Google swallows another app maker

WILL THE LAST web 2.0 application developer please turn off the light? Google is buying spreadsheet maker iRows and at this rate the swarm of firms building web-based productivity apps will be, well, Google.

For those acquainted with such things, Israel-based iRows was one of the better known of a stack of companies building hosted programs. These firms all have the same mantra: AJAX, ubiquitous access, share files, no disk needed, Marc Benioff of Salesforce.com loves us.

Previously, Google bought Upstartle which developed the Writely online word-processor, and JotSpot, which made Wiki-based web apps. Google's strategy here is presumably to buy up talent as it already has its own spreadsheet. And with IPOs seemingly belonging to the illuminated manuscript era, you don't need to be a genius to work out there will be a ton of other firms waiting for the G-men to call.

Will all of these small shops add up to a 21st-century Microsoft Office though? You tell me. µ