Chrome

Posted on September 4, 2008
Filed Under Business, David Waldman, Gogimon, Google, Google Chrome, Israel, Microsoft, Science, Search, high tech, search engines, technology, web browsers | Comments Off

Google is rumored to have spent somewhere in the area of 200 million dollars developing Chrome. This newest Google baby project has just now exploded onto the world of the internet and is creating ripple shock waves.

Google’s constant exploration of new areas of interest seems to have no limit but, even for Google this one seems a bit much. Google has been pushing the web browser Firefox for a long time now and it makes one wonder why they would the enter this field and undermine their protege. But, that is not what is really happening…

Google’s policy has long been to develop new tools that not only improve the user experience but, whenever possible, undermine Microsoft. Improving the user experience will, in Google’s estimation, eventually cause many users to utilize the areas where Google actually makes money. Being Microsoft killers has been a favorite pastime of the Google whiz kids for a long time. Obviously, to them, nothing is more fun and productive than inserting dagger after dagger in Microsoft’s heart.

Though Google is the undisputed king of Search, Microsoft spent billions trying to outdo it. MSN Live was and is a colossal failure, as it has not even come close to eroding Google’s hegemony on Search. But Microsoft always could comfort itself with its operating systems and its web browsers. Those operating systems – Windows 2000, XP and the newer Vista – have made many enemies for Microsoft and even brought it many law suits. Almost every computer today is sold with an operating system from Microsoft and that made many people, many companies, very angry. It also made a lot of money for Microsoft. In fact it made Bill Gates the richest man on the planet.

All these computers (using a Microsoft operating system) also came with Internet Explorer as the default web browser and, because of it, IE became the web browser of the overwhelming majority of internet users. Microsoft, in fact, became so powerful that most people really had no choice but to use its products. Apple has its a Mac-OS operating system for its Macintosh computers but the market share is a drop in the bucket when compared to Microsoft products. This is also true as far as web browsers were concerned until Firefox came around. But Firefox, is not a Google product. Now Chrome wants to destroy any last vestiges of Microsoft’s control over the web browser market.

Many people will be switching to Google’s Chrome as it appears to be faster, lighter and easier to use than anything else out there. Bill Gates probably relinquished daily control of Microsoft at the right time!

David Waldman

[Mr. Waldman is Managing Director of Gogimon Advanced Search Channel, an Israeli search startup]

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