Google maps

Did you guys see the new satellite option for google maps? You can zoom in VERY close .  (well in the US that is, you can't really zoom into Europe).

http://maps.google.com/ (and the switch button is on the top right)

Redmond is also available . Too bad I can't say "I can see my office from here!"

Hopefully they will add the more accurate images of europe later on .

wow that is very cool.

be nicer if it worked

2 gig gmail, maps, local, video, al gore network, picasa, hello  all free all out faster than ms - all exhibiting LEADING.. not following

they are cleaning your clock
whupping yo a$

how on earth will ms keep its current business model - when all google seems to want is the useage data - to offer up more targetted useful info - that in turn google partners pay to be a part of

NOT consumers

now if youll excuse me i need to go to staples and buy an OS for 500$ - thats 3 years old 

jamie wrote:

now if youll excuse me i need to go to staples and buy an OS for 500$ - thats 3 years old 

Solaris is freeware now, dude

I don't think they are "cleaning your clock". MS sells software, Google sells its users. They have different business models.

harumscarum wrote:

I don't think they are "cleaning your clock". MS sells software, Google sells its users. They have different business models.

agree - but that are about to collide  ( gbrowser/gOS)

worse part is it is MSs own employees - only this time - it wont be as simple a nuking Real Networks

jamie wrote:

agree - but that are about to collide  ( gbrowser/gOS)

worse part is it is MSs own employees - only this time - it wont be as simple a nuking Real Networks

gbrowser/gOS? They are non existent and MS has a few years experience ahead of them (as well as Linux flavors).

Its just hard for me to counter these arguments because they are 2 different types of companies. If MS was doing some of the things google does people would be calling for their heads (prefetch comes to mind). I think it is cool that google creates things like maps because it just pushes technology further and as a consumer we are rewarded.

jamie wrote:

2 gig gmail

Actually my gmail account space is going up every day. Currently at 2061Mb..

harumscarum wrote:

gbrowser/gOS? They are non existent and MS has a few years experience ahead of them (as well as Linux flavors).

a few years ahead of delivering dynamic perpetual applications?  ahead delivering no activation? ahead providing the internets most useful search service? ahead by uncluttering tech and making a simple fast loading brand based experience? ahead by utilizing existing tech (script/dhtml) ?
Ahead by being a verb in the english language?

ms isnt ahead in any of the above - and it is going to come at them faster than they think when (prediction) gbrowser comes out FREE on 300$ machines running g-os

Just pointing this out is all.. perhps none of it will come to pass ( except the Ahead stuff above - google is on the move and if ms is - its all behind closed doors - so who knows

*ps - google OS will not be an os like windows - more like a fullscreen webbrowser on top of linux - available from anywhere (your webtop) etc  / again prediction not fact

harumscarum wrote:

MS sells software, Google sells its users.

Are you sure that's true? Think about it.

jamie wrote:

when (prediction) gbrowser comes out FREE on 300$ machines running g-os

Google already has a browser (which they bought indirectly) and they have already started optimising their products for it. In fact I am using it right now.

agreed - so its users designed apps(oss)=free against proprietary designed apps corps = paid. 

the ms biz model isnt looking too healthy = read huge dividends to stock holders = ship sinking?

ps - i am a huge fan of MS and good nicely deisgned user software...  but i pretty much view everything ms is doing - finacially - suicide

tick tock tick tock - cue the alligator

Peter pan - not cpn hook will win the future ( or it will be a very scarry litigeous future indeed)

so ms - how bout a little more peter and a little less HOOK

..the MIDDLE and all that

( EDIT: Peter! no sleepovers with little boys!  lol)

Microsoft is doing fine.

"Doomsday" advice is a bit premature. In 5, 20 years - yeah, then it'd be good. But now? As long as Microsoft holds most of the cards, they're doing fine.

If they don't shape up then yeah, eventually they'll go away. But their advantages are huge.

And it's nice to see Google finally using their Keyhole technology. Interesting. I wonder when we'll see Blogger/Picasa/Hello integration into Google?

Hmm, I haven't read any blogs on this yet...

Hey, Scoble, blog the connection!

Oh.

Just remembered Terraserver.

WTF is Microsoft doing? Or allow me to say MSN.

Google took that idea, and actually made it work. So - what is MSN going to do about it? Terraserver is "basically unuseable" (by me), because I hate the interface. Reminds me of the web several years ago.

It's rather easy to link to Google Maps (here's a link to the satellite picture of SFO), after all.

Michael Griffiths wrote:

Microsoft is doing fine.

"Doomsday" advice is a bit premature. In 5, 20 years - yeah, then it'd be good. But now? As long as Microsoft holds most of the cards, they're doing fine.

If they don't shape up then yeah, eventually they'll go away. But their advantages are huge.

And it's nice to see Google finally using their Keyhole technology. Interesting. I wonder when we'll see Blogger/Picasa/Hello integration into Google?

