Apple and Google: Growing Apart?
Apple and Google. Both well respected names in the tech industry, who, in the past, have worked relatively closely with one another. But, in the past couple of years, I have seen a clear decline in the relationship between Google and Mac users.
I can't say that I am completely surprised by this. It is no secret that Google is making the move from search engine, to ecosystem. With Android and Google OS they are intentionally competing with the companies that they provide their core services to, leaving Apple (and others) no choice but to distance themselves to some extent. I don't have a problem with this, because I think competition fosters innovation. However, I do have certain points of contention in regards to the way Google has seemingly snubbed the Mac community with two of it's biggest products outside of search.
Let's start the list, shall we?
Google Chrome
The first official release of Google Chrome for Windows was December, 11, 2008 with a rudimentary beta for OS X released in June, 2009. Google Chrome for the PC is now in version 3. Meanwhile. Today is now October 1st, 2009, and an official release for OS X is not expected for another 4 - 6 months.
As someone who has used Google Chrome for the PC, I can tell you that I think Google Chrome is a new browser.. but a year and a half delay between the release for different operating systems is unacceptable. I am by no means a developer, but I see no logistical reason why development for OS X should take so much longer.
Google Talk
Google Talk is Google's instant messaging client. While this is less of a big deal, Mac users cannot download the official Google Talk application, as it is PC only. You can integrate Google Talk into third party messengers, such as iChat or Aduim, however, those do not allow you to take advantage of Google's audio or video calls. While you can make audio and video calls through the Google Chat web interface, my question is… why? Again, I see little reason why Apple has not released an official Google Talk application for Mac.
I should note, as I was in the process of writing this, a headline in my news reader "Apple buys map service to compete with Google?" has appeared. Apparently, the service is called Placebase, and it has a lot of the same features as Google Latitude. I will include a link to that story.
My closing thoughts are as follows: I have no problem with Google becoming more competitive in the OS wars, but I do not think it is smart for them to ignore other operating systems, because at the end of the day, Google's bread and butter is their web based services. And, if they continue to ignore users who are willing to use their services, it's likely those people will use/find alternatives, which is only to Googles detriment.
Kyle Ankney
Reader Comments (3)
I have been thinking this for a long time. I feel like you bring some very nice points. Nice article!
Good topic, but this article was written in a very poor manner. I know if I was aspiring to be a tech blogger, I would want somebody to let me know that.
BW,
I don't mind you saying that you feel my article is poorly written, in fact I appreciate your honesty, but if you think my article is poorly written, I'd like it if you would point out the areas where you feel I can improve so I can write better articles in the future.