Mama don't take my Google Chrome OS

According to Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus (!) Upson, Engineering Director*, "Google Chrome OS is a new project, separate from Android. Android was designed from the beginning to work across a variety of devices from phones to set-top boxes to netbooks. Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems. While there are areas where Google Chrome OS and Android overlap, we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google."

In other words, Google found the perfect way to celebrate Darwin's bicentennial : we couldn't euthanize one pet project, both are so young, imperfect, and cute... why not let nature decide for us ?

The other message is for Microsoft : we're taking a hit from Bing, take that on your own core business. You want war ? We are building a brand, with the whole shebang :

"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."

The third message is for Brussels and anti-trust authorities : we completely forgot you, sorry. Chrome browser was a black box, Chrome OS will be worse, and the branding confusion between a browser and a OS is a gift for Microsoft's lawyers.

Mountain View's eggheads didn't kill the pet : they simply shot their own feet.



*"Introducing Google Chrome OS"

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20091121 UPDATE :

Sergey Brin sees the light and confesses both OS may eventually merge, Chrome being as expected the victim (see among other sources "Brin: Two Google Operating Systems May Become One" - PCWorld 20091120).