Comment Re:Me too! (Score 1) 172
Most of those have merit, but I will say:
* Sun released Java for others to use. You [read: the courts] can argue about the terms of said release, but it was released for free use on computers if not phones [as if they were different...sigh...]. If Google had developed a language called Microsoft J++ that was similar and pushed it as their alternative, you would have a point. Google uses Linux too. That's what it's there for; use.
* Altavista, yahoo, etc did classical AI methods relying heavily on human labeling. Google used what we now call modern (read: statistical) AI, and did not offer paid placement [I don't recall if Yahoo/Altavista did paid placement but it was common practice back then] To a former AI researcher you might as well say that Google is unoriginal because they and Microsoft both use computers, or that the automobile is unoriginal because horse and buggy also has wheels.
* Hotmail had 2 MB quota when Gmail came out with a gig. Google's innovation was the archive, the UI, and not having to delete mail. Also not selling your email address and personal data to external spammers, keeping all their privacy invasion inside the company and being upfront about it with an [at the time] clear, easy to read privacy policy. (I once changed my language to French on the hotmail UI and suddenly most of my spam was in French...hmmm....)
Other than that, I can see your point.