Good stuff from the infamous Henry Blodgett on the real state of Google vs. Microsoft.

Pundits are buzzing about a coming war between Google and Microsoft. The software giant, the story goes, has the web leader in its sights, and it won’t stop firing until it blows Google away.

The “coming war” story is a popular story because it promises an epic battle: two undefeated heavyweights bashing each others’ brains out, with egos, fortunes, and world domination on the line. Alas, it’s also fiction.

[ Conclusion ]

There will be no great war between Microsoft and Google/Yahoo, because despite Microsoft’s vast resources, Google/Yahoo! have already left MSN far behind. ...

Microsoft’s best chance to make MSN the industry leader is to spin it off, most likely in a merger with AOL.

Though I do wonder why all Wall St. analysts only spew in PDF?

¶ 10/07/2005