Windows folks can give this a try when the beta release arrives tomorrow. I’ll be installing on my UMPC for sure… the browser as OS is very appealing to me. The “isolated tabs” approach sounds very similar to the new IE8. In the new MS browser, each tab has its own process, so one crashed tab won’t crash the browser. As I read up on Chrome, it sounds similar in that regard.

Google online apps are great. From Gmail to just about everything else they’ve done.

But it’s going to be a new kind of test as we see them moving into new territory:
* Web App development kits and hosting
* Android, the mobile OS platform, and now
* Chrome/Gears

Can they move from the simple minimalist apps to a robust and more sophisticated environment?

I’m hoping the answer is yes, but we might just see a lot more immaturity issues and a lot more warts. This seems to be a lot more of a challenge than a web-based word processor or mail system.

On the other hand, they are fighting for a large part of the online future here, and they have lots of talented resources.

Seems like the online wars… MS Live and their development platforms vs Google vs Adobe etc etc. Reminds me of when I played Risk as a child, except they are developing and marketing their way into market share instead of foreign soil. But if I remember correctly, it was not sheer power that wins the game, but the proper alliances. I think we might just see the same here. Time will tell.