New Google Chrome release.

Google announced it would enter the browser war a little over a year ago. I was one of the earliest adapters. I downloaded the new Google browser the day it was released, needless to say I never looked back to Firefox (I haven't used Internet Explorer for years).

Now I have a disclaimer on today's post. It is largely an opinion piece. So here goes.

Google has become much more then a search engine in recent years. I hadn't noticed until about two years ago, when I started using Gmail, that Google had much bigger ambitions then paid search results. Google's wide range of online hosted applications is focused on keeping users away from their regular desktop software (usually Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows) and in "the cloud". The cloud is just information stored somewhere other then your computer and easily accessible on the Internet.

Google has gained some attention, most notably from Microsoft. This competition will become one of the hardest fought battles in the software space. Microsoft's most profitable businesses are becoming less and less essential due to Google's offerings. Microsoft has taken notice and is shifting effort to stop Google's pesky attacks. And Microsoft has crushed past competitors. But this story just might end differently. Google has a strong brand name on the Internet and is leveraging that beautifully. Microsoft has struggled to gain minimal success on the Internet, and is pouring money down a seemingly endless pit in an attempt to gain traction.

Google now announced it will enter the operating system space, which is home turf for Microsoft. Microsoft's Windows operating system is on 95% of all personal computers, a moat so wide as to be almost impassable. Still Google will try because it makes money when you are on the Internet, and it wants as few barriers to the web as possible.

Now I'm a fan of both companies. And this competition is good for consumers. Microsoft hasn't had much to worry about for years, now with Google offering many services that can replace Microsoft's for free, Microsoft has had to change its product plans. Recently announced is Microsoft's free version of Office Online, this is to compete with Google Docs. Anyone who thinks Microsoft would have offered a free version of their software, without Google's competition, is crazy. This will be a interesting competition to watch.

On one last note, Google has released a new version of Chrome today. You can find the information here: Google Chrome 3.0