(WIRED) -- In less than a week, Google announced an operating system to compete with Windows, while Microsoft announced that Office 10 will include free, online versions of its four most popular software programs -- a shot at Google's suite of web-based office applications. The fight between Microsoft and Google is over who'll be seen as the world's most important tech company. And not more than a month and a half ago, Microsoft unveiled its new search engine Bing, which it hopes will steal market share from Google and finally make it real money online. From the news of it, it's a full-blown tech battle, complete with behind-the-scenes machinations to sic government regulators on each other.
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The escalating Google vs. Micosoft battle is mostly over who'll be King of Tech
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Top execs at each company dream of ways to steal the others' pots of gold
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Chrome OS will compete with Windows, while Office 10 will include free online versions
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Here's how the two tech giants stack up in four key areas of competition
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
@placeholder pulled in $22 billion in revenue in 2008, 97 percent of which came tiny text ads bought by the keyword and placed next to search results or on pages around the web.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
@placeholder makes a negligible amount of money bundling its online apps for businesses, charging $50 a head annually -- but mostly it just gives its online text editor, email and spreadsheet programs away.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
But most importantly, @placeholder wants you to search and travel around the web, hitting web pages that run Google-served ads and Google tracking cookies.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
But most importantly, Google wants you to search and travel around the web, hitting web pages that run Google-served ads and @placeholder tracking cookies.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
You might think that @placeholder is a really cool company to give away all this free technology, while never thinking about the persistent and silent data collection Google is undertaking to profile you in order to deliver you to advertisers for a premium.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
You might think that Google is a really cool company to give away all this free technology, while never thinking about the persistent and silent data collection @placeholder is undertaking to profile you in order to deliver you to advertisers for a premium.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
Online Search: @placeholder's name now means search to most users.
Bing
Still, despite these improvements, a $100 million ad campaign, and generous press coverage that treats Bing like an underdog, @placeholder gained only a point in June to get Microsoft 8.2 percent of all searches.
Windows
Windows
Microsoft's newest version, @placeholder 7, will be available in the fall.
Windows
Windows
There are millions who are attached to games or the thousands of desktop apps that are only available on @placeholder.
Google
Google
Google
Google
Google
@placeholder estimates that some 18 phone models will be running its system by the end of the year.