Apple is a hardware company. They sell hardware. Always have, and likely always will. They are successful and make a ton of money. I don’t think anybody will have a differing opinion. Likewise, Google is a search engine company. Always provided great search functionality and likely always will. They are successful and make a ton of money from their revolutionary online advertising venture. Then their huge success somehow turned them into an advertising company in the minds of a bunch of people. I, however, still liken them to Ferrari in that Ferrari is a racing company that sells cars to fund their racing. Google sells ads to fund their search engine technology related desires. Not everybody remains focused on their initial product. Similarly, Nintendo used to sell playing cards (which is hilarious because I own 2 decks) and now they sell electronic gaming addiction.
— Patrick, AvG or GvA