Google Chrome - the OS
Had a discussion yesterday with my coworker Jess about Google's announcement of Google Chrome OS. His impression was that the naming was a branding gaffe and the OS would be basically desktop-based, but reading the announcement myself today, my understanding is that the Chrome browser is a key part of the OS:
"The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web...The software architecture is simple -- Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel."
All/most apps are therefore web-based. There need be no rush to get application developers on board: all web-based applications will already work (assuming they run properly in Chrome).
The name now makes a lot more sense. The "Chrome" actually does refer to Chrome, the browser, so it's not a branding conflict.
"We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear -- computers need to get better."
One major issue as I see it will be the fact that web apps are very inconsistent in behavior, way more so than desktop apps. The fact that all apps will be web-based means that from day one there will be almost no consistency between applications. One way Google can address this is by pushing their own apps, or better, advocating some kind of "Chrome Human Interface Guidelines."
Sounds like things are going to (continue to) get interesting...