I have to admit, it wasn’t all that obvious. It took several tries to get... 
Is Google taking over the web? It seems so. Lately Google launched its own services to compete with other companies / open source associations on all fronts – DNS, source code hosting, url shortening, instant messaging, email. You name it and Google has it. Of course, not all Google’s services are top of the line in their field, but, if you look at it as a whole, Google is slowly taking over the word.
I’ve compiled a list with all the stuff I usually do online, presented Google’s service and the service I’m using:
| Action | Google’s offer | I use |
|---|---|---|
| browse the web | Chrome | Firefox |
| search for the information you want | ||
| Upload / store images | Picasa | Facebook / Flickr |
| “url shortening” service | goo.gl | re.pl.ly |
| blog | Blogger | Wordpress on private server |
| read email | Gmail / Wave | private mail server |
| chat with friends | Gtalk | Yahoo! Messenger / Skype |
| search for places on the map | Google Maps | Yahoo! Maps |
| watch online videos | YouTube | YouTube |
| DNS service | Google Dns | OpenDNS |
| cloud computing | Google App Engine | none – I didn’t need that kind of power so far, but Google’s alternative is great) |
| source code hosting/versioning | Google Code | github |
| hosting services for popular js frameworks (jQuery, etc.) | Google Code | local deployment / Google Code (scarcely) |
| document sharing/collaborating | Google Docs | Google Docs / private Wiki |
| groups / mailing lists | Google Groups | none |
| translation services | Google Translate | Google Translate |
As it turns out, I’m not addicted to Google! I use some of Google’s services, but the only one I couldn’t live without is the search engine. But my question is what will happen when/if Google will control most of the services on the web? I mean when 90% of the users will use Google’s alternatives, will Google become the new Microsoft? Or they will keep to their “don’t be evil” creed?
What Google services do you use and what are the alternatives?
You forgot to put google OS
Yeah… :p Of course, you can add your own list
Gmail and Google Analytics rule dude :p