Hmm, I haven't read any blogs on this yet...

Hey, Scoble, blog the connection!

<rant>

5 to 20?

id say in 2 to 3 years there will be 2 software industrys - one closed - one open

i know which one ill be helping out - the MS c9 OPEN one

* everyone (ms) is understimating the power of brand, trust, clean UIs and free services

Im sure longhorn will look great and fix many things - at a severe authentication eula drm cost

if google wraps its farms into pretty uis like hello - then leverages that into a dynamic os (web)- apart from photoshop corel and frontpage, id have no reason to use anything thats stranded on one machine anymore

i like ms - but i trust google with managing or interacting with my home servers - my pc's etc without nickel and diming - or any form of activation - or any other legal intimidation twords me as a consumer and a customer

im a huge ms fan - but google treats me better

thats what ms has to be afraid of and its not going to take 20 years  (remember google is now 30% ms brains - new ones at that)

its jsut they are FREE and ms lives in an error where you charge for invisible software - developed in secrecy - and delivered every 3/4 years

they are also underestimating the people who maintain all their friends and families machines - do i load picasa? yep  do i load paint.net?  yep
adaware, spybot free.. yep

Firefox - when nessesary - but it will get there too.

Given the choice between free / by users or paid by corp.. whos going to choose corp - apart from slow moving stupid F500 co's - oh ya thats who your salesguy exec's are chasing

(so ms can go off and do the paul: DRM Over America - Ill buy the Lennon(john) albums thankyou

* im sorry i get so mad everytime google leads and MS just SITS there then copies it

go print out C9 , do everything we all say and you may have a chance

jamie - the pessimist - in this one instance

Why do I think Microsoft is fine?

1). Incumbency.

Microsoft only has to be "good enough" - to an extent. They'll lose market share, true, but so? Having 30-50% of any market is nothing to sneer at. Besides - that would seriously free them from some of the Justice Department things. And that's not desktops, which I think Microsoft will retain at about ~80% in 15 years. No decline for another 5-6 years, then as Linux gets useable it'll accelerate with college students who'll continue to use the software when they leave.

2). Resources.
 
I'm sorry, but the amount of money Microsoft makes is insane. The number of very smart, very dedicated people at Microsoft is very large.

The main problem isn't doing something - it's figuring out what to do. Unless they make a series of very, very, very bad mistakes and learn absolutely nothing, they're doing fine.

3). Brand.

Yes, Microsoft has a brand problem. But: it still has more brand recognition than many, many other companies.

Collectively, all Linux distributions have less brand recognition than Microsoft. That's changing, in large thanks to recent press coverage by BusinessWeek, etc.

___

I've forgotten several more than I was going to write, but a final thought:

One real reason you think that Microsoft is doing badly is because of the culture you're in. Most people don't care about computer, or anything to do with them. Yes, "geeks" are early adopters - but not everything reaches the tipping point. Simply because you recognize Google, and know about its features and history, marks you as different.

Know that most people don't know that Google Labs exist? Never thought to click on the "more..." link. They don't know Froogle, or Local, even though it's above the search box. They don't look for it. Just go to Google and hit "Enter". That't it.

Sure, a large potion of people know most of Google's features. But 20%, 30% of computer users isn't much - for such a basic thing.

I'll give you the fact that many developers flock to OSS and Google. But the actual users? They don't care about 99% of OSS, because it's unuseable. Not that it's bad - just incomplete. But most OSS projects never roll out to mainstream, and those that do - Firefox - have limited success. Firefox adoption is slowing, remember? There's a certain market segment that it appealed to, and that's nearly filled up. More people will continue to use it, but more will continue with IE. And the 20 million (or so? Not sure) AOL users will almost entirely switch to the AOL Browser when it's out of beta in a few months. It's very good, and quite a bit better than Firefox.

Will Microsoft have monopolistic control, be the only real choice? No, it won't. But that actually helps Microsoft.

Not only will they be legally more free, but they'll actually be able to compete - which is something they're very good at. Microsoft plays far better as the underling than as they incumbent - or even the equal competitor.

the irony for me is i learned about picassa and paint.net through a microsoft site (here)

and das blog
and much more

youd just think youd go to c9 and microsoft would be releasing the free picasa thing - that they would "get" the new model - that theyd be empowering me to do the things the free model companies are doing

i dont see it - ms just seems woefully behind

ps ..advocates are allowed to get peeved..but im not sure how id handle it - apart from making 2 microsofts - one closed one open - and competing against myself - at lest then i would rest assured of no innovators dilema syndrome

like buying all the restaraunts on a busy street - all different styles concepts and menus - end of day who cares its your block

gates has always been famous for betting all hands - but i dont see the open/community bet

just this lone site - with a figurehead (scoble) who has been right more than wrong that they should listen too more often

* not yelling..  just concerned