“It’s really fun to work with other folks in the ecosystem to meet the needs of users, much nicer than just saying no.”

Actually, Mr. Gundotra, Google is meeting the needs of its business and the corporations it’s chosen to work with. Users come after that.

There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s Google’s business plan and they’re free to pursue it. Unlike so many, I have no issue with “walled gardens”, since it’s my choice to enter one or not. Let the best company (products, services, and support) win.

My gripe is masking it with BS buzzwords like “freedom” and “open” when we’re talking about products like Flash, or a hardware Google TV component not likely to accept Yahoo! or Bing searches. There are a lot of questions for Google to answer, but a fawning tech press seems unwilling to ask them.