This news just in from 1988!

John Battelle pointed to this commentary on ZDNet regarding the announcement today of Google Apps. Money quote:

"The blog love (see Techmeme) for these Google hosted apps is somewhat amazing. Especially when you consider Google Apps are unlikely to dent Microsoft Office's juggernaut. I just don't see Fortune 1000 companies doing this. As for smaller companies and sole proprietors there's a market for Google. Overall though, Google Office seems like a nice way to distract Microsoft from closing the search gap than upending Redmond's cash cow."

This is my response:

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Through our secret whizzo time-dispatch technology, we have the following quote:

"The IT love (see Infoworld) for these Microsoft PC apps is somewhat amazing. Especially when you consider Microsoft PC Apps are unlikely to dent IBM's juggernaut. I just don't see Fortune 1000 companies doing this. As for smaller companies and sole proprietors there's a market for Microsoft. Overall though, Microsoft Excel seems like a nice way to distract IBM from closing the software application gap than upending IBM's hardware cash cow."

I don't mind you reinventing the wheel when it comes to bogus arguments. But must it be the square wheel? A wheel that's been known to fail before (see above)? The way Microsoft got to be dominant was by its adoption not from the Fortune 1000, but the Fortune 10,000. Now Google is going after the Fortune 300,000,000 -- each and every one of us in the US.

The irony of how this leverages Microsoft's long-time vision of "A PC on every desk, and in every home," is overwhelming.