.Mac vs. Google Apps

Lately I've had a bit of a Google Apps on the brain; particularly since our law firm made the switch to Apps last weekend. Today Merlin Mann of 43 Folders has a very interesting post on the future of .mac in which he postulates a comprehensive backup/sync/cloud-computing environment that sounds eerily familiar.

I think Merlin is right, but while Merlin seems to think that Apple and Google will continue to skip hand and hand down the yellow brick road, I see some major conflicts. Google is also racing towards a very similar end with Google Apps. Certainly there is room for both companies in this space, but their similar direction may aggravate their already awkward relationship. 

Prediction: Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, will leave Apple's board of directors in the next 6 months. There are just too many conflicts of interest.