You either work for Google or are a really sad case. Folks like you, who believe this is “sociology” and that Google is some sort of humanitarian charity are just almost too out there to be believed.

Is this *really* your view? HOW is it possible to be so naive?! Well… Google loves you, Ill tell you that much. Because guys like you will give your last ounce of blood and thank them for it!

This underscores what the author was saying. THIS is the biggest problem with Google. MSFT (or M$FT as dullards continue to find clever) is under an endless microscope, DESPISED by the weirdo geek community and heavily regulated. As such, it has to be *very careful* with what it does. THAT is sociology for you.

Google could open up concentration camps and guys like Trench would say ‘well they’re better than “M$FT” ‘!!!! THAT is dangerous.

YHOO can and should play coy. YHOO stock has been bogged down because of internal fat. Yang should use MSFT excuse to shed some pounds, get the stock pumped up in 2 months.

Do some spring cleaning, get the bureaucrats out.. use the cost savings to keep the brightest, hire away a large team from GOOG with a chance to double their stock in 1 year…many will come.

In a year, MSFT will have to pay 2x for YHOO, so they better pay 1.5x$31 today to bag ‘em today !

That means e-mail, search, blogger, everything. Power back to the people .

Competition is good as long as it doesn’t destroy what the competitors are competing for.

What I was suggesting is that Google has never had real competition, except for what exists within the company itself.

Let’s not forget that Yahoo actually ran on the Google search engine back in the day – until yahoo realized that it wasn’t the wisest move they’d ever made – so they rebuilt their own.

Even afterwards, when yahoo acquired Flickr (Google’s one true blunder, not acquiring Flickr) it was still running Google-ads on the site for quite some time… until yahoo finally launched its own ad program.

And the rest of the ‘04 – ‘06 battles between Google and Yahoo were never really battles – they were just prime examples of Yahoo playing catch-up.

Google may have tempted towards the act of competing a couple times, but I don’t think it ever really happened.

Yahoo simply *tried* to make it a competition, but failed.

As we can clearly see now.

MS finds itself in an analogous situation presently. They need to play catch-up. MS is trying to acquire Yahoo because it doesn’t want to lose the Internet to Google.

So, to jump back to your comment – “companies rarely drive themselves to create better products without competition” – I suggest this is one of those rare occasions. Google has done this and shows absolutely no signs of veering off course.

And – “they NEVER lower prices without it.” – how much lower can you get than free? Gproducts are [for the most part] free. Gmail, for example – if it weren’t for the 2gig Gmail bomb they dropped on the Internet, Yahoo and Microsoft would still be trying to pimp 500mb email accts for 20 bucks a head. (Which is another prime example of Google controlling the marketplace rather than competing in it.)

If it’s advertising through Google which you are worried will increase in price, I say good. Worry. Google’s primary user-base continues to win, and it will be other companies that have to pay the bills.

“Competition drives better products and lower prices” might prove to be a failing proverb for future social endeavors. Is what I’m saying.

It’s not economics we’re talking about here – it’s sociology.

Don’t assume that the valuation MS used to buy FB was realistic or sustainable. Their business model is still being figured out as they are having trouble making enough money via ads. If they have another snafu like Beacon regarding privacy, then you could see massive defections.

And anyone who wants to see Yahoo swallowed up by Microsoft is, in effect, voting for the destruction of far superior mail and IM clients. You’re also destroying one of the most popular online communities, where people gather to chat, play checkers, fantasy football, etc. All to keep “balance” in the online advertising market? Hell, I think Yahoo could put Google ads on their site and make a killing. Don’t put a nail in Yahoo’s coffin yet.