Google's I/O conference is being held this week, and a number of announcements today seem clearly aimed squarely at Apple.
Apple TV? Try the new GoogleTV instead! Wanna buy music on iTunes? Why not buy it through the Android marketplace instead! In fact, why not ditch your iPhone and get one that will soon be running the new Android mobile operating system Google just announced!
In fact, Google's Vice President of Engineering Vic Gundotra basically said what many have been thinking -- that Google's move into mobile and media technology is specifically aimed at Apple.
"If we did not act, we faced a draconian future. Where one man, one company, one carrier was the future," Gundotra explained as to why Google created the Android software.
In case you're confused, that one man is Steve Jobs, with Apple and AT&T the company and carrier, respectively. But, sure, maybe Gundotra was talking about the RIM Blackberry?
Ironic, of course, coming from a company that's nearly monopolized web search, but Silicon Valley engineers aren't always great at parsing things like irony.
If that wasn't enough that Google and Apple are no longer close -- the two companies once shared leadership on their boards and in executive suites -- then Adobe releasing a fully-functional version of Flash for Android sure is.
Apple, and Jobs, have been on a crusade against Adobe's Flash software, not allowing it anywhere near devices running the iPhone operating system, including the iPad and iPod Touch.
In other words, Google is saying if you want Flash, go Android, and if you want a draconian future, go Apple.
Photo by Randy Merrill
Jackson West has no horse in this race.
