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.

So, decided to actually play with Chrome to form a view, to say that this is all a tad hyped would be a dramatic understatement – it reminds me of Microsoft in its heyday when new wotsits were greeted with messianic fervour by the faithful*.

Anyway, downloaded it all, fired it up, read the book, watched the movie, and – guess what – its a browser!

Yes, its one of those things that drives me around the web. It seems to do most everything my other 2 browsers do (Firefox and IE) at about the same speed and with vague differences in layout – kinda like driving a different car, you take a bit of time to work out where everything is. It may have a wankel rotary engine rather than a straight-8 under the bonnet (though Jof is impressed, so it must be good), and a few new thingies that the others will copy asap, but it certainly didn’t feel like I’d stepped from Ford to Ferrari ( or vice versa ).

This is not the story.

No, there are two other stories here. The first story is the reaction of the blogosphere – You can read it all on Techmeme, but to save time I have designed a little 2×2 matrix to define it:

Analysis of Blogosphere reaction to Chrome (not to scale)

Let no one accuse us of not doing serious analysis…..

The second I alluded to in my last post, which was of course independent and analytical – ie the strategic implications of Google moving into the browser game, and is really the big story here.

I’ve read quite a few other blogs since I wrote that yesterday morning – many have poured more detail on it (and some have even been a bit flippant in getting the point across) but I think strategically what I wrote stands as the main issues for any user. In fact, reading the TOS I reckon my one hypothesis, of Chrome being reluctant to stop Ads is strengthened:

17.1 Some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions. These advertisements may be targeted to the content of information stored on the Services, queries made through the Services or other information.

17.2 The manner, mode and extent of advertising by Google on the Services are subject to change without specific notice to you.

17.3 In consideration for Google granting you access to and use of the Services, you agree that Google may place such advertising on the Services.

And that is the essential reason why I won’t use Chrome so long as there are Ad free alternatives available – I do not believe that 17.3 is a fair exchange and you know that underlying that is data collection and mining of all on-browser behaviour.

Oh – as I’m writing, news comes in that it turns out Chrome just happens to let hackers into Microsoft Windows (the Evil Competitors’) system. That featu…..bug’ll be fixed in a hurry then

*Or is it just easier to see all the flock in the online aggregated world?

An afterthought – it is a very nice browser, and kudos to the team – I suspect if they were ex Googlers they’d be canonified – but as I note above, the browser per se is not the big story here, its the “why is Google doing this”.

AMD’s Puma is coming onto the stage. The new laptop platform from Advanced Micro Devices, with AMD’s dual-core Turion X2 Ultra mobile processor, a seven-series chip set, and ATI Radeon HD 3000 series graphics, was to be unveiled Wednesday at the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

The target markets are consumers, notably gamers, as well as small and midsize businesses. AMD President and COO Dirk Meyer said the “interrelated innovations” in the Puma platform deliver both “enhanced business productivity and the ultimate in HD visual performance on the go.” The company noted that business users with Microsoft Windows Vista are utilizing applications that are more graphically intensive.

Radeon HD 3000 Series

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series was first announced in January, and offers a new family of discrete graphics chips. At the time, AMD noted that the 3000 series was optimized for Puma to provide what it called “The Ultimate Visual Experience.” Several major laptop makers, including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba, Asus, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, NEC, Toshiba, and Acer are planning to use the Puma platform in upcoming products.

Among other things, the company touted the 3000 series’ support for Microsoft DirectX 10.1, which can provide a high level of lighting and rendering techniques for 3D games.

The Puma platform mixes integrated and discrete graphics, with the first for basic graphics with low power and lower cost, and the second for turbo performance. Usually, a laptop provides one or the other, but Puma can turn on both at the same time for 3D games and high-definition video.

AMD said the Puma, running both integrated and discrete graphics, can utilize ATI CrossFireX Technology for a performance boost of up to 70 percent.

The Radeon graphics will allow users to download and watch high-definition video, and is also designed for efficient use of battery power. Enhancements in…

The last service pack for Microsoft Windows XP was released almost four years ago. In the meantime, engineers in Redmond were busy on a little project called Vista. Now that Vista has been out the door for a year, Microsoft has finished up Service Pack 3 for Windows XP and released it to manufacture. The new release will be available for public download next Tuesday, April 29.

“Windows XP SP3 bits are now working their way through our manufacturing channels to be available to OEM and enterprise customers,” Chris Keroack, release manager for Windows serviceability, posted to Microsoft’s TechNet forum. “We are also in the final stages of preparing for release to the Web (i.e. you!) on April 29th, via Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center.”

SP3 will be distributed to home users via Automatic Update in early June, the company said. Online documentation for Windows XP SP3 will be updated next week.

The new service pack is a 70MB download to update Window XP and can be installed on top of either SP1 or SP2. It doesn’t work with the 64-bit version of XP, however.

Previous Patches

Much of SP3 consists of previously released patches, according to Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Network Security. “In terms of functionality, SP3 delivers eight mainline items, which had already been previously available by download,” Storms noted in an e-mail.

While consumers won’t notice much difference, “enterprises will welcome the added functionality of Digital Identity Management Service (DIMS) and support for WPA2,” Storms said. WPA2 is a wireless security solution derived from the 802.11e standard. DIMS allows users to access all their certificates and private keys for applications and services.

As for the new items in XP, enterprises will be mostly concerned with Network Access Protection, a platform that enforces compliance with network policies, and…

The 20-year death grip that Microsoft has held on the core of computing is finally weakening — pried loose with just two fingers. With one finger you press “Control” and with the other you press “right arrow.” Instantly you switch from a Macintosh operating system [OS] to a Microsoft Windows OS. Then, with another two-finger press, you switch back again. So as you edit family pictures, you might use Mac’s iPhoto. And when you want to access your corporate e-mail, you can switch back instantly to Microsoft Exchange.

This easy toggling on an Apple computer, enabled by a feature called Spaces, was but an interesting side note to last fall’s upgrade of the Mac OS. But coupled with other recent developments, the stars are aligning in a very intriguing pattern. Apple’s recent release of a tool kit for programmers to write applications for the iPhone will be followed by the June launch of iPhone 2.0, a software upgrade geared toward business users.

Taken together, these seemingly unrelated moves are taking the outline of a full-fledged strategy. Windows users, in the very near future, will be free to switch to Apple computers and mobile devices, drawn by a widening array of Mac software, without suffering the pain of giving up critical Windows-based applications right away. The easy virtualization of two radically different operating systems on a single desktop paves a classic migration path. Business users will be tempted. Apple is positioning itself to challenge Microsoft for overall computing dominance — even in the corporate realm.

Kernel of Computing Might

Such an idea rarely finds expression in public. Apple today is a “consumer-products company.” Each new Apple product unveiled — from iPod to iPhone — comes with the excitement and glamor of Steve Jobs’ “reality distortion field.” Yet if you look at the larger picture, broader…