If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer you may have noticed the message above when you visited the Google homepage. Google is doing everything they can to entice IE users to become Google Chrome converts.

Whoever controls the browser controls a large portion of both the desktop, and the Internet. Maybe Microsoft should consider making their browser lighter and faster.

Jon Skeet has received the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award since 2003 for his work and contributions to the C# programming language. Skeet joined Google about a year ago, and recently asked his Google bosses if he could renew his award, which is only given out to around 1,500 developers worldwide, and his Google bosses said no. Skeet wrote on his blog:

It’s with some sadness that I have to announce that as of the start of October, I’m no longer a Microsoft MVP.

As renewal time came round again, I asked my employer whether it was okay for me to renew, and was advised not to do so. As a result, while I enjoyed being awarded as an MVP, I’ve asked not to be considered for renewal this year.

This doesn’t mean I’m turning my back on that side of software development, of course. I’m still going to be an active member of the C# community. I’m still writing the second edition of C# in Depth. I’m still going to post on Stack Overflow. I’m still going to blog here about whatever interesting and wacky topics crop up.

I just won’t be doing so as an MVP.

Thanks to all the friends I’ve made in the MVP community and Microsoft over the last 6 years, and I wish you all the best.

Keep in touch.

Published Thu, Oct 1 2009 6:21 by skeet

Skeet works on Google Sync, and during his 20% other projects time, his bosses are okay with him continuing his C# work, but he just can’t accept the MVP award for it.

Since Skeet works on Google Sync, I have to wonder if that project is written, at least in part, in the C# programming language.

Above is a map of the acquisitions and investments Google has made since 2001. Some of the companies you may have never heard of before, or since. (Note: Both images in this article can be clicked to enlarge)

One company of note on the list is AOL. In 2005, as AOL was on a steady free fall of subscriber losses for their Internet access services, Google invested $1 billion. AOL has had one investment after another to stay alive, and is currently owned by Time Warner. The AOL investment appears to have been a total loss.

On March 12, 2009 Tim Armstrong, who quit as Google Senior Vice President, was named Chairman and CEO of AOL, LLC. On May 28, 2009, Time Warner decided to cease operations with AOL, and to spin it off as an independent company once Google’s shares cease at the end of the fiscal year.

AOL took Google’s money, and ran with it as it has with so many other investments over the years to stay alive. Google now has nothing to show for their $1 billion investment. At the time, it seems, the AOL investment may have just been an anti-Microsoft move, and not a smart business move. Google has learned from this bad experience, at least we think so.

As for Microsoft, they’ve invested in Apple, before the big iPod boom, and Facebook, just as their growth exploded.

Over the past year Google has weathered a recession, and the loss of former sales boss Tim Armstrong, who is now the CEO of AOL.

In case you trade stock here’s a special note. Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Richard Fetyko, initiated coverage of Google (goog) with a SELL rating on November 21, 2008 when the stock was trading at $260, just days before the stock’s 52-week low. Since then, shares have more than doubled. Fetyko did upgrade the stock to "neutral" when it reached $328 and a "buy" when the stock price reached $342.

If the DoubleClick Ad Exchange boosts profits as Google hopes, the stock could reach new highs over the next 2 years.

Google is now eleven years old on Sunday September 27.

Google’s official birthday isn’t exactly clear. Some say the company was born on September 15th 1997, the day the Google.com domain was registered. The Google incorporation paperwork was filed on September 4th, but Google has been known to celebrate on both September 7th and September 27th.

To explain the inconsistency, the company’s FAQ once said:

“Google opened its doors in September 1998. The exact date when we celebrate our birthday has moved around over the years, depending on when people feel like having cake.”

In recent years, Google has taken to changing its logo on September 27th, which more or less means Google has settled on a fixed date.

We’re looking forward to many more years of Google.

Happy birthday Google. Oh, and don’t worry about getting bigger, it comes with aging.