With New OS, Google Looks More Like a Monopoly

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 9, 2009 9:36 AM CDT
With New OS, Google Looks More Like a Monopoly
In this March 30, 2009 file photo, people use laptops at a ceremony to launch Google's free music download service for China in Beijing.   (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan/File)

Google’s latest project, a Web-based lightweight OS to rival Windows, sounds pretty cool at first. “But that’s why you should be worried,” writes David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times. The search giant has simply become too powerful for comfort. “Google accounts for an ungodly share of the money that flows through the Web,” says the antitrust lawyer who spearheaded the case against Microsoft. “That creates a lot of concern.”

Google will probably give away its OS, much as it doesn't charge for the Chrome browser, Google Docs, Gmail, YouTube, and so on. “As a consumer, it’s hard to complain when you’re being given incredible new things for free,” said one tech lawyer. “But who knows where this ends up.” We depend on Google, and that scares Lazarus, who warns: “Google’s your best tech buddy. Until, that is, it’s not.” (More Google stories.)

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