Peter Yared's Musings

This post was also published on CNET. Brace yourself for the next passing of the torch in the tech industry. Google, the leader of the Internet era of computing through the aughts, now has a $200 billion market capitalization and is on the verge of passing Microsoft's market cap of $215 billion. Microsoft was the leader of the PC era of computing and continues to dominate the desktop, notebook and server software market for Intel-based x86 computers. I've been closely watching the relative valuation of these two companies for almost four years--ever since I predicted that Google would exceed Microsoft's valuation . The recent stock moves must come as a high note for Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who competed with--and lost to--Microsoft at both Sun Microsystems, as its CTO, and Novell, as its CEO. Google's market capitalization (orange line) is creeping up on that of Microsoft (blue line). Source: YChart IBM, which led the mainframe and minicomputer era of b

This post was also published on CNET and VentureBeat. After Steve Jobs was fired in 1985 , it took Microsoft 10 years to catch up--and exceed--the technical and user interface innovations of the Mac OS that Jobs helped create. Now, Jobs is gone and Apple is once again in a position of clear market leadership with competitors gunning to match its products. Apple's rivals aren't taking a decade, however. Far from it. Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, along with partners such as Intel, Samsung, HP, and Lenovo are all heading into 2012 with impressive products aimed squarely at Apple's hits--the iPhone , the MacBook Air, and the iPad . The iPhone alternatives When you hold the Samsung Galaxy S II, the Galaxy Nexus, or other versions for the new generation of Android devices, it's clear why Samsung phones are now outselling the iPhone and why Apple is suing various Android handset manufacturers. These devices are a huge threat to the iPhone . The screens are bigger th

This post was also published on CNET. The recurring rumors about Apple entering the TV set business are at fever pitch, with no less than former Apple President Jean-Louis Gassée recently jumping into the fray and joining the it-will-likely-happen bandwagon. Gassée and I have been arguing about the idea of an Apple TV since 2008, when I was among the first to blog about the idea . Gassée had taken the position that since TVs are upgraded every five years on average, and computers every two years on average, melding the two would not make sense. The computer would make the TV obsolete too early. Now, Gassée is usually right about Apple predictions, so what's changed? In short, the TV set is on its way to becoming little more than a monitor that simply displays what's on handheld devices. Think about it: to be interactive, a TV no longer needs a computer built into it. People are finally recognizing that the long-held idea of how Interactive TV should work--you look up