Google, Motorola and the End of Pax Microsoft

What’s the Latest Development?

Google’s recent acquisition of Motorola’s cellphone division has most people talking about patent litigation but this overlooks the dangers of vertical integration, says small business owner Gene Marks. Should Google work to make its Android software available only on exclusive hardware, just as Apple mostly does, Google can use Motorola to do so. “This is all great for Google. But will this news help my small business? Unfortunately, no. The empire is breaking up. Chaos is approaching,” says Marks. He says he already works across too many platforms. 

What’s the Big Idea?

There was a time of Pax Microsoft. Not everything was cheery in the Empire days, but at least software was made to integrate with its nearly universal Windows operating system. Now small businesses are stretched thinner than ever, having to work across multiple software platforms. “We have Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems. More choice is good, yes? No. There is no one company writing software that’s runs all of our computers and devices.” Small business, which naturally have limited resources, will be forced to choose among computing companies and accept the consequences.