Google: Browser to take over the OS

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The browser is set to become the new operating system for users, Google has claimed.

This was the bold claim made by a Google executive at his keynote speech at Storage Expo.

Technical lead in the UK for Google, Xen Lategan, discussed the ongoing growth of power in CPUs and the drop in price of HDDs but pointed out people weren't “walking around with laptops instead of a data centre.”

“People are starting to realise they probably don't need this and all they need is a browser," he said. "Soon the browser will be the new desktop or the new operating system.”

Considering Google is building its own OS based on the Chrome browser, this may not be a massive philosophical leap, but no time scale was offered by the self-confessed “geek.”

He also used his speech to share some intriguing facts about Google. “I can't confirm the numbers,” said Lategan, “but Gartner has said Google has 10 per cent of the world's servers.”

“Google is [also] the world's fourth largest hardware manufacturer, but we don't sell or ship the hardware to anyone else, just ourselves.”

Click here for more news from Storage Expo 2009.

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