There’s lots of popular press already harping all over Google Chrome as a game-changer in the “war” against Microsoft, et al. though in my [limited, cursory] search I’ve not seen any assessments that parallel my own vision of what this means for Google from the standpoint of technological strategy and scalability of ‘the cloud’.
Wired says Chrome was aptly named given common design elements associated with web browsers. That makes for a cutesy red herring – I think those Googlers think abstractly and creatively like I do. The name Chrome fits because it is a common element layered upon a willing substrate. Chrome fits because the Greek origin of the word means “color” and Chrome can be reflective of the entire visible spectrum.
Mkay, I’ll dispense with the metaphorical musings and cut to the chase: the Chrome browser is not about web pages or applications as we know them. Chrome – the browser – can be applied to a variety of substrates that may or may not exist at present. Sure, an all-out assault on entrenched desktop operating systems are a no-brainer. But what about the OS platforms and interfaces for mobile, embedded [household electronics], interactive TV, point-of-purchase, home automation…
These are not teh applicationz u seek…
Slap some Chrome on deez…
Add one part ubiquitous connectivity and a dollop of the complete sacrifice of privacy to obtain…
- A text sent to your mobile device: “I noticed no one is home and your garage is still open. Reply 1 to close and arm the security system.” Home automation can happen anywhere IP is available.
- On a restaurant menu or point of sale: “Press
to view ingredients and a map of their origin.” Google buys E Ink in 2010 for enhanced extensibility and utility of the cloud. - Amazon reminds your automotive dashboard that you’re low on milk as you approach a convenience store. Google Proximity Alerts and Bezos’ Bonanza regularly stock your fridge and drain your wallet.
- Digital television offers cross-pollination of web content and services. Like Emeril’s blender? Buy it. Think that politician is full of crap? Overlay the twitter backchannel.
- Sorry, cable conglomerates: a la carte TV channels and brand-agnostic video consumption is nigh.
- The Department of Education subsidizes “interactive education” initiatives to cut costs, deploy vetted ‘collective knowledge’ and facilitate global and local collaboration.
- Stuck in a foreign land without a translator or cultural savvy? Never again.
- Digital photos and video include embedded meta data that provide a virtual timeline of conditions, events, commentary, and context to your pocket.
I have no qualifications or rationale other than pure conjecture to come up with these scenarios, but I’m certain the Chrome browser can and will serve as a conduit for elucidating and facilitating knowledge exchange, commerce, and location- and behavioral-based artificial/suggestive intelligence. It’s not about what the browser will display, it’s about what the browser will suggest, connect and convey.
As likely as any of these ideas may materialize, I might also find myself embracing a luddite-like lifestyle in a digitally-unscathed corner of the globe. Am I off my rocker?
