Google are taking on Microsoft by creating their own OS, announced on the Google blog yesterday. The software will be open source and first targeted to netbooks. This could be great for users, giving them another option to windows… it just depends on how many programs will be coded for this new platform. Oh look the answer…

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

From what I can see so far, this will work for users that just use the net and don’t require their computers to run a number of applications. This looks a like a development for the masses. Could we see all applications built by web technology from now on? Meaning cross-platform problems are a thing of the past? Maybe this is a side effect of cloud computing and the development of services such as OnLive.

Programs like Logic that are just available for OS X could potential be cross platform, if the technology works and can be ported across to web based technology. An interesting development… where could this lead us?