From Chrome to Google Cloud

While Chrome is pretty exciting in itself, it is only the tip of the iceberg of things to come.

Chrome is a key piece in the puzzle behind the Google Cloud -- a pervasive distributed computing infrastructure that will render the present day PC and OS architecture obsolete. Everything (well, almost everything) will be somewhere in the Internet cloud, with just the browser, some pretty limited CPU capacity, and a broadband connection required in the client end.

With the emergence of the Cloud, Internet is finally coalescing into the dominant design of computing -- or, perhaps it is the Cloud that is truly going to be the dominant design with the Internet being a component (albeit a crucial one).

The Cloud is not going to be Google's exclusive playground (thank goodness), but if there is one firm that is perfectly positioned to dominate the cloud, it is Google.

The G-people dominate web search, have the best knowledge of user behavior on the net, have a huge server infrastructure in place, and have invested heavily into cloud-like computing architectures and platforms.

Google is also just about the only player that can truly bring the Cloud into the mainstream -- others are still niche players or have too much to lose to make the leap themselves (Microsoft being the obvious example).

They've done changed it...

Yup, it seems the Gearshifting crew called it right -- Google has admitted that they made a mistake with the Chrome EULA and it has now been changed to what it should be. They even admitted it was pretty much a cut-and-paste job as we speculated.

We were wrong in the timing -- it took less than 24 hours from yesterdays post.

Damn, it feels good to be right once in a while...

The Chrome EULA Brouhaha

By now (all of 23 hours after the release of Chrome), everyone has probably heard of the weird/evil/stupid/nefarious/power-hungry (take your pick) end-user licence agreement (EULA) of Chrome.

There are several interesting passages, but it is section 11.1 that has garnered the most interest -- it stipulates that the user grants Google an unlimited license to use any information he or she has written using Chrome (since I am using Chrome right now, Google is free to use this blog entry any way they wish).

There are numerous theories as to what Google is trying to accomplish with this part of the agreement. However, the only reasonable explanation is that this is a blunder. A colossal blunder, perhaps, but a blunder nonetheless. This portion of the EULA has been copied and pasted from another EULA where it perhaps made some sense. As to how Google could have made a blunder of this magnitude is anybody's guess, but I would speculate Google got taken by surprise and actually did have to release Chrome in a hurry, ahead of intended release schedule.

The EULA bits in question must be a mistake. Google knows the hacker community well enough and they would have known that the EULA terms would be examined and made public very fast. They know that no-one in their right mind would seriously entertain the thought of using Chrome with a stipulation like section 11.1 -- most of us could not, as using Chrome right now violates our employment agreements.

My prediction: the EULA will be amended within a week (I was tempted to say 48 hours, but this time they are probably going to do a thorough job). 

Burning Chrome

I've now had Google Chrome on my computer for little less than 24 hours, and unlike with any other new browser in many many moons, I am impressed.

In fact, I am so impressed that I have already made Chrome my default browser (even though it is beta, it works flawlessly). The pure page load and rendering speed is fantastic and the clean, minimal interface just feels right (the "home screen" with the most visited sites miniatures is particularly great). And, obviously, the plumbing underneath it all is fascinating.

One puzzling omission was the lack of Java. However, a little searching helped me find Java Early Access downloads which included a Java Standard Edition 6 Update 10 RC that adds Java support to Chrome (in case you are looking for the same, check this site).

An interesting comparison is Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 which has been out for a few days. I downloaded it last week and tried it for a little bit. While I did not test it thoroughly, it felt downright dusty and creaky compared to Chrome -- same old, same old, same old. It was slower and the interface more cluttered. Not to mention that it was far buggier than Chrome; my favorite chess site would not work, which just won't do ;-)

Holy Flaming Chrome

Today is the day Chrome beta is coming...

But all the coolness of the Chrome browser notwithstanding (and there is a lot of it), one of the greatest things about the beta launch is the insanely great white paper slash intro slash brochure Google has published in COMIC BOOK FORMAT!!!

As Chrome is a fairly radical piece of software, you'd expect a lot of big words, small print, and technical jargon -- a lot of stuff that would only be understood by the initiated few. Instead, Google has the engineers of the Chrome team tell the story of the new browser in 38 pages of pictures and speech bubbles.

Yes, there still is a lot of technical stuff. Yes, it still is also partially marketing fluff. But, importantly, it is approachable for just about anyone and illustrates they key points behind the Chrome initiative admirably clearly. In short, it is technology marketing at its best.

Well done, Google guys!

Check it out here...