Doesn't mean Google will always be king, though. These things have a way of changing

Google's got tentacles all over the place, it'll be quite a task. Microsoft will have to get tentacles too...lots and lots of totally awesome, free to the public tentacles. Microsoft isn't really known for their willingness to give stuff away free, supported only by their advertisements. they really like charging for stuff. When you've got a bulky slow piece of software that's $100, or a really trim awesome, feature-packed piece of software that's free, which are you gonna pick? Right now, that's Microsoft vs Google.

Let me make myself clear: I don't think Microsoft will ever overtake Google in the search department.

I agree with that. But any other search competitor will have the same problem. How can you compete with Google? I mean, the word "Google" has come to mean "to search". How can you compete with that? lol But not just in a search sense either, but in just about every sense. In one site, you have: your email, product search, maps, local business search, etc etc etc. And all of these are very high quality services. I can go about my daily routine and just about never leave the Google site. If I wanted to switch to some other as-of-yet-created search competitor, I'd have to chop up that routine from the easy fluid routine that it is, into an awkward chopped up detour. And then I'd have to make that awkward detour into a habit.