Microsoft and Google sniping: What's it all about?

Google plays antitrust card over Vista concerns; Microsoft says it’s a non-issue.

Microsoft and Google have been nipping at each other for quite some time but as the search and online advertising market has picked up so has the competition. Now Google has chosen to go the antitrust route, according to a story by the Wall Street Journal. In a filing that has yet to be made public, Google apparently has voiced issues with the way Windows Vista handles desktop search software. Google says that puts it at a disadvantage, which violates the consent decree of the 2002 antitrust ruling against Microsoft. The Department of Justice is said to be involved and a hearing is slated for later this month.

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Also see: Google, Microsoft serious about software, services, litigation

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Microsoft and Google have been nipping at each other for quite some time but as the search and online advertising market has picked up so has the competition. Now Google has chosen to go the antitrust route, according to a story by the Wall Street Journal. In a filing that has yet to be made public, Google apparently has voiced issues with the way Windows Vista handles desktop search software. Google says that puts it at a disadvantage, which violates the consent decree of the 2002 antitrust ruling against Microsoft. The Department of Justice is said to be involved and a hearing is slated for later this month.

What do you think about this debate? Vote in our poll

Also see: Google, Microsoft serious about software, services, litigation

What is Google claiming?

The company says that Widows Vista isn’t playing nice with rival desktop search engines. The operating system defaults to a desktop search feature built by Microsoft. Google claims that it can’t be shut off, therefore, eliminating choice for consumers and putting Google at a disadvantage. In addition, it says if both the Microsoft search engine and a third-party search engine are running at the same time the performance of the OS is greatly reduced.

What does Microsoft say?

Microsoft is speaking through its lawyers. Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, told the Wall Street Journal. “We don't believe that this feature is covered by the consent decree or that it raises any antitrust issues,” he said. The company also said that its desktop search feature can be shut off, but that to do so is “difficult.”

What are some of the other dynamics of the case?

There is a back story brewing, according to a New York Times article, which is that the Bush administration has a view of antitrust policy that is more favorable to Microsoft. As one example, it points to the initial dismissal of Google’s antitrust complaint on the desktop search issue. The Times article say the Google complaint only saw the light of day after being taken on by a group of state Attorneys General connected to the 2002 Microsoft antitrust ruling. Those state officials then asked the DOJ to join in, an offer that is still under discussion.

What might really be going on?

Google dominates in search and advertising, but its application services are getting closer and closer to turf that Microsoft not only owns but relies on for the majority of its revenue. Microsoft, as it has shown in the past (prime example: Netscape), throws big punches when it fights to defend that turf. “I think Google is realizing that Microsoft is not as dumb as it thought,” says Guy Creese, an analyst with the Burton Group. “The glory days of living on media hype are gone and Google realizes they have to work hard at succeeding here.” And Creese says that includes dusting off the lawyers, as well as, keeping the engineers fed.

Didn’t Microsoft ask the DOJ to look into Google’s recent acquisition of DoubleClick?

Yes. Certainly two can play the legal game and Microsoft has plenty of dust-free lawyers of its own.