Google Chrome OS is Aiming for the Cloud(s) ...

Last week the Google Chrome Operating System (OS) was announced, which will make us rethink traditional OS platforms - such as Microsoft Windows. Google Chrome OS is based on the concept of cloud computing.

Cloud computing is a style of computing which is scalable and virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. This means that users have access to applications without the upfront capital expense of traditional operating systems. Business applications are available online and are accessed from the web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.

This will cut costs significantly for businesses as they will either pay for business applications as they use them or pay a monthly fee to access the applications from an application supplier. This shift to Web based business applications also opens to door for an increase in the popularity of Netbooks. Having instant access to business applications only enhances the usabilty of these increasingly powerful portable devices.

Many people state the Google Chrome OS is here to replace the Microsoft Windows OS, however this might not be the case. Cloud computing offers a new way to access applications ... and Microsoft is hardly asleep in this arena. Microsoft will offer its own cloud computing OS this fall called Microsoft Azure.

Although Google is first out the gate with this offering, Micorsoft still has a chance. If you recall the video cassatte battle of the late 1970's and early 1980's, VHS was released after Betamax ... and the VHS format prevailed as the industry standard.

I am looking forward to this new age of cloud computing and I guess we will have to sit back and see how the Google/Microsoft marketing war plays out!