It used to be the case, that if you created an application, you could be crushed very easily by Microsoft if they copied your functionality, because they owned the dominant platform.
I think Paul is right that Microsoft cannot do that anymore. The dominant platform is the web now, and Microsoft is not a dominant player there, let alone the owner. The web platform does not have an owner.
Currently Google is the most dangerous company for companies who bring a new application, but even they are not as dangerous as Microsoft was. It is still not perceived by its users as the company that brings the web platform.
For Google to crush MySpace or YouTube for instance, is not as easy at all as it was for Microsoft to crush Netscape.
I think Paul is right that Microsoft cannot do that anymore. The dominant platform is the web now, and Microsoft is not a dominant player there, let alone the owner. The web platform does not have an owner.
Currently Google is the most dangerous company for companies who bring a new application, but even they are not as dangerous as Microsoft was. It is still not perceived by its users as the company that brings the web platform.
For Google to crush MySpace or YouTube for instance, is not as easy at all as it was for Microsoft to crush Netscape.