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Google Planning Web Browser?

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the reaching-out dept.

Kick the Donkey writes "John Dvorak has just posted a very interesting, albeit hypothetical, analysis of Google's future directions. Citing the 'unusual' hires of Rob Pike (from Bell labs), Ben Goodger, and Darin Fisher (both from Mozilla) and the acquisition of the gbrowser.com domain, Dvorak speculates that a Firefox based Google browser and Google-OS may soon be coming to a cluster near you."

12 of 387 comments (clear)

  1. Hey, look by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a dead horse, let's go beat it.

    1. Re:Hey, look by Ultra+Magnus · · Score: 5, Funny

      He didn't just beat a dead horse, he bought a stronger whip, changed riders, proclaimed "this is the way we have always ridden this horse," appointed a committee to study the horse, arranged visits to other sites to see how they ride dead horses, increased the standards of riding dead horses, declared that the horse is better, faster and cheaper dead, and finally, harnessed several dead horses together for increased speed.

  2. Why the jump to OS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A browser is one thing and apparently the only thing the evidence supports. Why the jump to a Google OS?

    1. Re:Why the jump to OS? by Excelsior · · Score: 5, Informative

      A browser is one thing and apparently the only thing the evidence supports. Why the jump to a Google OS?
      Because Rob Pike was the developer of Plan 9 at Bell Labs. His hiring by Google would imply they are looking to develop their own OS. Microsoft is trying to push in on Google's territory, so it makes perfect sense for Google to push in on Microsoft's territory.

    2. Re:Why the jump to OS? by HyperChicken · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nope. They hired Rob Pike and a few others from Bell Labs for their distributed computing knowledge, not because they want to create an OS.

      --
      Free of Flash! Free of Flash!
  3. With this guy's history... by de+Selby · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't this the John C. Dvorak that has worked in technology for several decades, making many predictions, talking of supposed trends... and being wrong on almost all of them?

  4. What's with the stupid google predictions? by passthecrackpipe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    event: Google hired a dark fibre negotiator
    press conclusion: "They must be doing VOIP!"

    event: google hires clever browser developer
    Press conclusion: "They must be doing their own browser!"

    event:Google hired a plan 9 developers
    press conclusion: "They must be doing their own OS!!"

    What's next - google hires a plumber - the end of IT as we know it?

    --
    People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
    1. Re:What's with the stupid google predictions? by smileyy · · Score: 5, Funny

      They're planning on taking on Nintendo?

      --
      pooptruck
  5. Settle down boy by shadowmatter · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Blake Ross, in his blog, had some insightful commentary that I didn't see mentioned here on Slashdot:

    Google's interest in Firefox shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. At the end of the day, 90+% of Google's users are accessing its service through the browser created and controlled by its largest competitor. Would you feel comfortable if customers had to walk through your competitor's shop to get to your own? This is really what Firefox is all about from a strategic standpoint, and this is what "it's just a browser!" naysayers are missing: he who owns the window to the web owns the web. When there's one porthole on the ship, everyone has to look through it. Firefox seeks to add more portholes to make sure people really understand what's going on outside.

    If they're planning an entire OS to make codifying and searching your data easier, I can't see that happening anytime in the short-term. After all, awhile back there was a shoot-out of desktop search tools, and the Google Desktop Search wasn't top-ranked (yet).

    - shadowmatter

  6. Vendor Lock-in by reporter · · Score: 5, Funny
    The Machiavellian spirit in me says that Google is trying to creep into my desktop. The game plan apparently is to leverage Google's search fame into winning the web client market.

    The web client is, in fact, the #1 application on the desktop these days. Literally, many people just click the "maximize" button after the browser is launched, and the web client occupies the entire surface of the screen. Off they go to read e-mail, look at porn, or cause a raucus on Slashdot by posting provocative articles.

    Then, the next step for Google is to create Gunix (Google + Lunix), pronouced "goon-ix". With the Google client in place, you download Gunix and swap out M$ Window$.

    Then ...

    <waking up in a code sweat>
    Google has a very good search engine, but I would prefer that Google stay off my desktop. I like Google just like it is -- a web site which I visit to read the latest news and to search for the best porn pictures.

    The problem with Google taking over my desktop is that I would then be swapping one monopoly for another: Micro$oft. What I like about open source is the decentralization, anti-monopoly attitude of the folks behind the Free Software Foundation. This kind of environment tends to encourage programmers from all parts of the world to contribute her little bit to creating a peace of great software. No one group of developers becomes dominant like Micro$oft or eventually Google.

  7. OS assumes the role of a BIOS by tepples · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How does Firefox assign and keep track of memory? Last I checked, it used system calls, which are part of the OS.

    How does Windows or Linux put your computer to sleep? Last I checked, it used ACPI calls, which are part of the BIOS. In the case of browser-as-platform, the host OS (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, etc.) assumes the role of a BIOS. Replacing the BIOS with something a bit more powerful could eliminate that middleman altogether.

  8. hmm by blackmonday · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Isn't Google the new Microsoft?

    Has Google done anything new? Not really. Much like the early Microsoft, they simply take existing ideas and improve them. Google wasn't the first search engine. They weren't the first webmail provider. They weren't the first web site that searched Usenet (in MS fashion, they bought deja). Even Picasa, which they bought, is being transformed into a PC version of iPhoto.

    Based on their past history, it wouldn't surpise me if they were to boldly attack Microsoft on browser, OS or even on an Office-type product.