Google CEO: Microsoft Not a 'Trendsetter'

Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt has offered a scathing assessment of Microsoft and its newest operating system (OS), Windows 8, in a recent interview.

Talking with the Wall Street Journal, Google's CEO had this to say of Windows 8 (which launched October 26, 2012):

"I have not used it, but I think that Microsoft has not emerged as a trendsetter in this new model yet." (Source: businessinsider.com)

Put another way, Schmidt seems to believe Microsoft and its products are offering far less of a challenge to Google than they once did.

'Microsoft No Longer a Key Player in Tech Industry': Schmidt

And Schmidt wasn't done with Microsoft there. In the same interview, he named the four key players in today's tech industry. On his list were Google (of course), Apple, Amazon, and Facebook.

Notably absent was Microsoft, still the producer of the world's most-used operating systems.

Speaking on these four key players, Schmidt said that "We had never in our industry seen four network platforms of that scale ... We had seen IBM, and we had seen Microsoft. But now we have four, and the resultant competition is a huge change in the industry." (Source: pcpro.co.uk)

Schmidt Sceptical about the Microsoft Surface

For those keeping score at home, Schmidt has previously discussed Microsoft and its products in relatively negative terms.

Prior to the release of Microsoft's Surface tablet in October, Schmidt suggested the Redmond, Washington-based firm had failed to release "any state-of-the-art products" in the major technology markets.

(Clearly, Schmidt isn't a video game player. Microsoft sold 750,000 units of its Xbox 360 this past Thanksgiving week, and the console continues to sell well seven years after its initial launch.)

Schmidt insisted that the Surface could improve Microsoft's track record "if the product works." (Source: allthingsd.com)

While it's fairly clear the Surface is a technically sound product, the jury is still out on its long-term viability in the competitive tablet market.