I do hope regulators take into consideration the source of these complaints. Microsoft is investing a fortune on lobbying groups and PR campaigns attacking Google and this is just another cynical attempt to cripple their main competitor.
Whether it's a sensible approach is another matter. This warning from the Wall Street Journal is pertinent:
In 1999, economist Milton Friedman issued a warning to technology executives at a Cato Institute conference: "Is it really in the self-interest of Silicon Valley to set the government on Microsoft? Your industry, the computer industry, moves so much more rapidly than the legal process that by the time this suit is over, who knows what the shape of the industry will be? Never mind the fact that the human energy and the money that will be spent in hiring my fellow economists, as well as in other ways, would be much more productively employed in improving your products. It's a waste!"
He predicted: "You will rue the day when you called in the government. From now on, the computer industry, which has been very fortunate in that it has been relatively free of government intrusion, will experience a continuous increase in government regulation. Antitrust very quickly becomes regulation. Here again is a case that seems to me to illustrate the suicide impulse of the business community."
Difference is that Google lobbies for their own interests, Microsoft lobbies against Google.
And one assumes that much of Google's lobbying is to counteract Microsoft's.
Also Google's competitors are teaming with Microsoft to destroy Google, their agenda has nothing to do with consumer welfare. Case in point: now they're lobbying against open source software.
In terms of 1995 turnover, IBM was by far the biggest IT company ($71.95 billion) and it was trying hard to kill Microsoft. IBM was followed by HP ($31.52bn), Intel ($16.2bn), Apple ($11.06bn) and then Microsoft ($5.09bn). Sun was bigger as well, but I can't turn up a number.
Google's turnover for 2012 was $50.18bn, so Google is 10x the size now that Microsoft was then. And it's much more powerful.
