8. Google Has Mad Clout

If we didn't know it already, we became aware of Google's power after watching the company hijack the 700MHz wireless spectrum auction to make the FCC usher in open access. But has a company ever had the authority to make Microsoft shy away from a business move? Not since perhaps IBM before 1995. On the flip side, Google's strength may force Microsoft to make another run at Yahoo, or at least strike a deal with another Web vendor.