Google Denies Chrome Is OS for Web Apps (
Page 1 of 2 )
Google co-founder Sergey Brin says the new Chrome Web browser is not the Web operating system many people see it as, but acknowledges it will get more robust through the open-source community under the Chromium project. Microsoft and other search engines and Web services providers must be wary about this evolution in application development. Google may be treading lightly with Chrome now, but the browser, combined with Google's search and Apps, could end up being a big threat to Microsoft Windows' market share.
Google
took the application development world by storm Sept. 2 with Chrome, a
beta of the company's new open source Web browser. But it's more than
just a gateway to Google's search and other Web applications.
If Chrome,
with its fresh takes on stability, speed, security, privacy and ease of
use, proves superior to other Web browsers, including Microsoft
Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera, the browser will be the
equivalent of a nuclear warhead to use against Google's chief opponent
Microsoft.
With Chrome, Google will be able to tie the browser, search and
applications together, providing an end-to-end experience on which to
place more search, display and other ads in front of users.
Just as Microsoft nuked rivals Novell, Sun Microsystems and others in the desktop market by tethering Windows and IE to PCs, Chrome could become Google's operating system for the Internet, challenging Microsoft's search and other Web apps.
ADVERTISEMENT
IDC's Al Hilwa agreed, noting that with Chrome, browsers for the
first time are being thought of as the new Web operating system and so
they are inheriting standard isolation features and security that
typically had been the province of an OS. He added:
This is good news. It shows Google's ambition in taking its
dominance deeper and broader. With Android, Google took the OS to Web
devices, now they are taking it to the PC. I think Chrome provides much
needed features for security and the tabs interface do show innovation
and out-of-the-box thinking on browsers.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is stuck with a bloated closed source
browser that they don't even tether to their search engine for fear of
more antitrust woes. Google can push their search engine and other Web
services all day long on Chrome, with no government interference. So
not only will Chrome drive lots of incremental revenue to Google, it
also paves the way for a Microsoft-free computing experience.
Forrester Research analyst Sheri McLeish told me that despite Google's deep funding of Mozilla,
in which it is the preferred search button on FireFox, Google needed to
have its own branded browser with which to combat Microsoft.
They're coming up with something that can be potentially be
more compelling than Microsoft because you're basically eliminating the
need for a consumer or a business to have Microsoft on their desktop
for the search or browsing tools. They can create a one-stop shop for
people to access tools and services and surf the Web.
/ 1 
