A VC - Latest Comments in Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Douglas Karr — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:03:45 -0000

Curious what your thoughts are regarding VMWare's vCloud technology and how it will impact cloud computing. It seems the 'big boys' like Google were shortsighted on building mega-datacenters when software can create a virtual cloud of thousands of smaller datacenters. I was visiting Bluelock in Indianapolis recently and think what they are doing as part of this initiative is a real game changer. I'm not saying they'll knock Google off, but many companies would rather work with smaller companies who will provide greater attention and service while still benefiting from cloud technologies.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Ian Wilson — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:56:27 -0000

I installed Chrome, very nice, and this spurred me to move my business apps and mail over to Google. I wonder if this was on their minds too? Probably so, I had a wry smile on my face as the whole process was so much like moving into the "warm embrace" of Microsoft that it dripped with irony.

Have you noticed that maximizing Chrome makes the top window bard disappear, and setting your task bar to auto hide effectively makes Windows disappear to be replaced by the Google "Desktop"?

Once bitten twice shy? Probably not.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Tom — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:46:50 -0000

Apple doesn't wanna have the "Windows" mobile phone.
Google may wanna be the next Microsoft ... the next big brother.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

senao — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:19:13 -0000

Google...Google...Google

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

fredwilson — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 07:43:10 -0000

The point is that the antitrust case was not really successful. The open source movement and a new disruptive business model (search and ppc ads) was

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

vruz — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:35:39 -0000

Now that's an interesting question.

We should find a new definition for competition in the web browsers market when all of them are for $ 0.

I believe competition in the browsers market nowadays is not for for direct commercial gain anymore, but for mindshare and standards compliance, delivering better value to web users, this is probably the most commonly accepted notion among web developers at least. (who should hopefully know better !)

If we take that as a premise, we should measure Google by the value they deliver to web users. Keeping them honest with standards compliance seems to be the most important thing to watch in a company with such a dominant and powerful position.
Google doesn't seem to be crushing the web browsers competition, Chrome's marketshare is exactly 0%, and it's based on Webkit, which is as standards-compliant as you can get today.

That ad on Google's homepage doesn't seem to run against Antitrust law.

Make no mistake, to me at least, the continued, longstanding and consistent compliance problems in Internet Explorer are a cause of much greater concern.
Any day now, Internet Explorer marketshare is somewhere between 70% and 90% depending on the region of the globe you look at.
Microsoft has tried (and keeps trying) to sneak cool stuff in the browser (think XAML) in hope the public adopt it, so they can finally dictate the Internet de facto standard.
They have miserably failed time and again, but they keep getting smarter all the time.

So I agree, we have to keep Google honest, and we must watch every dominant company for the web to stay functional, healthy, plural and diverse.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

James — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:51:22 -0000

So surely Google advertising Chrome for download on their home page is exactly that?

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

vruz — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:26:16 -0000

Actually, that's not accurate.

Microsoft wasn't penalised for integrating html rendering into an operating system.

Having a monopoly is not illegal, the illegal thing is abusing monopoly power to destroy the competition.
(something Microsoft has consistently done in that, and other industries)

That's what Antitrust law is really about.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

testspecimen — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:08:46 -0000

Hey, don't forget the plan to free the TV whitespace - hopefully leading to free and unmonitored wifi for all ;)

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Blacknox — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:14:24 -0000

Yep, you are absolutely right. Hadn't considered that, but it makes complete sense.

Brad

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Robi Ganguly — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:48:10 -0000

This is certainly a compelling reason to follow what Google's doing with interest, to invest in them for the long term (because unlike most companies, they truly plan for the long term) and to learn from them. I believe that they're a very smart and well-organized company, but that their DNA isn't in the business of building applications. Rather, it's in the management of large amounts of data and the infrastructure required to store, index and organize it. Aren't many of us forgetting that Google is first and foremost a company built around search and that the majority of its technologists spend their time thinking about that problem? That thinking frames their designs, their decision-making and their strategy.

Before we crown them the winners of the cloud application business, let's instead ask the question: Their approaches to these markets are based upon how they can bring their strength in search and infrastructure, so what's their angle in this market? What should we expect them to do well and make money from and what should we expect them to be poor at and opportunities for other players?

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Soren Macbeth — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:41:16 -0000

I'd be interesting in more details or sources related this point. Does anyone know what share of GOOG's ad revenue comes from its own web apps vs. others web apps vs. searches vs. blogs?

