Google Online OS .vs. Microsoft Live

I just recently found an interesting Redmondmag.com article on the current war between Google and Microsoft for internet supremacy. It compares a lot of the new things that the two companies are coming out with to try and dominate the web.

Google Search .vs. Windows Live Search
I personally use google search for almost everything, so making a switch to another search engine seems pointless. I went ahead and checked out the www.live.com search and wasn't terribly impressed. Live.com seems like it's trying to simply mimic the google search, with the pretty Microsoft look. Don't get me wrong, I think Microsoft is a great company, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are at the top for a long time after now. It's a bummer that they couldn't come out with something a little more innovative. Like a breakthrough in search engine technology, maybe previews of the top pages, something like that.

Google GMail .vs. Windows Live Mail
Again, I go with Google here. I made the switch from hotmail (yuck) to Gmail about 3 months ago, and I don't know that I will need to switch again. Tons of space (2GB), integrated chat (Google Talk), and google's great search built in to browse through all of the email in the inbox. I'm interested to see what Microsoft will do to counter this. GMail is just so simple, it will be hard to beat.

Google Talk .vs. Windows Live Messenger
This is where I stick with Microsoft. The Live Messenger is a great interface, and allows contacts with Yahoo! messenger users as well, which is more than convenient. I feel that Microsoft dominates this part of the market, the clientele base is just larger.

I use google talk as well, and although the number of users is much smaller, I still think it's great. Google sticks with simplicity here, like most of all of their interfaces. It's easy to share files, and the call feature is great as well...saves me minutes. I think, with time, Google Talk will be able to compete with Live Messenger.

Google Writely .vs. Microsoft Word?
It's a rough comparison, because currently, Microsoft has no response to Google for this. I have a feeling that Writely is going to blow up quite soon. The ability to have access to all word files from any machine is almost mind blowing. Also, users can collaborate on files from anywhere. If any word processing application was going to compete with Microsoft Word, this would be it.

All in all, it's exciting to think about where the market is going. Google's response to Microsoft is amazing. They're making a lot of the Windows functionality available online, all with the power of Google's search, their plethora of servers, and their pure ingenuity.