office.
You could borrow your neighbors laptop or even go to the local
Internet cafe and reboot into "Glinux" to read email, respond to
appointments and even have a virtual conference via Google IM.
Again, depending on how aggressive Google wants to be (and I bet
you they are very aggressive) Google could become a viable
alternative to Microsoft. And not just Microsoft applications
but Microsoft as a whole.
Google could take over the desktop (or at least temporarily
supplant it) as well as any MS based application.
This is the true power of the deal today. While it make take
months or years to see the first "real" Google/Sun java
application, I do expect to see them taking aim at Microsoft and
what it has accomplished.
Because this is still all in line with Google's mission of
making the worlds information universally accessible.
All I can say is I hope Bill Gates has a big enough war chest
because he's going to need it.
About the author:
About the author:
Rob Sullivan - SEO Specialist and Internet
Marketing Consultant. Any reproduction of this article needs to
have an html link pointing to http://www.textlinkbrokers.com
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