Hands up all those who said Chrome was an Operating System - go to the back of the class.

Two stories in one day that have huge entertainment value. Ted Dziuba over at El Reg has a pop at the spamfulls of copy that was written about Google Chrome. Its pithy, but very funny because it contains more than a hint of truth:

Every time the media fires off its gravy so violently, it highlights how little some of the supposed "experts" actually know about computers. Case in point: People saying that Google Chrome is an operating system designed to compete head-to-head with Microsoft Windows.

I understand the argument that as web applications proliferate, the desktop operating system becomes less important, and emphasis is placed on the browser. That's all well and good, but let's be realistic here. It's a fucking web browser. It runs JavaScript a bit faster than other web browsers. That doesn't add up to a Windows killer.

Thats pretty much our view, though we expressed it in more moderate tones . Ted then taking a pop at the Tech Journos who, given an inch, stretch it for miles:

When journalists jump on a story like this, they will publish just about anything, no matter how poorly thought out. Let's take, for example, Henry Blodget of Silicon Alley Insider. He says:

[Google is] building the equivalent to Windows in the cloud-computing world.

Too bad the SEC can't ban this guy from the tech industry for life.

People are calling Chrome a cloud operating system because it is a "platform for running web apps". It renders HTML and interprets Javascript, you know, like every fucking browser made since 1995. It's also got Google Gears built in. Great. I'll alert Tim Berners-Lee.

This bullshit is a common theme when talking about Chrome. Those who realize that Chrome is not a full fledged operating system but still want to get in on the page-view party are calling Chrome the cloud operating system. Get it, because it's like clouds. All nature and shit. Don't you want to read that story?

Well, at least Blodget sort of understands what it takes to run a web browser. I can't say the same for Michael Arrington, who runs the Special Olympics of tech media, TechCrunch. Arrington fancies himself a kingpin of Web 2.0, but when he starts saying shit like this, it's hard for him to keep the respect of people, who, you know, understand how computers work:

Chrome is nothing less than a full on desktop operating system that will compete head on with Windows.

Expect to see millions of web devices, even desktop web devices, in the coming years that completely strip out the Windows layer and use the browser as the only operating system the user needs.

Thats excommunication for life then, Ted (To be fair, I think Mr Arrington & Mr Dziuba are cast from the same "print and damn the torpedos" mould, which makes them both such good reads). Anyway, for a grand finale, talking about the desperate need for the Tech Chatterati to cast a Google v Microsoft storyline:

Google releasing a browser is so damned close to the ideal situation, but there's not quite enough to declare that Chrome will replace Windows. None the less, this does not stop the technically incompetent from spinning it as such. Maybe they were just feeling nostalgic about Microsoft pummeling the shit out of Netscape?

Anyway, not even Sergey Brin could stop the premature eGoogulation. At a press conference, Brin said:

I would not call Chrome the operating system of Web apps...

Dammit, Sergey. You're ruining my story!

Now, this will no doubt ruffle many feathers, but it needed saying - a browser is not (yet, anyway) an operating system, even if many respected tech journos declare it so. To call it so just reflects muddy thinking at best (no doubt while searching for a story angle). However, to underplay the strategic positioning of Chrome in the Googleverse as "just another browser" is also incorrect, as it has clearly been built as part of a complementary value chain system, as Nick Carr explains. In addition, it enriches the amount of data the Google has on your digital footprint, which also does not hurt strategically - nor for Ad serving.