Wired News: Beware the Google Threat

"In less than a decade, the company has evolved from an algorithm to a search phenomenon to a verb. Google introduced an ad-free homepage and clutter-free interface, speedier downloads and more 'relevant' results. In the process, it redefined the look and feel of the internet. When conventional wisdom held that search was little more than a free add-on for portals, Google figured out a way to make money from it. Paid search advertising accounts for $1.24 billion of the $1.25 billion Google took in last quarter.

On its way to wresting control of our desktops, Microsoft once asked, 'Where do you want to go today?' Now Google provides the answer."