With that being said, you’re comments would have made sense, years ago, before major content providers realized they don’t make as much money as they wanted, because of Apple. Point is, with all forms of advertising down, no one is going to pay Google to be on their service. Again, this may have worked, if that’s exactly what Apple did, when they did the first iTunes, but now, they don’t have a snow ball’s chance in heck, as it goes.

That will in no way be a threat to any corporate installment of Windows.

Ever.

Remote terminal / remote desktop technologies as generally used when the local client can’t meet the needs of the application for some reason. Those reasons tend to be hardware, software or geographically driven. In every case, there was some version of “local”, even if that local was the on-site mainframe. In the end it turned out to be easier to give everyone a faster box with more local capacity.

The web browser has largely solved those issues. It’s essentially platform independent, has access to the local machine and network when needed. Web browsers receive code to be run on the local machine from a server and process it locally and for the most part network latency has dropped to the point where it’s not a bit problem; even on the Internet.

Examples of the problems already being solved are everywhere on the web. We all use the web extensively for shopping, information, file exchanges, email, IM, etc. ad nausem. In short most of the applications we depend on are already being viewed through a portal and hosted remotely. There are exceptions, but those could be solved (temporarily) using either a hybrid format (like most online games; a local client domain specific program that dependents on a remote server to run) or temporarily though a remote terminal / desktop until that application can be repacked (or wrapped in middleware) to make it a web service.

Nothing I do anymore is independent of the web. Even if I’m working on CAD or programming I end up referring to the web for more information or to share the work I’ve accomplished with others. If my CAD software or games were browser plug-ins my overall technology experience wouldn’t be noticeably different.

Quote – “Microsoft was afraid of Netscape. Not because it would replace IE and cut Microsoft off from the browser “market”, but in case Netscape ever became an OS into and onto itself.”

Strange, I remember this differently, that MS precisely bundled and then incorporated IE into the OS to stage their play to the DOJ that it was an essential component of Windows? They wiped out Netscape Navigator with the power of the free bundled software, and could afford to pay the DOJ a million bucks a day to prove their long winded case!

Quote – “Chrome OS hopes to achieve what Netscape never could: replace Windows. It wants to do this through utilizing ad revenue to make two things free: both the OS and the hardware that will access the cloud.”

Is this what you really want, ads built into your OS?!!
What price freedom!, Oops, I mean free apps!!
Regardless of the ethics concerning free stuff and free apps, do you realise you throw away your freedom and rights not to be tormented by spyware and have your every click monitored!

Quote – “Computer sales are down. Apple is gaining a market share, while the market is shrinking. People aren’t buying PCs every three years. Those days are done”.

I disagree, whilst desktop sales may be down, have you noticed the focus on laptops and notebooks, and now even netbooks, (writing on one now). These have never been cheaper to buy, and they are readily bundled with and healthily spreading the new success of windows 7.

Apple PC sales may well be down, (whats new?) Yet do we all want Iphones and Ipods, do we all use these? The answer is no, for the most part they are pants – trendy pants, yes! But still pants regardless, (apart from itunes and that compass thingy that tells you which way you’re pointing – very useful).

Even if Chrome’s hardware is free, will it be enough for people to give up their PCs and switch to a mobile platform that is always connected? That is the million dollar question over at Google.

NO ! …and that answer for Google is for free!

Google released Chrome. Not the OS, but the browser. Looking at the numbers, one can assume that Chrome has not gained as much traction on platforms as Google may have wanted. Firefox has been near perfect in fending off the competition and its sustainability and growth is evident of that. Firefox doesn’t care about competition, because it can always return to Linux, being just as community driven as it once was and it’ll be fine. Firefox and IE are in no fear of Chrome.

Chrome OS hopes to achieve what Netscape never could: replace Windows. It wants to do this through utilizing ad revenue to make two things free: both the OS and the hardware that will access the cloud. The question that remains for Google is in spit of the recent economic downturn, will it be able to?

Computer sales are down. Apple is gaining a market share, while the market is shrinking. People aren’t buying PCs every three years. Those days are done. Even if Chrome’s hardware is free, will it be enough for people to give up their PCs and switch to a mobile platform that is always connected? That is the million dollar question over at Google.

The future is really going to be interesting. I think you make an excellent point about cloud computing really already being here. Really, we can even go ahead and say that all data mining is a form of cloud computing. As you point out, anyone who listens/watches/reads the news is well aware of the emphasis this country is placing on the availability of information.

Any ways, well said.