Google CEO joins Apple's board

CUPERTINO, Calif., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- The head of California's Google Inc. search engine will become a director of Apple Computer Inc., which also is based in California.

Getting Eric E. Schmidt on the same board with Apple's Steve Jobs is seen as a potentially forceful alliance of two rivals to Microsoft Corp., the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Schmidt adds unique experience to Apple's board. Before Google, Schmidt ran Novell Inc. and was chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems Inc.

He "provides a nice diversity and some new-world thinking" to the Apple board, said technology analyst Rob Enderle. "It doesn't hurt that he's the ex-CEO of Novell and Sun -- both firms went down the wrong path ... so he's kind of learned. He knows first-hand and has experienced the problems associated with Apple's model."