Monday, July 13, 2009

Googlopoly

Google’s announcement of a free operating system sent the web world in a flutter. Google seemed to have thrown down the gauntlet to tech titan Microsoft. If you think about it, an operating system is the logical next step for a company that already touts a wide range of office like applications (Googe notes), an immensely popular mail and chat service, analytics and much more. What makes it unique is that Google focuses on browser based application development. One of my previous articles or pondering covered how everything about everyday computing is moving online. From word processors to graphic software everything is available for free within the confines of your browser, and Google’s Chrome OS is set to be an extension of this.

The new OS targets net-books, the cheaper stripped down of the laptop that has becoming immensely popular over the last year. Yet based on a Linux platform, it is unlikely that the new OS from Google will sway the masses who are unlikely to step out of their ‘windows’ to new vistas that Google’s Chrome OS. What will make the new OS tempting is that is likely to be a free distribution. Perhaps the OS will be advertising powered to offset the developmental costs? That’s a thought that tickles.

The search engine giant’s move makes you wonder, is Google turning into the Microsoft of yesteryear and will be hearing any anti-trust war cries being hollered at Google any time soon. Wouldn’t it be interesting if in the not so distant future you plug in your Google USB and access your entire computing needs by a synergy of your online account and USB.

1 comment:

  1. This is a good one....Google is trying hard to take the No. 1 position in the Software market by providing all kind of softwares to the world. And yes, they can do it. Anyway, google is the no 1 search engine in the world. But to stay on top, each organization has to innovate. So, google started with it's goole lab, and we got numerous useful product and services from google such as google map, google docs, gmail etc.
    Now google is planning to launch it's own web based OS or rather CHROME base OS. This is definitely a free source OS and google is asking the help from all the open source forum. Now it is the fight between MS's monopoly and cash reserve against the huge brainpower of Google and the open source forum. The only softwares that is still not developed by google is a nedia player. Though it has YOUTUBE, but theu don't have anything such as VLC player that can run almost anykind of media files. So again google may develop this product from their own stable, or they will get it from some third party.
    My only worry is that whether we can use heavy 3D applications using this OS. But considering google and it's legacy, I am sure they will create overcome this also.

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