Google Dumps Internal Use of Microsoft Windows, Report Says

Google is reportedly phasing out internal company use of Microsoft Windows due to security concerns, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The report cites unnamed Google employees who told the FT that new employees are given the option of using Apple’s Mac computers or else PCs running Linux. Employees say that the directive began in January after Google’s Chinese operations were hacked.

A Microsoft spokesman later mocked the FT report, saying that Google wasn’t taking action over security concerns, but rather was doing it for competitive reasons, according to a report at Business Insider. 

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The spokesman, Frank X. Shaw, mocked the report from his Twitter account, with tweets such as: “News flash: Google bans Bing from its computers. Must credit FT. Picture on Bing home page is distracting to G engineers.”

The Business Insider reports that Google currently has 20,000-plus Microsoft Windows operating system licenses – not a trivial amount of business for Microsoft to lose.

The news comes days after Apple overtook Microsoft as the world’s biggest tech company based on market value.