Google’s blog hosted a pretty fiery critique of the proposed Microsoft buyout of Yahoo. Particularly focusing on MS’s history with building and promoting proprietary systems in the PC and OS market.

Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies…

In essence, Google is concerned that MS’s monopolistic tendencies and proprietary history will lead them to stifle innovation on the internet. Potentially suffocating the openness of today’s web and in the process hurting users.

However, I feel that a number of Google’s concerns aren’t completely valid. First off, Microsoft has shown a somewhat surprising trend towards standards in recent history. The passing of the Acid test for IE8 is just one example. Another is their documentation and developer support, the MSDN is surprisingly full of information for people looking to work with Microsoft applications. In fact, Imulus’ web development is primarily based around the .NET framework, even though every person in the office owns a Mac.

The truth is Google actually has a pretty big monopoly in certain areas of the web (advertising). And they are constantly making acquisitions (jaiku, you tube, double click, android) that give them a stronger fist. And while Google does seem, for the most part, to be committed to their “don’t be evil” slogan they are by no means a white light in the sky.

Now, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a huge fan of Google, I am. In fact, I use almost every service they offer and I respect their dedication to multiple platforms and browsers. Not to mention their documentation and support for google product API’s.

Still, I think their bold criticism of the Microsoft/Yahoo bid is a bit out of line. Especially considering how different Yahoo’s culture is from Microsoft’s. If anything, MS being interested in purchasing a company that runs on open source programming (mainly PHP) and hosting (RedHat linux) is a refreshing thought. I mean, if MS did acquire Yahoo are they really going to reprogram every app to be in .NET? Doubtful. If anything it seems that MS would have to embrace an even more open culture than they already do.

I haven’t quite made up my mind on whether I’m a fan of a MS/Yahoo deal or not, but I definitely think it deserves a fairer shake than Google is giving it.