The best news in years for Microsoft just hit the wires. Remember way back when Microsoft was under the threat of a breakup in the anti-trust days? Bill Gates famously pointed out Microsoft had no such thing as a monopoly, because (this was pre-Google) some company could come along at any moment and change the dynamics of the environment.
Soon he was proven exactly correct, as Google emerged with a browser-based Ajax-fueled broadband-harnessed realtime platform. Once this platform produced advertising network effects, the upstart company had all the ingredients to mount an attack on the inevitability of Microsoft. But what most saw as a direct attack on Microsoft actually produced more pain for other players. While Microsoft used the time to advance strongly in the enterprise server market, Sun lost control of its hardware leverage as Google built its realtime monetization engine on top of Linux.
Apple used the same window to move from its niche hardware and OS platforms to Intel and OS/10, grabbing the leadership in the mobile market and transferring its application base to a browser plus services approach. Did this harm Microsoft? Not really — it gave Redmond an OS target to compete against rather than against itself, and the time to migrate to a Web-based OS strategy that will show its current evolution this Friday with the release of Silverlight 3.
So now comes Chrome OS and what makes you think this puts any real hurt on Microsoft’s business. Mind share, media perception, even some developer erosion (although I doubt it.) Sure, the atmospherics are strong. After all, Google is in the advertising business. And although Chrome hasn’t produced real market share yet, it will start accelerating once the Mac version ships and all of us technocrats start loving on it full time. No, all of this is good news for Google. But bad news for Microsoft? Don’t think so.
WHere does it impact revenue anytime soon? Nowhere except in the enterprise, where it will increase IT’s need to sell into a strong Windows channel. Google will continue to garner occasional wins for Apps, which will largely serve to promote collaboration features coming in Office 2010. And oh yes SIlverlight, with its realtime streaming architecture, integrated adserver metrics, and oh maybe, a Silverlight based social center of the new desktop, which as Marc Benioff tells me is really the new center of the network.
Chrome OS couldn’t be a better driver for HTML5, for Silverlight, for AppEngine, for Azure, for Gphone/iPhone (forget the Pre), for Silverlight Mobile, and so on. Back and forth, as Google buys time to work with Apple and force H.264 back into HTML 5, while Microsoft buys time to build a SIlverlight Office around the micromessaging Trojan Horse. We’ll look back in the second half of 2010 when Chrome OS ships and see the midtier between Android and Windows filled with a realtime net-OS and two huge winners. As Bob Dylan says, It’s All Good. Only problem then is how to break up GoogleSoft. Good luck with that.
While it is a great news about Chrome OS, what is making us think that Microsoft will not bring a stripped down, light weight version of XP and call it ‘Windows Live OS’.
Sounds good enough. It can be as small as android or Chrome OS and will work perfectly well with Office Live and with that manage to hold back the exodus of its customers from going to Chrome OS or Ubuntu for that matter.
Like Chrome OS will be happy to work with Google Apps … I reckon Windows Live OS will be happy to work with Azure & Office Live.
As developers and end users we should be happy about seeing two extremely competent companies slugging it out to prove their worth.
Let the show begin. . .
Imtiaz
Its groundbreaking idea from Google web OS and they are planning to wipe out Windows in a most strategic manner. Google clearly pointing to Microsoft when they say “The operating systems that browsers run were designed in an era where there was no web”. But there are few questions which are unanswered like what will happen when we will go offline in Chrome OS? Can we use offline applications like iTunes or Photoshop? Can we run third party applications? How they are going to make profit from it ? I am also bit concerned whether Chrome OS will be embraced by enterprises as it is open source and web based as there is always a security issue….Just wait another thought can Chrome OS will become a global hit especially in small countries where internet is very fickle. But leaving these things aside its going to be win-win situation for the users and it will be interesting to witness the war between giants.
> what will happen when we will go offline in Chrome OS?
There’s Gears and I’ll bet that Chrome will eventually include an Apache HTTP server fronting a GWT-based app server running on localhost.
This is poor reasoning Mr. Steve Gilmour. Just because Google has decided to produce an OS does not mean Microsoft’s business is threatened. We’ve been living with Linux and OS X for decades and Microsoft still stands. Suddenly Google enters and you think Microsoft was right?
When you say Chrome hasn’t shown any real market share, are you serious? In about 1 year they’ve already captured 6% of the market, not bad when you consider Safari is still only 3%, and has been for a while.
This article is so much weaker than Arrington’s on the main TC site. You make some similar points overall but Mike is just streets ahead of you when it comes to writing.
Hey Steve, bring back the Gang! Bring back the Gang ! You’ve been predicting the Google OS for the last 4 years. Now it’s here but no Gang. Not fair. Bring back the Gang! Bring back the Gang !
Bring back the Gang! Bring back the Gang !
Bring back the Gang! Bring back the Gang !
I pay for the Wall Street Journal, I’d pay for the Gang, it’s as valuable.
join this thread everyone,
let’s start a movement and demand the Gang !
I thought it was Jason who bet on the OS.
What’s the Gang?
Steve, I’m begging you to please take a remedial writing class.
What makes you think that Microsoft knows how to compete on a level playing field? I remember way back when people believed that Live Mesh was going to be the dominant OS. Betting big on Silverlight or Flash against the rapidly improving performance of JavaScript engines coupled with the HTML 5 video tag, SVG-based animation/interactivity, and Android applets is just silly. Office will get pummeled by the Wave document format. That leaves Azure without a proprietary client to exploit.