Apple and Google On A Collision Course

It wasn't that long ago that Google and Apple looked like a dream team. We even considered a fantasy merger of the two back in July. How quickly times have changed.

Now it's iPhone vs. Android, Chrome vs. Safari, and perhaps, Apple mobile search vs. Google search. There are some interesting parallels between this situation and the early days of the Microsoft/Apple rivalry. Microsoft was a key software provider for Apple, while also ramping up its own competing OS for IBM PCs and compatibles.

So where will this end? Can Google and Apple work together against Microsoft as a common enemy, or are we seeing the rivalry of the next decade? Will the next generation of Apple users look back on Google vs. Apple in the same way many of us remember Microsoft vs. Apple? It's not entirely unbelievable to see a path in which Microsoft's influence (continues to) declines to a point of an also-ran. Look at the market gains of Firefox, and to a lesser extent, Safari. Look at the move to online applications, and the increasing marginalization of the desktop OS. Yes, these trends could affect Apple as well, but Apple has a booming hardware business Microsoft can't rely on.

With the recent delay/rejection of Apple's voice search app for the iPhone, we might be seeing this new clash of titans coming far sooner than we thought.

What do you think? Is the ultimate showdown of "Do No Evil," and "Think Different" right around the corner?

Thank You Microsoft: Netflix Comes To The Mac

I was just about to cancel my Netflix account. After all, why should I pay the same price as those using Windows computers, who are able to watch movies streaming instantly?

In another sign of the crazy times we're living in, Apple users have Microsoft to thank for making Netflix streaming on the Mac possible. Netflix will be using Microsoft's Silverlight to bring their streaming titles to the Mac. Why Silverlight? Well, one of the reasons the launch of these titles on the Mac has been delayed has been the requirements from studios to ensure copy protection of the content. On Windows computers, Windows Media Player provides an adequate level of DRM to satisfy content producers. Since Windows Media Player hasn't been updated for the Mac in years, Silverlight became the next best option. Since Silverlight is cross-platform, it will be interesting to see if all Netflix streaming is deployed via Silverlight in the future.

If it isn't already obvious, Apple's own QuickTime has stellar video quality, but lacks DRM options for third parties like Netflix. If nothing else, this may make Apple consider a subscription plan more in line with Netflix price offerings. A small portion of the Netflix catalog is currently available on any platform, but within 8-12 months, we could see some interesting competition between Netflix and Apple's own rental options.

Apple and Microsoft Workers: Not That Different Politically

Microsoft and Apple. Diametrically opposed forces, right? Each camp has haters and believers. You know, come to think of it, it's not all that different from the presidential campaign; for many people, if you're not on their side, then clearly you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

Interestingly enough though, when it comes to individual campaigns donations, they aren't all that far apart. (And, there's an even bigger surprise) According to data gathered from fundrace, opensecrets.org, and the fec, roughly 68% of individual campaign contributions from Microsoft employees went to Democratic candidates, with 32% going to Republican candidates. Over at Apple, 83% went to Democrats, and 17% to Republicans. Depending on where you stand, those may or may not be surprising numbers.

Here's the interesting fact though: Both Microsoft and Apple make the list of the top 20 corporations with the highest number of individual contributions to... Ron Paul.

Microsoft comes in at #5, just below google, and Apple is at #19, just above Intel. Besides Microsoft, Apple, and Google, the list is essentially a who's who of defense contractors, and government/military agencies.

Now the disclaimers: bear in mind these are self-identified employees of these companies. As a result, compiling data on Apple in particular, is difficult because some people list the employer as Apple, others as Apple, Inc., Apple Computer, etc. Exploring these numbers creates a rabbit hole from which you could literally spend a month. Getting an exact count is tricky, as are the options in parsing the data: total amount of money vs. total # of contributors, etc split by candidate, pre- convention/post-convention. We will leave that to the more savvy number runners among us.

Still, its interesting to see that despite how different their philosophies are in design and programming, most politically active employees at both companies could sit down and talk about politics in agreement.

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Should've Hired Newman

Well that didn't take long. According to a post over at Valleywag, Microsoft is pulling the plug on those awful Seinfeld/Gates commercials. You'd have thought old, rich and out of touch white dudes, pitching a company everyone hates was a can't miss.