Some very interesting news came across the wire today, a sort of one-two punch for the giant noone thought could die.
First, the Financial Times is reporting a deal currently being worked between Google and Wal*Mart to distribute Google PC’s with Google’s very own operating system. This would be huge because Microsoft’s biggest foothold (and moneymaker) is the fact that Windows is preinstalled on virtually every PC that hits the market. A monopoly by necessity as it were. If Google used their newly found strength to release their own operating system, they may have a chance to oust Microsoft and take the throne.
Of course, there are several things that would still need to happen. Google has a very weak software offering at this point (no office suite for instance) and would need some serious applications for people (and businesses) to take it seriously. Also, Google’s operating system would most likely need to be Linux-based if it’s to have any chance in the mix.
Speaking of chances, the second part of this knockout is a huge Windows vulnerability just announced yesterday. Essentially, hackers can now inject malicious code into an image. While before you were only in danger by downloading or executing a file, now just viewing the infected image, whether in an email, an IM or on a web page infects your computer. Every Windows system since 1990 is vulnerable and Microsoft isn’t releasing a patch until January 10th. Microsoft is telling coporations to wait on the official patch, while security companies are begging people to use unofficial patches to fix it now. Microsoft is not on anyone’s happy list today.
If anyone’s going to take down Microsoft, it’s Google. They have the size, the resources, and now, with this new vulnerability, the opportunity.