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Nate — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:46:49 -0000

You've hit on a key issue. Google will never allow data to be stored encrypted because Google has to be able to read it to data mine/serve relevant ads around it.

Maybe Google would launch a paid app suite with encryption that prevented Google from peeking, but I doubt it. Such a thing is just contrary to Google's entire model.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Barry Welford — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:59:28 -0000

I really relate to that statement of yours, Fred.
It is on this three legged stool (browser, mobile, cloud) that Google's future will be built.

Mobile is where we will all be not too far down the road and I'm sure Google is planning that they will 'own' the mobile world. One thing they are excellent on is keeping things under wraps. Chrome seems to have surprised so many people. Android seems to be hanging fire publicly. However 'under the wraps', who knows what's going on.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Derek Skaletsky — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 21:14:42 -0000

Isn't the future of computing one in which there will be no distinction between 'mobile computing' and 'non-mobile' computing. The only thing that really matters is connectivity. With connectivity, isn't all computing essentially the same? While I love this post, I'm not sure I agree with the three-legged stool reference. That makes it sound like that Google is done with their "platform" or "infrastructure" development with the launch of these three initiatives. It seems to me that these three initiatives are just a few more building blocks in their ultimate play for the universal operating system of the future...I'm not a technical person, but it seems to me like they've got Microsoft's operating system in their sights (and their play for broadcast spectrums and free wireless are also pieces to the puzzle -- consistent, constant connectivity is the open door through which the Google OS will drive)...

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Ade — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:01:35 -0000

Tried it and went back to Firefox two minutes later like i did after Safari/PC. Don't like the look and feel and if there are any good ideas, then Firefox 4 will have them. Reminds me of the Google Chat client, it was popular for a little while and everyone went back to MSN/Skype.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

naveen — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:53:48 -0000

"gadgets" support could be useful too. the gadgets move out of the webpage and into your browser. i can see perhaps a "wishlist" or "shopping cart"-like application that uses google checkout and works across merchants...

gadgets already have some of the ideas that are around ubiquity (firefox): someone else could build and advertise a gadget in google's directory and you could subscribe to it in your browser.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

John Poisson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:52:02 -0000

You can indeed, but a vast percentage of the world's population simply doesn't.

For Android to become the Microsoft of the mobile world would require a series of cataclysmic changes in the dynamics of each of the world's major mobile markets, and that strikes me as a near impossibility.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

fredwilson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:37:13 -0000

I can put my t-mobile sim card in any unlocked phone I want and t-mobile hasn't stopped me from doing that. The only phone that has ever been problematic is the iPhone and that's apple's doing, not t-mobile's doing

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

John Poisson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:27:02 -0000

Your excitement about Android ignores the long-standing fact that carriers control precisely what goes on the devices they sell. (And this is true around the world; the unlocked phone market represents a phenomenally small portion of devices sold.)

Android's a lovely piece of engineering, but it simply can't be on every device on every carrier unless the carriers will it to be. And they won't. The mobile ecosystem is ~not like the PC ecosystem, and there cannot be a Microsoft in this world. Symbian didn't get there, and there's little evidence to suggest that Google will.

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

Druce — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:15:11 -0000

the problem with 1) is if you don't build a significantly better version of Firefox / IE you don't get desktop penetration. Look how long it took Firefox to get to 30%.

3 possibilities -

1) they will debut killer apps that will work best in Chrome, and this will drive Firefox (or even IE) to support their cloud. It's a testbed to drive standards (HotJava redux? but why couldn't they just contribute the necessary code to Firefox?)

2) they actually think they need desktop penetration and have a long-term plan to get there (but why? they've done fine with IE and Mozilla owning the browser. Is Firefox going to align with Microsoft? seems to hint at evil intrigue, or disagreement with Mozilla about direction)

3) it's all just a mad science fun project

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

fredwilson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:35:21 -0000

I don't want to try and explain it (I'll mess it up). But you read the comic which gets into that

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

fredwilson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:33:32 -0000

Good point about apple. I shouldn't be so critical of them. They do what they so well

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

fredwilson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:33:29 -0000

And what about search that actually works in a productivity suite?

Re: Chrome, Android, and The Cloud

fredwilson — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:33:28 -0000

The offline thing is important for sure. It could be the fourth point