On that note: the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! ~ On the... - All Things Google

Google says it will develop a computer operating system. The product isn't due out for a year, so there's not much to say about its technical worth, other than it will be based on the popular open-source Linux system. The Internet giant's action, however, tells us much about the current competitive environment on the Internet. It also indicates that both Google ( GOOG - news - people ) and Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ) have shifted their competitive game from "out-innovating the other" to include "hurting the other guy's business." Google says it is building the operating system that to be open source and designed for cheap, lightweight netbook computers. Most of those machines now use Microsoft's Windows XP system, despite early efforts to get Linux on netbooks. Google's Android OS, built originally for phones but intended to migrate to other devices as well, has had little traction on netbooks. It will, Google says, run on both Intel ( INTC - news - people )-type semiconductors and cheaper variations from rivals. If computer manufacturers needed any further indication that their trade in more expensive, higher-margin laptops is under threat, this was it. The operating system is designed, Google says, as "a natural extension of Google Chrome," the company's Internet browser. Putting the browser at the real center of computing action, with the device operating system merely an adjunct, means two things: More applications like word processing and spreadsheets will reside inside the big, remote data centers of companies like Google, and Microsoft's mainstay cash machine, the operating system, is not so relevant anymore. That's quite a statement, particularly coming in the form of an announcement for a product that's at least a year away. Microsoft used to be known for hurting the competition like that. It could be argued that, much as Android was announced in November of 2007 and is only coming out now, Google needs a long timeline to bring outside developers to... more... - sofarsoShawn