http://www.reuters.com/article/bigMoney/idUS158548184120090708
Before reading on, please read the article posted at the link above.
I predict that google will take a heavy bounty from this ensuing war. For the longest time, things just dont seem like they are working in Microsoft’s favor. First the monopoly lawsuits, then the open source set backs followed by Apple’s resurgence and in the recent past, the bad image they picked up due to Vista’s ever increasing technical problems.
Google will get positive returns from this latest foray of theirs but it will take some time. Younger people will be more interested in looking at Google than those who are set in their microsoft ways and here is where Google can take a page out of Apples book and focus on some aggressive and intelligent marketing. Apple’s aid campaign made a lot of microsoftie’s convert to Apple. If I, who still uses Windows for most daily laptop related tasks, can go out and buy a Mac Book Air just because I found the Apple TV ads really entertaining [manipulative 
], then believe me when I say a lot of other people would to aswell.
Microsoft has its work cut out. Just by virtue of the fact that they will possibly be playing catch up to Google [and possibly even Oracle], they will always be behind the 8 ball. In these times of rapid technical changes, following in a competitors footsteps is not a recipe for success.
I have a soft spot for Microsoft and I just hope they dont become the next Yahoo.
