Google Chrome v Miscrosoft Windows OS

In announcing its forthcoming Chrome OS open-source operating system for netbooks and other computers, Google is attempting to create the cloud computing future that it's predicting.

Google characterizes Chrome OS as an attempt to redefine the operating system to address simple pain points: epic startup times, constant security problems, endless patching, and declining performance over time, to name a few such issues.

But Chrome OS also aspires to bring the change that Google has proclaimed. It aims to certify that the Web has become the dominant development paradigm.

Google executives have declared that "the Web has won," but the traditional desktop programming model staggers on, and it is likely to do so through a few more rounds in the ring. Despite massive improvements in JavaScript performance and Web applications, computationally intensive applications like Adobe Photoshop and high-end games still perform better as local applications than in the cloud.

That won't always be the case, or so Google believes. In an interview broadcast on public radio's Marketplace show, Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt foresees a future shaped by Moore's Law. "[I]n ten years, the computers you use, the networks and everything you use will be a 100 times faster, a 100 times more capable, or a 100 times cheaper," he said. "Think about what we can do with that kind of an insight."

What Google can do with that kind of insight is prepare for a world where software runs in the cloud. And if, in the process, Microsoft's business model gets kneecapped by a free open-source operating system that offers a better user experience and stronger security than Windows, you can bet no one at Google will shed a tear.

Microsoft, of course, hasn't been sitting on its hands while Google evangelizes the virtues of Web applications. Some industry observers see Google's operating system announcement as an attempt to steal the thunder from an upcoming Microsoft announcement, possibly related to Windows 7, an online version of Office, an experimental Web browser referred to as "Gazelle," or an operating system research projected known as "Singularity." Bing isn't the only card Microsoft has to play.

Given that Chrome OS will remain vaporware for the next few months, such speculation about the timing of Google's announcement seems plausible.

At the same time, Google's motivations go beyond competing with Microsoft. Google benefits from openness and free-flowing information. So its aim with Chrome OS should be seen more as a paving the way to a future of cloud-based applications rather than undermining competitors.

Google isn't the only company predicting a future of cloud-based applications. In a report released on Monday, Forrester analyst Frank E. Gillett writes, "the center of gravity for personal computing will shift from a device- and OS-centric model to an information- and media-centric model that gives individuals dramatically more control over their personal computing experience. Over the next two years, consumer technology vendors will create the personal cloud"

The Chrome OS may also be an attempt to capitalize on emerging markets outside the U.S., where desktop computers and laptops remain prohibitively expensive for many people. Hardware and software makers could use Chrome OS on inexpensive netbooks to make headway in areas where devices have to be as affordable as a mobile phone to interest potential buyers.

Some time between now and the developer release of Chrome OS later this year, expect further Google announcements designed to make Chrome OS more compelling, like the company's long-rumored "GDrive" storage service and the integration of Native Client - software for running x86 native code in Web applications - into Chrome.

There is of course a downside to the cloud computing model: online services pose a privacy risk because everything a user does registers on a remote server. Countries like China that pursue state oversight of online activities can be expected to be keen supporters of managed computing services.

It remains to be seen whether Chrome OS will support high-grade file encryption for local and remote storage or other privacy controls. Google doesn't have a stellar track record when it comes to privacy. But since Chrome OS is open source, such an oversight could be addressed by third-parties, at least in theory.

And until Chrome OS is actually released, theory will have to suffice.