3 ms·
Microsofts case would have been (or should have been) bolstered if their next largest competitors were all doing exactly the same things. All Google has to do t
by rmrm 15y ago
Microsofts case would have been (or should have been) bolstered if their next largest competitors were all doing exactly the same things. All Google has to do to point out that these things are a natural part of search is point at Bing, Yahoo, Yandex, Baidu, etc -- and look for maps, places, condensed information and answers served up directly.
Microsoft was hamstrung by not having any competitors doing the same thing. It makes it more difficult to make that argument.
- aamar 15y agoGood point. Schmidt mentioned that competitors have similar features, but I didn't connect the idea that they're all doing very similar things, which they probably are, with the idea that those features are part of any complete search product. You could imagine Bing implementing a preference which will automatically swap in Google's Maps, News, etc. in place of home-grown versions whenever you search on Bing. If such a preference is feasible (leads to an okay user experience), it would help make the case that these ancillary features are in fact separable from basic search, and that Google ought to do the same. My guess is Google wouldn't mind that terribly.