Google Surpasses Microsoft in Market Value

Today marked a huge milestone in the ongoing history of Google. Google surpassed Microsoft in early morning trading to become the second largest technology company in the world, Apple has been in first place since 2010. While an important moment in Google’s history, it is also a changing of the guard of sorts, in terms of software development.

The primary software and operating system maker of the 90’s and 00’s, recent years have seen Microsoft stumble from its dominance as software development shifts focus from hardware to the cloud. So called “Post-PC” devices have taken the place of desktops and laptops in consumers homes, running both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating systems.

Android powered 64% of all smartphones in the second quarter of this year, while Microsoft was only able to pull in 2.7%. Google’s ascension of the stock market could be short lived though, as Microsoft is set to release its latest Windows OS, Windows 8, on October 26th.

Source: Washington Post