Will the Chromium OS arrival start again the war of the operating systems?

In announcing a new operating system for 2010, Google does not hide its ambitions more competitive against Microsoft Windows.

While Microsoft still struggles (unsuccessfully apparently) want to fight Google in the field of online searching (with Bing and Live Search through the attempted takeover of Yahoo), Google’s strategy to encroach on beds Redmond seems to work.

Chrome OS has not meant, at least initially, to attack Windows head on his land: desktops and laptops (even if the OS will be installed on the desktop). With Chrome, Google targets net Book, the ultra portable machines with limited resources equipped with x86 processors (Intel Atom in most cases) and ARM. Chrome OS is perfectly suited to this platform while Microsoft has (beyond the Intel Itanium) never showed his desire to bring another OS on x86 architecture. This means that Windows XP or Windows 7 after it release could be ousted from the market of ultra portable if the OS does not provide a real added value to the use of NETBOOK.

Certainly, Google has not detailed its strategy. But if he applies the same tactic of openness and free license for manufacturers, the company headed by Eric Schmidt could force Microsoft to lower its prices drastically the risk of destabilizing the economic model of Redmond. The net Book comprises roughly 20% of mobile phones and the firm iSuppli expects 22 million in sales in 2009 and 31 million units for 2010.

We are not there, far from it. And Google’s intentions are less likely to seek to bite the dust on the net Book Microsoft to extend its visibility and therefore to advertisers and thus their income (the two not necessarily mutually exclusive). Certainly, Microsoft is the master of software, starting with its Office suite. But Google is precisely the map of the application on demand (SAAS) with an offer now sufficiently stocked to meet the major needs of users of communication tools, office, research, platform video. . It remains to verify that users are willing to rest on its services in the “cloud” even if Google develops solutions (Gears) to work offline.

Finally, Chrome OS is not yet available. The operating system will be built from scratch from a Linux kernel with the browser (Chrome, of course, used by 30 million people in the world according to Google) as the main environmental performance of web applications. These, says Google, applications are “traditional”, it works naturally on all other OS in the market since a browser. But with OS Chrome, Google’s gamble may succeed to make the web a platform application.

On the other hand, Google announced that Chrome OS will natively support the issue of security so that users do not have to fight against viruses and other threats from the web. What would be ideal (except for the publishers of security solutions)? Chrome OS, it will not be available until the second half of 2010. But, developed under a license open source code is available to the community that Google intends to rely in developing its OS. Now have to wait for the attack against Microsoft.