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B. Read the text and match the highlighted words to their definitions.

1. mainframe; 2. vulnerable; 3. flexible; 4. crucial; 5. a matter of life or death; 6. personal computer; 7. to mature; 8. to stagnate; 9. lucrative; 10. proprietary; 11. market share; 12. transition; 13. commodity; 14. innovative; 15. to compete (competitor).

A. ___ that can be changed easily

B. ___ the proportion of total sales of a product offered by a firm in a particular market

C. ___ extremely urgent

D. ___ allowing smb to earn a lot of money

E. ___ weak and easy to hurt in a physical or emotional way

F. ___ a large powerful computer, usually the centre of a system that is shared by many users.

G. ___ to stop developing, changing or being active

H. ___ a computer that is designed for one person to use at work or at home

I. ___ to become fully grown or developed

J. ___ owned or controlled by a person or a firm; held as property

K. ___ using new methods or ideas

L. ____ something of vital importance

M. ___ to try to be more successful than someone or something else

N. ___ a product or material that can be bought and sold

O. ____ a movement, development, or evolution from one form, stage, or style to another.

To Browse Means “to Google”

Just as human history has been shaped by the rise and fall of successive empires, so the computer industry has, in the few decades of its existence, been dominated by one large company after another. During the mainframe era, IBM wore the crown. But it fumbled the transition to smaller machines in the personal – computer era, and the throne was usurped by Microsoft. Now, at the dawn of the new era of internet services, Google is widely seen as the heir to the kingdom. As the upstart has maturedinto a powerful industry giant, the suggestion that “Google is the new Microsoft” has become commonplace in computing circles. Is it true?

The comparison is both a compliment and a reproach. It is a compliment because it implies that Google has now become the company that defines the environment in which other technology firms operate, just as IBM and Microsoft once did. As with Microsoft in its heyday, Google is the technology firm where the smartest geeks aspire to work; it embodies the technological zeitgeist; and it is a highly regarded company that has become a household name. But the comparison is also a reproach, because it highlights growing concern that Google is now too powerful for its own good, or that of the industry, or indeed that of the world at large.

For many people, Google provides the front door to the internet. For many online businesses, their position in its search ranking – the workings of which are a closely guarded secret – is a matter of life or death. Too much power is thus concentrated in Google’s hands, say critics, including Microsoft’s Bill Gates. Microsoft and other big internet firms, including eBay, Amazon and Yahoo!, are now said to be negotiating various alliances in order to provide a counterweight to the new behemoth. Smaller firms feel even more vulnerable. As soon as Google says it is moving into a particular market, small fry in that market now dart for cover, unless they are lucky enough to be acquired by Google.

It is not just a matter of business. Google irreparably damaged its reputation with the more idealistic geeks in January when it set up a censored version of its search service for Chinese users. Caving in to the Chinese government, argued Google’s critics, made a mockery of its corporate motto, “don’t be evil”. Having started out as nothing more than a search engine, Google’s ever – greater ambitions – augmented by a range of new initiatives unveiled at its annual media day this week-now make it seem both creepy and incoherently sprawling. A similar fate befell Microsoft.

Yet there are some crucial ways in which Google differs from Microsoft. For a start, it is a far more innovative company, and its use of small, flexible teams has so far allowed it to remain innovative even as it has grown. Microsoft, in contrast, hasstagnatedas a result of its size and dominance. It is least innovative in the markets in which it faces the least competition – operating systems, office software and web browsers-though it is, curiously, still capable of innovating in markets in which it has strong rivals (notably video gaming).

More important, however, are the differences that suggest that Google will not be able to establish an IBM or Microsoft-style lock on the industry. IBM`s dominance was based on its ownership of the proprietary hardware and software of its mainframe computers. In the PC era hardware became a commodity and Microsoft established a lucrative monopoly centered on its proprietary operating system, Windows. But in the new era of internet services, open standards predominate, rivals are always just a click away, and there is far less scope for companies to establish a proprietary lock-in.

Try to avoid using Microsoft’s software for a day, particularly if you work in an office, and you will have difficulty; but surviving a day without Google is relatively easy. It has strong competitors in all the markets in which it operates: search, online advertising, mapping, software services, and so on. Large firms such as Yahoo!, which previously farmed searches out to Google, have switched to other technologies. Google`s market share in search has fallen from a high of around 80% to around 50% today. Perhaps the clearest evidence that Google`s continued dominance is not inevitable is the fate of Alta Vista, the former top dog in internet search. Who remembers it today?

Without a proprietary lock-in to protect its dominant position, Google will have to work hard to stay on top. And that, ultimately, is where the comparison with Microsoft breaks down. Google may be the nearest thing to the new Microsoft of the internet era, and the two companies clearly regard each other as their main rivals. But one of the best things about the internet age is that it may well not end up being dominated by a single, Microsoft-like giant at all.

(The Source: adapted from www.economist.com/node/6916021 )

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