Best of Chrome: 'Google's new Trojan Horse'
There's a lot of great commentary out there on Google's new Chrome browser, but the most insightful and incisive review I've seen thus far is Andrew Orlowski's piece for The Register, wherein he calls out Chrome as a "Trojan Horse for...Google Gears."
Today, Chrome is simply a technology demonstration - and I can't see Firefox users with their carefully-cultivated selection of add-ons, or Opera users, making the jump any time soon. But Chrome is a Trojan Horse for bundling Google's Gears onto your PC - and in the hope that manufacturers look to Google services for new Eee-type lightweight PCs, perhaps running something like gOS, the Ubuntu-derivative.
Gears is simply designed to make Google's online services more attractive, and makes it looks like Google's is setting the standard: leading where everyone else follows.
No one thought this was just about building a better browser. In that department, Firefox is and will remain the hands-down favorite for anyone not shackled to Internet Explorer (and Firefox is much faster for most applications). Indeed, I suspect that Firefox still has a big hand to play on its own as the standard platform for Web applications.
But Google is about to crank up its Microsoft-killer strategy a notch. Adding a retail component--built on top Ubuntu, most likely--would be the finishing touch. But long before Google takes that road, it needs to get application developers in its corner. Enter Chrome.
It's an interesting play, and certainly one worth watching as the juggernaut of the desktop (Microsoft) dukes it out with the juggernaut of the Web (Google). Fun times.
Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. 
What is relevant is that Chrome is a trojan horse in every respect.
Geeks get where Chrome is going.
Everyone else is left scratching their heads and saying "What's so cool about Chrome?" or "IE works fine, why do I need another browser?".
Having seen the rise of Microsoft and their victory over Netscape, this Microsoft vs Google war is going to be VERY entertaining as it plays out.
Google's revenue stream comes from ads. Microsoft's comes from software.
Who better to harness the army of "software should be free" open source developers than the company who doesn't depend on revenues from software?
Reminds me of Aragorn raising the "Army of the Dead" for the battle of Minas Tirith...who could have guessed you could get THOSE guys to show up and follow a single leader?????
Michael Adams
www.chromevoice.com
Ian W.
- by Thiz January 5, 2009 6:22 PM PST
- Frankly, I loathe anything associated with Micro@#$$$$$$&*! and I am so very
- Reply to this comment
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(6 Comments)happy that Google has created Chrome. I'm using it right now and I must say,
it's the fastest browser I have ever encountered. (I had Safari and Firefox,
both of which were turtles ... and don't even get me started on that crap, IE.)
I like the no-nonsense, bells & whistles free format and I'm sure this accounts
for it's speed. (Listen, I pay for a cable ISP so I want a fast browser. All the
others are s-l-o-w.)
Anyhoots ... I love Chrome. Thanks so much, Googlies!
A