This is the first post I am writing using the new Google Chrome browser. Given Google’s unique position in the marketplace, I see this new development as more than yet another web browser, it’s more like another step in a big shift in the model of personal computing.

Google has been busy building more and more web applications, so much so that it is now possible to have nothing but a web browser on your computer and be able to perform just about any normal day to day productivity tasks outside of normal web page viewing, including document authoring and editing, photo storage and manipulation, mapping, groupware calendaring, spreadsheets, presentations, email - you name it. These apps work amazingly well, with the bonus that you never have to worry about updates, viruses, patches, inter-compatibility, etc. Beyond Google there are more and more web based applications as well for things like billing & invoicing, and many industry specific applications being built every day. There are fewer and few reasons to be concerned about installed software on your business computers anymore, just about everything can be handled via the network, which also gives you the peace of mind knowing that your data is not vulnerable to localized problems like hard drive crashes, viruses, incompatibility problems with new hardware, fire, theft, etc. 

The business computing model is moving away from the old days. You can set up an office with nothing more than whatever computers you choose and an Internet connection, and nothing else - no longer are localized software or local servers necessary. It is this fundamental shift in thinking that I believe is one of the main motivations behind Chrome. It is entirely conceiveable that within a couple of years Google will come out with it’s own computer, probably a low cost unit with no operating system as we know it, and probably not even a hard drive - it will simply have Chrome. Everything else will be done on the network.

Of course, there are exceptions. Designers, developers, engineers etc. will still require a computer with localized software and data for performance. Servers will obviously still exist, probably moreso, however they won’t be office file servers anymore, they will all be web servers. Gamers have been moving more and more towards consoles like Xbox, that trend will continue. However, for normal day-to-day office operations and home computers, a network Google computer will be more than sufficient, and will likely be desireable given that things like viruses, disk crashes, slow startups etc will be a thing of the past. 

Microsoft should be very concerned about this trend, as it leaves them out of the equation, no longer perceived as necessary. In reality you don’t actually need any Microsoft products now, however that perception is still there. Microsoft never did get a stong enough foothold on the web server market, and probably never will (Google’s 100,000+ servers all run Linux). Their office software has been their bread and butter, but that could change easily unless they make an attempt to move it into a subscription based web app. Their operating systems really haven’t had any fundamental changes since Windows 95, at least as far as the user experience goes. However, they did not get to be where they are by stupid business moves, so you will probably see some major changes with Microsoft products in the near future. They are working towards embedding their operating system in devices other than the normal PC, such as cars (Ford), phones and hand helds. However, it may be too little too late. They never dominated in the graphics industry, Adobe has that one locked up. For hand helds, phones etc there is no public perception that Windows is better. They only have a tiny share of the web server market, that one belongs to Unix variants. Perhaps they will turn into the Xbox corporation, they seem to be doing well in that market, but are not without competition.

I don’t know for sure what’s going to happen, but from my observations I think you will see a major shift in the way we think about computers within the next couple of years, perhaps it’s time we did.