Google Chrome OS: Twilight of Windows

Google makes all of its money on the Web, so part of its business strategy involves moving people off the desktop and onto the Web. That’s why they’ve announced a light Linux variant built around their Chrome browser, to hit netbooks in late 2010.

Yes, it’s the much-anticipated Google operating system. Unsurprisingly, they’re calling it the Google Chrome OS. It’s not just an Android netbook hack: the Chrome OS will be specifically designed for x86 and ARM chipsets.

Linux has been running on geek desktops for years, but Google wields a potent combination of advantages many Linux advocates of the past did not: money, motivation, a ubiquitous brand, widespread developer support, and consumer market expertise. Google can and will use all of those advantages to make Linux finally go mainstream, through their version. Couple that with the rise of netbooks and cloud computing, and the Chrome OS becomes an idea whose time has come.

The usefulness of the Google Chrome OS hinges entirely on the usefulness of Web applications — and with HTML 5 on the horizon, that usefulness will only increase. This is the ultimate challenge to Windows’ desktop domination, to Microsoft’s cash cow. Ballmer will need lots of chairs today — more than he’s ever needed before.

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