The Google Browser
Jason Kottke talked about it recently (24-Aug-2004)
Anil Dash talked about it a year ago (15-July-2003).
I talked about it three years ago (6-Sept-2001).
:-p
(Yes, I’m trying to take credit. However, both Anil and Jason do a better job than I do at explaining these things. Despite the fact that I truly believe what I just wrote in that last sentence, I’m kissing their asses. But hey, at least I admit it, right?)
August 27th, 2004 at 12:23 am
I don’t have much faith that significant numbers of people have the motivation and ability to download and install software. There’s a lot of barriers; saving an installer somewhere on their hard disk, finding that installer once the download has finished, running the installer, knowing how to launch the program, and knowing how to use it.
I think Google is more likely to concentrate on apps (like gmail) that don’t require any download or installation. It’s a no-mess, no-fuss sort of software experience. It’s also a no-commitment experience - it’s akin to using a web site.
For google to have their own version of mozilla isn’t really helpful to them in a market where the majority of people still use IE. Every google app will have to be IE-compatible for the foreseeable future.
Remember that Netscape’s original vision was for the browser to become the new platform - the new middleware - thus rendering Windows irrelevant. Microsoft thought they had crushed that by crushing Netscape, but google is now threatening to deliver on Netscape’s vision. Mozilla plays an important role in that it’s existence as an alternative prevents Microsoft from undermining the “platformish” aspects of IE - doing so would risk people switching to Mozilla. Microsoft aren’t keen to upgrade IE and pump it full of features because to do so actually helps competitors like google.
It’s a delicately balanced game at the moment.
August 27th, 2004 at 1:08 am
“Remember that Netscape’s original vision was for the browser to become the new platform - the new middleware - thus rendering Windows irrelevant.”
That’s not what I remember. I remember that Netscape wanted to produce a set of tools and applications, such as email, HTML editor, media player, and so on. That is not quite the same thing as a new layer, or middleware.
There was something called SuiteSpot that I think was server software meant to work as a new layer, but I’m not sure it was meant to be a new platform to literally replace Windows by riding on top of it. Instead, I think that it was meant to be tightly integrated with Windows. That’s not quite the same thing. Perhaps I am splitting hairs? Either way, driptray, you make some good points.
August 27th, 2004 at 1:23 am
web2con — The Web 2.0 conference will be held October 5-7, 2004 at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. Join leaders of innovative start-ups and industry titans at the first-ever second-generation internet business conference. Jeff Bezos, Mark Cuban, John Doerr, Mary Meeker, Craig Newmark, and dozens more will lead three-days of high-level discussions around the theme “The Web as Platform”.
Interesting!
August 27th, 2004 at 1:44 am
Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have said “Netscape’s original vision”. I was thinking of when Netscape first started bundling a JRE. They had the idea that all new apps would be written in java, and that they would all be happening inside the browser. Platform-independent Netscape plus platform-independent WWW plus platform-independent java would mean that Windows would be irrelevant.
Microsoft referred to this as “sucking the whole world through a straw”, and then wiped out Netscape by a combination of product bundling and exclusive OEM deals.
The hype has now gone out of client-side java, but Gmail shows how you can get a better app by using javascript and DHTML instead.
August 28th, 2004 at 12:25 am
It would be interesting to explore what other applications Google could launch around their strength in tapping into the information available on their servers. They have done this for Google news, but I am sure there are other vertical applications that could be developed … how about City Guides?
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October 4th, 2005 at 3:26 am
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