How Microsoft could kill Google's Chrome OS

11/25/2009 3:28:21 PM

Thin is in again. At least that's the message I'm taking away from the full-frontal media orgy surrounding last week's Chrome OS demo. Virtually everyone who's anyone is now singing the praises of the smaller, lighter, Web-centric desktop model at the heart of Google's still unreleased "Windows killer." And that includes Microsoft.

In fact, the folks up in Redmond are doubtless watching the entire spectacle with amusement. After months spent shadowboxing a Chrome OS vaporware ghost, the company finally has a tangible, non-ethereal target to shoot at. And shoot it will -- with both barrels.

[ Get all the details on Google's forthcoming Chrome OS from InfoWorld's experts: "Google's Chrome OS: A Web appliance, not a PC" | "Top 5 Chrome OS myths debunked" | "Google Chrome OS: InfoWorld's visual tour" | "Why Chrome OS will fail -- big time" | "I want my Chrome OS Web appliance" ]

The assault will begin with a faux olive branch. Microsoft will welcome Google to the game and emphasize how they're really not competitors because Chrome OS is targeted at a niche market. But behind the scenes, Microsoft will be quietly marshaling its troops for war. Its first order of battle will be to fire up the FUD engines and lay siege to Google's credibility.

The opening salvo will try to tie Chrome OS to desktop Linux, an unpopular platform and one that Microsoft vanquished early in the netbook revolution. By emphasizing the ugly Linux underpinnings of Chrome OS, the company can scare away less technical customers who are used to a computing environment that works seamlessly with virtually any device or peripheral.