Google Really Thinks Windows is Dead?

I recently found out that Google Chrome doesn’t integrate with Windows 7. That was quite surprising, taking into account that Windows owns more than 90% of OS market and that Windows 7 has good chances of being a hit. So if Google is so hungry to push for its browser (and it should be), then why isn’t it doing everything to be compatible with the next version of Windows? It all looks like Google really believes in the prediction powers of Google Insights.

One thing is sure: Google is going to dominate the Internet with tons of web applications to answer everyday software needs. The think is that all these apps are based on the client-server architecture that brings up the issue of the browser-based operating systems. Well guess what, Google Chrome OS is a browser-operating-system. Chrome OS is Google’s passport to dominating this new computing market.

In this new game of web applications, Google has a clear advantage over Microsoft. Google Docs was there long time ago, and Microsoft is just going to release Office for the web. Once a critical mass of people are comfortable with Google Docs, it is going to be pretty hard for Microsoft to force its Online Office product line to the market. If Microsoft’s looses monopoly position in the productivity software market because of the emergence of a new computing platform (smartphones for instance), then why should Google spend effort to have its new browser be compatible with a dying platform?

Well, I’m not so sure if Windows is ever going to disappear from the OS market, especially when PCs are not going to disappear anytime soon. But today, computing is not only about PCs. And that’s exactly what Google is looking for. Google is not going for the PC market with Chrome; its going for an emergin market: smart devices. When it comes to mobile Internet for example, 19% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. In this market, Microsoft’s dominance is very far from its dominance of the PC market. Since Google does not have real chances to grab a bite from the PC market, it is going for the mobile market. For now, all efforts will be in that direction. Windows 7 compatibility will come only with Chrome 5.