Remember when Netscape was at the front of the Internet growth parade? They had the alpha browser, a suite of server products based on a wise understanding of the Net (as a suite of open protocols and other standards), and mojo out the wazoo.
They did so many smart things, for example employing the LDAP team, and establishing LDAP as a standard, and delayed for nearly a decade the kind of lock-in that Microsoft is still trying to achieve by requiring Active Directory for all kinds of stuff.
Then, somewhere along the way, they started smoking the same dope as their wannabes, got Portal Fever. I remember thinking at the time, What the fuck are they doing copying Lycos and Excite? Don't they know those guys are losers? As I said in Linux Journal,
For a year or two, Netscape looked like it could do no wrong. It was a Miata being chased down a mountain road by a tractor trailer. As long as moved fast and looked ahead, there was no problem with the truck behind. But at some point, Netscape got fixated on the rear view mirror. That's where they were looking when they drove off the cliff.
Now I look at Google the same way I looked at Netscape.