WILL Microsoft buy Google? The mere suggestion of Bill Gates鈥檚 megacorporation snatching the company still seen as the darling of the dotcom boom was enough to create a storm last week.
Microsoft certainly has reason to want Google鈥檚 technology, as it currently pays arch-rival Yahoo! for use of its search engine. But Google itself has denied the possibility. Danny Sullivan, editor of the website Search Engine Watch, says, 鈥淚f Microsoft bought Google, the search engine would instantly lose credibility in many people鈥檚 eyes.鈥�
But it may already be too late to save Google鈥檚 reputation. The coverage the story has brought demonstrates that many feel it has become as formidable as Microsoft. According to media analysts, Google now runs 76 per cent of all web searches, giving it a market share almost as dominant as Microsoft has of PC operating systems.
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For those who still want to champion the little guy, a new search engine is emerging that could take Google鈥檚 place. Nutch, an open-source project supported by many internet luminaries, will soon go online at . The project 鈥渋s about providing free technology that should not be controlled by private, commercial, secretive organisations,鈥� says Doug Cuttings, veteran web search engineer, and a Nutch founder.