For many years Microsoft has been known as the "Evil Empire" on the basis of the company's approach to dominating its business and preventing its competitors getting fair access to the markets. I think that much of this is driven by competitor envy to the Microsoft success and their ability to break into Microsoft's main areas of business. A large number of IT professionals I am sure don't subscribe to this Evil Empire definition as support of Microsoft in many IT areas has been very good for such people's careers. This probably explains why so many organizations almost totally depend upon Microsoft rather than looking to use alternative software approaches such as alternative Internet browsers and office productivity software that may not need so much IT support.

I feel, however, that the mantle of the Evil Empire is shifting and now another owner of this title is Google. When Google first appeared we all loved the company for its fresh approach and its business model. This model has changed over time as Google pushed into a number of new business spaces. Most of these increased the appeal of Google with its advertising driven business approach. Google Mail did not have the restrictions of Microsoft's Hotmail and Google Earth opened up new ways of looking at the world. My problem with Google is in the area of ownership of content and in particular in its challenge to the book publishers over copyright.

Just image you owned a property but this property was empty and without you realizing it squatters come to occupy your property, of course without paying any rent. Now this happens in many parts of the world but let us now image that if you fail to evict these squatters that they now claim ownership of the property and the right to sell it at a price they decide, and for them to keep all the proceeds of this sale. This appears to me to be exactly what Google are trying to do with the book publishers.