Internet Wars spurred on by Microsoft declarations.

Internet Wars spurred on by Microsoft declarations.
Microsoft has cried war again. And this time the battle cry is web services. In a fresh strategy to gain maximum space and loyalty on the internet, Microsoft has begun trials of new services to be offered on the web under the label 'Windows Live', attacking directly, Google and Yahoo's counterpart services.

The plan has sparked on speculation about whether the internet is experiencing now a watershed in its history, but the rivalry is surely not seeing any signs of abating.

When the dotcom fever subsided in 2000, the overboard, crazy financial hype of that era fizzled out, leaving the few survivors pondering over new strategies to live and thrive. Undoubtedly, the growth phase had affected consumerism and business lastingly. The B2C segment has been looking up since then but the worst hit B2B faction is still grappling for sturdy ground.

Nevertheless, ever since the world started shopping and doing business on the web, the battle for the best has been gaining fire. The resultant game has progressively seen three big players, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft vying to become the leader in internet services, right from e-mail, news and search to messenger and other software services. The three are also seen competing for a partnership with AOL, the fourth biggest member of this war.

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Currently, war tempers have been reignited with Microsoft's 'Windows Live' been touted as the company's answer to various Google services, the latter being the recipient of special animosity from the former. Under 'Windows Live', Google's Gmail service has a rival in Microsoft's new Windows Live Mail, which carries storage of 2 GB.

If Gmail offered the convenience of not having to delete a mail, Live Mail promises to woo users with an 'Outlook' organization on the net. Windows Live Search Beta is positioned opposite Google Mobile, which enables searching the web with a cell phone. The Live.com beta. stands against Google News and My Yahoo in enabling users to go beyond customization of homepage news. Live Safety Centre, another offering from Microsoft, promises to check your computer for viruses, update it and also help you in security settings.

The new offerings are promising and may change the face of the internet. Industry watchers are claiming that with Windows Live, Microsoft may cross the license hurdle and expand big time.

To pitch against Open Office from Google and Sun Microsystems, Microsoft recently offered an umbrella web service for small and midsize businesses, through Office Live, wherein they can utilize and possess a gamut of software used in e-mailing, scheduling, spread sheets, database applications and word processors. Whether the company will charge for the service was answered partially when during the launch of Office Live Meeting, it was tagged as a subscribe and use software.

Needless to say, it seems the era of tangible CDs is giving way to web-based services.

Now that the war has extended to further than the traditional battle over devising the best search engine, the best news is perhaps for the user, who can expect a growing bandwidth with more competition setting in, with Google and Yahoo expected to retaliate soon.

Fuelling the internet war is the battle for acquisition of Time Warner's America Online. All four big members of the web war have their respective strongholds. If Google is the leader in search, which is also the most revenue generating section of the spectrum, Yahoo is the winner in having the most hits in America. AOL takes the lead in instant messaging, the toughest service in the web to make money in but possessing a consistent loyalty to swear by.

Lastly, Google reigns in the traditional criterion of revenue inflow and operating profits. Since MSN has been making losses for about 10 years now, except this year, some have gone on record saying that Microsoft has lost the internet war already. This statement, pitted against the fact that Microsoft's Windows OS has captured about 90 % of the world's computers, is highly debatable.

With its reaching out to the internet heavily, customers will be able to use word processors and applications et al. on the web and save their work on a safe site rather than on a highly vulnerable hard drive.

Whatever the outcome, it is amply lucid that the millions of users on the web will definitely have the last laugh.