So when do we get it over with and declare Google a monopoly?

I did a double take recently after listening to Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell acknowledge that his company was ready to lose even more money in online services in the near term, if that's what it takes to catch Google. During the company's earnings call last week, Liddell indicated that Microsoft is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its online advertising business, an investment he allowed would be "a drag" on the rest of the company. Outside of the occasional fit of Monkeyboy inspiration, Microsoft's managers are a sober bunch. They don't decide things haphazardly and they don't rush in reaction to current events. But their willingness to dig deep into Microsoft's (enviably deep) pockets in pursuit of Google was a remarkably telling comment. Much like WordPerfect and Borland and Novell, which at one time sought... [read full story]