Google Responds To Microsoft’s "Gotcha": They’re Diverting Attention • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Responds To Microsoft’s "Gotcha": They’re Diverting Attention

#71

Post by ZeroGravitas » Fri, Aug 05, 2011, 8:39 AM UTC

badclient wrote: post #66

Can someone translate this? What exactly is google arguing in their response to MS? It sounded to me that google's response was that they didn't partner because then they could not keep those patents just to themselves. Somehow I feel I'm misunderstanding it? That sounds too dumb of a response to be accurate.

Google claimed that Android was being attacked with patents.

Microsoft responded that they invited Google to jointly buy patents.

Microsoft is currently threatening Android hardware partners with their existing patents to extract fees. Patents jointly owned by Google and Microsoft would not affect this, patents owned only by Google could force Microsoft to back down.

Re: Google Responds To Microsoft’s "Gotcha": They’re Diverting Attention

#72

Post by joebadmo » Fri, Aug 05, 2011, 2:59 PM UTC

recoiledsnake wrote: post #60

joebadmo wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

re moat: That's certainly an interesting way to look at it, but it doesn't change the fact that Android does make money, both for Google and for carriers/manufacturers. So, again, it's not an artificially lowered price, and while it certainly augments search, it's not subsidized by search. Your argument for maps and finance is stronger, but the analogy isn't great. For one, Google doesn't have close to the monopoly t…

Thanks for the downvotes, HN! >That's certainly an interesting way to look at it, but it doesn't change the fact that Android does make money, both for Google and for carriers/manufacturers. So, again, it's not an artificially lowered price, and while it certainly augments search, it's not subsidized by search. Google's revenue sources from Android are mostly mobile searches that would happen anyway. I bet they make…

re moat: I don't see how your points here speak to your argument that Android is uncompetitive. It's an attempt not to get locked out of the mobile search market. If anything, it promotes competitiveness.

A LOT of marketshare isn't a monopoly and I'm not sure what bearing regional marketshare has on your argument. A search for "Portland Or" gives me mapquest on the second page. "Portland Or Map" gives me mapquest as the second search result.

"IE was actually better than Netscape in the late 90s, early 2000s. Netscape screwed itself by not releasing a new version during the dotcom boom between 1997 and 2007."

So, are you arguing that MS was being perfectly fair and shouldn't have been convicted? At this point, I'm really not sure what you're arguing. I think my position is pretty clear. Are you arguing:

1. MS was wrong and now Google is similarly wrong. 2. MS was not wrong, but Google now is. 3. MS was perceived as wrong by the public, and so Google will be too because of similarities.

It's starting to sound like you're representing 3, which isn't very interesting to me.

Re: Google Responds To Microsoft’s "Gotcha": They’re Diverting Attention

#73

Post by polyfractal » Fri, Aug 05, 2011, 7:07 PM UTC

shareme wrote: post #43

Folks, the longer this goes on more startups lose.. TC should know better than to get involved in one-upmanship that hurts startups.. Whose startup among HN readers can afford patent lawsuits say if either MSFT or Google come knocking? So where is the coverage of how dismal the current patent reform legislation at TC?

There was a Stanford Entrepeneural Thought Leader Seminar where the speaker (I forget who) said:

"The day big corporations come knocking at your door threatening lawsuits...that is the day you know you've made it".

No startup will have to worry about patent litigation from giants, unless they are perceived a threat. And if they are perceived a threat, they are significant enough to combat or negotiate their way out of it.