October 2007

The Battle of the Titans

It's a "Battle of the Technology Titans" on 5 simultaneous fronts ... but the outcome of this "war" may surprise us all!

That's the way I see it, anyway ... perched comfortable on my deck ... Blackberry and laptop in hand ... watching the birds chirp away and wondering why everyone doesn't come to see Virginia in the fall. It's absolutely beautiful!

"They're probably afraid they'll catch one of our 'high humidity holdover' days from August", I say to my new Cardinal friend.

Anyway, I read a few interesting articles this morning and it occurs to me that this intra-industry technology "war" is quickly coming down to two major players. I call them the "titans" ... and everyone else is trying to choose their sides.

Look at some of the recent news:

IBM now supports OpenOffice more aggressively and is throwing Lotus Notes into the mix
Microsoft officially introduces its "live online" Office Suite in late September
Google teams up with Sprint and is testing their own set of "advertising supported" mobile phones
Novel essentially sells out to Microsoft at the expense of many of its long term allies
Brazil applies to become an official subsidiary of Google, any spreads piracy throughout South America
Microsoft takes over half of India ... both here and there .. and sponsors it own international cricket tournament in the process
Google continues romancing China like a teenage boy in a French Class
Apple sits back and enjoys the battle knowing full well its market value will sharply increase with controversy
Google's market valuation shoots past IBM, and starts to close in on Wal-Mart ... in just 3 years!
Sun, IBM, and Google seem to be having a new and interesting "affair"
Microsoft and AT&T sign up to testify in Washington against Google as a monopoly

If this were a conventional war, "Poor little Google" wouldn't stand much of a chance. But those folks from Mountain View have changed the playing field and they have Microsoft running scared. They're fighting this one out in the jungles, across the sandy deserts, in outer space, as well as in the dark corners of Main Street, Wall Street, and Madison Avenue. They are also well aware of the unique blend of greed and "techno-hype" that drives both Wall Street and Washington. And a few thousand rocket scientists don't hurt their cause much either ... except perhaps when "common sense" comes into play.

The Googlelites are street fighters. They know how to align themselves with the gullible masses. They are excellent at attracting third world cultures and emerging markets. They sponsor elections. They rob from the middle class and give to the poor ... and "donate" to select members of the middle and upper class as they see fit, as well. They make virtually all of their money by selling advertising on web sites, many of which are nothing more than willful piracy sites talking advantage of our youth and our underprivileged ... let alone the undereducated.

They anointed themselves as the organizer of all the worlds' information ... and that includes everything and everyone who don't want the Googlelites to touch their private information or property, as well. Google apparently held a public forum on the issue, but no one showed up to vote other than their senior scientists, CEO, departing CFO, General Counsel, a few members of their Board, half the lawyers in California, and, of course, all of the venture capitalists and investment bankers who helped develop the Google war plan in the first place.

Microsoft has a decided advantage in armament and in size. Problem is, too many of the plain citizens don't like them. Their expense structure is so large they have lost forever what it might take to stay nimble and adjust to changing tides ... let alone lead the innovation train. Doesn't look like the federal and state governments care too much for Redmond, either ... except perhaps some of those who have accepted free software and other bribes along the way.

Another problem is some (let's make that "many") people still believe monopolistic business practices are evil in this country ... especially when they have to pay more for software than is logical and are forced to upgrade in order to use many new hardware devices and software features that might actually help them improve their position on both the economic and self-esteem totem polls. This silent majority is becoming "no so silent" anymore these days.

Case in point. Microsoft had the perfect opportunity to do what was right this fall and modify its "image search" engine functions to comply with the long standing copyright laws in this country ... and guess what? ... they chose not to do so. I know. I brought it to their attention in May and was politely told to "pound sand". Perhaps they thought honesty from Microsoft would give Google an even further marketplace lead. And don't these folks from Redmond depend on the adequate protection of copyrights for their own survival?

I, for one, can't stand hypocrisy. It's probably the only business practice I hate more than piracy.

So, Microsoft has the bulk of the soldiers, all dressed up meticulously in their corporate colors and standing at their guard posts all around the world ... but Google has the guerrilla warriors hiding behind semantic shells and bricks and mortar as well ... let alone innocent women and children who blindfully follow their lead ... and, all the while taking full advantage of the anonymity of the Internet.

So who is going to win this "Battle of the Titans"?

Here's my view. Microsoft will win some battles and Google will win some battles, but NEITHER one of them will ultimately win the war. A new player, or set of players, will emerge. I am almost certain of that. Players who respect honesty and fair play. Players who will not sell out our morals and business ethics for all the oil in the Mid-east, or all the toys in China. Players who respect copyrights and the hard work of the hundreds of thousands of artists, songwriters, musicians, writers, photographers, journalists, illustrators, cartoonists, and poets, who make our country so unique and so wonderful. Players who believe in both the "fair use" of copyrighted works for research and innovation, and the honesty of the "Public Domain" ... but only within the confines of what is legal and what is not.

People who respect the law of the land. Even if they wish some laws would change faster than they do.

People who shoot straight with their customers, their suppliers, government regulators, members of the legislature ... and the judiciary ... and with their shareholders. A new set of players. A new breed of business ethics, honesty, and fair play. A culture that can once again be respected around the world. It will come about. I'm convinced of that. It's simply a matter of how long it will take to evolve.

If the gourmet free lunches and cricket tournaments have to bite the dust in the process, then so be it. The rest of us deserve an honest shake in all of this Web 2.0 excitement as well. And we expect our leaders to have some class, be honest, and set the proper examples for our kids.

Not these two Titans!

George P. Riddick, III
Chairman/CEO
Imageline, Inc.

griddick@imageline2.com

<TOP>