Joshua Thorp wrote:
The android phone doesn't make the list?
Owen's point is taken about the lack of total integration. Apple would never
let that happen to their products. Android does have a good set of
integrations and some glaring omissions like read only integration with google
docs. It is a good test of your google ecology purity to sign on to an android
phone and see your google persona inhabit it.
I'm an Apple Fanboi of sorts but I have to say that it took them 30
years to get to where they are and Google has eclipsed them in many ways
in less than 10. I don't see GOOG out to thrash APPL like they are
after MSFT but I think they are definitely caught in the backscatter of
that. Google stands on the backs of giants like Apple, Microsoft, Sun
and many others, and they do it with style and grace and energy. I
only wish our federal government could be as scrappy... there was a
moment in the campaign when I thought maybe...
<snip>
But really I'm not sure that I want to see Google be more successful. Total
integration could turn into a walled garden that stifles innovation. I think
one interesting thing is how willing google has been to fail and as they do
over and over again I am sure what remains will be powerful.
Yes, the walled gardens of MSFT and APPL have their limitations. I'm
sorry that Sun's drive to avoid the walled garden did not lead them to
thrive in the long term. The darwinian aspect of Google's ecology is
important. I think Owen's concern about Google's limited coherence is a
little like going to a zoo with Australian flora and fauna and
questioning "God's Plan".
- Steve
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