Microsoft Takes Anti-Trust Action Against Google. Hilarity Ensues.

This is rich. Apparently, Microsoft has filed some interesting anti-trust allegations against Google with the EU because, well, it says Google isn't playing fair. Is this a laugh riot or what?

Before I say anything more, let me restate my position on the Google-Microsoft search-engine battle. My position is simple: Google is winning the search battle because Google is a better search engine, period.

I've never heard of Google doing any sort of underhanded activity. In fact, the opposite is true, especially with regard to Microsoft. In California, for instance, there have been far too many incidences of local governments refusing to listen to the Google pitch for document management, but Microsoft gets all sort of deals that cost the taxpayers money. Everyone is suspicious about what goes on behind closed doors. Google kind of whines about this but hopes it can adjust to being beaten soundly over and over for no apparent reason.

Microsoft is the company with the reputation of sketchy business practices, not Google. This current action is kind of like Intel suing AMD for unfair business practices and being mean to them. Intel would become a laughing stock if the suits got any traction.

Let's go back to my premise: Google is a better search engine, period. Anyone who runs a blog or server knows for a fact that there are more Google bots roaming the Net than there are Microsoft bots. And apparently, these bots seem to know their way around a lot better than the Microsoft bots. This, to me, is the simple reality of the situation.

If Microsoft was serious about search, it would do two things: First, it would double the bots, and second it would do some headhunting within the Google staff and steal people left and right.

Microsoft is notorious for paying less than the going rate. It began this practice early when Bill Gates allegedly told prospective new hires that to show their sincerity, they'd have to take a pay cut based on their previous salary. In the go-go era, this was no big deal because people were getting rich from the stock options. Nowadays this cheapskate model does not work.

If Microsoft was serious, it would scope out the top prospects from Google who make Google a better search engine and make them all an offer they cannot refuse. Instead the company expects its internal workforce to copy what Google is doing, although nobody actually knows what Google is doing, except that is has more bots.

And then there is Microsoft's contentious work environment, which is largely modeled after the volatile personality of Steve Ballmer and the argumentative and sarcastic nature of Bill Gates. Not everyone responds to this sort of thing. When compared to the easy-going, if not goofball, nature of Larry Page and Sergey Brin that's reflected in Google's corporate culture, who would want to work for Microsoft? Nobody would if given a choice.

So Microsoft decided to take a page from the playbook of perpetual losers and sue Google in the EU. This really is rich. The EU folks are not that fond of Microsoft in the first place. But since the EU loves to find reasons to gouge American companies with fines for somehow doing something bad, they will see Google as a deep pockets target to add money to the economy. Now Microsoft is their friend.

Microsoft knew it had no shot at getting the U.S. to do an ant-trust action (and we actually need the money!), so it scampered over to Europe.

Microsoft seems to have monopoly and popularity mixed up. Google doesn't have a monopoly. And Google does not pull stunts to make people use its search engines, like threaten them if they do not.

It will be fun to watch. I think Google may pull out a few tricks of its own.