Barney's Blog

Blog archive

Google: Get 'Em While They're Young

Apple had an Ivan Putski-class lock on the education market in the 1980s -- that is, until Microsoft started giving away and steeply discounting software for schools. The Apple II and Mac may have been cute, but free is free, and cheap is cheap.

Google is now trying to do the same thing to Microsoft. The company is not just giving away spreadsheets and word processors (these Google apps are, after all, already free), but is offering to store students' and teachers' files. Ten years from now, we may look back and view this as the time Google's application monopoly first started to emerge!

Posted by Doug Barney on December 05, 2006


Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.