While many of us in Online PR and Media make a big noise about strategies and content we often forget the people who made this possible in the first place

Many people know of the Mark Zuckerbergs or Brin and Pages of this world, however, there are many unknown software/online tool developers who offer their expertise online for free or little cost. These people are largely forgotten when people in the media make a big noise. It is only right that their efforts be noticed and valued.

With the rise of social media we have seen the all sorts of online applications pop up performing a giant multitude of tasks. Facebook, for example, has a variety of third party applications which have been by designed by developers around the world. Its continued success is certainly in part dependent on external application developers.

In Twitter's case such external applications seem to be even more important. From your Tweetdecks, to your Hootsuites, to your Twininfluences, to your Tweetlaters all offer a free service (at least initially) for businesses and individuals. This is all thanks to some clever software developers and coders.

Much of this is born of the 'open source' philosophy where developers create software for convenience before profit and can be modified by any other developer to meet their own needs. The open-source software licence does credit the original author, however, the software can distributed or copied with no restriction. People around the world from different countries and cultures come together and collaborate on fantastic projects which lead to browsers like Firefox and operating systems like Ubuntu.

Inspite of the contribution of these developers are still often looked upon with ridicule and contempt by many for being 'sad geeks'. I had a friend that worked at a Tech agency a while back (which will remain nameless) and he was very surprised at the snobbery they exhibited for technology and their own clients some of which were software developers! Their lack of knowledge of IT/Online processes was astounding. Unfortunately, it seems that this kind of attitude is still quite prevalent from certain people in the media industry even though their future business will be reliant on these very same IT/Online processes.

It is very unfortunate that the developers do not get the kudos they deserve especially as people are currently trying to make money from these tools. Content is, of course, important but it would not be accessible without the creativity and expertise of developers.

Google's search engine dominance is a subject that has been discussed before on this blog in October of last year where I questioned whether the Google search engine was on the way out.

It has only been a matter of weeks since Microsoft's launch of its new search engine Bing. The new service was aimed to win some of the search engine market share which Google has dominated for so long. Recent weeks have seen Bing claim up to 15% of the market and it continues to further challenge Google.

Microsoft's challenge has not been unanswered as Google announced today that it would be launching it's own operating system in a direct challenge to Microsoft's dominance of the operating system market. It is possible that Windows may become a thing of the past if Microsoft do not up it's game. Its continued success will hinge upon Windows 7 which is due to be released later this year. However, Microsoft has had great difficulty in previous years with a very lack-lustre reaction to Vista. Microsoft even agreed a deal with some PC companies to ship new PCs with the older OS Windows XP. Vista has been viewed for the most part been viewed as clunky, cumbersome with some significant security flaws.

With the wide variety of Google Applications and products such as Maps, Gmail, Street View and the upcoming Wave would people be happy using a Google OS to? For my part I like to have a bit of variety in my life and would not like all of my IT tasks to be reliant on one company. On the other hand, Microsoft’s offerings have not been anywhere close and even the enthusiasm of Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer could not win me round. It is a real pain for people to keep having to learn how to use new systems and people favour what they are familiar with. This is the reason for people's and business' reliance on Microsoft. However, just because something is familiar does not mean it is the best product out there. Many people also go for an open source linux based operating system such as Ubuntu. Its open source nature means it free to use, distribute and modify if necessary. However, Linux operating systems have a reputation of being a little too techie for the average 'Joe' off the street.

The Google OS will have to be very easy-to-use if it is going to realistically challenge Windows and it will have to demonstrate clearly benefits on security and privacy issues. Google is a strong, well-recognised, trusted brand and this will give it a strong foundation.

There is also another OS that I have not mentioned and that is MAC OSX which comes with Apple's computers. As people have become very used to using iTunes and MAC the Apple OS looks like it is also coming to more prominence. While much of the focus is a showdown between Google and Microsoft a new OS will also affect Apple.

Who knows? What happens if another Search Engine or OS player comes on the market? How will these companies feel about splitting the market further? The IT/Online world is constantly evolving and anything is possible right now. Whatever happens Google, Microsoft, Apple and whoever else will have to integrate with each other to survive the fast-paced online world.

Having watched an amazing Wimbledon final yesterday I couldn't help feeling for Andy Roddick. Without Nadal in the draw this year this was Roddick's best chance for years to win the long sort-after Grand Slam.

He had already extinguished British hopes with the dismissal of Murray and certainly thought there was a chance against Federer given the Swissman's defeat to Nadal last year. It was a fantastic final and we had the pleasure of having a whole pub sofa to ourselves along with a couple of cheeky rums and cokes! :)

It was a very difficult match to watch as I was taking Roddick's side inspite of him beating Murray. I have always admired Roddick inspite of him not winning Wimbledon. His strong reportoire of shots and serve certainly put him in the running this year. If there was anyone who deserved to win a title it is him. He has come so close but with likes of Federer on the circuit windows of opportunity have become few and far between.

Andy must have fancied his chances this year when he went one set up but from there onwards it was up and down. However, Federer did look like he had had his feathers ruffled on many occasions.

Ultimately, there are many factors that determine who will win. There are little turning points within the match. Little unforced errors can have a large effect when they accumulate. After playing for over 3 hours physical fitness and resilience will come into play too. It was Andy who had the tough matches to get to the final so I thought that he would have more match resilience though he may have been more exhausted from them.

After four hours of a rollercoaster match Federer was too good and he showed what champions are made out of. I am sure his mate Gavin Rossdale (formally of the rock band band Bush) also agreed!