Slowly but surely, we’re getting an idea of what Google’s Chrome OS will look like. We know that it will be Linux-based and that the primary interface will likely be the Chrome browser. Still, the search giant was not content to simply turn a Web browser into an operating system. Soon Google was launching a new programing language, called Go, that would allow programmers to build faster and more efficient applications. Then it announced Native Client, a feature built into Chrome (both the browser and the OS) that would allow software to be run inside the browser. Any program launched could be treated as just another tab in Chrome, and, when paired with the new Go programming language, could lead to dramatic speed increases for Web-based applications.
So Chrome OS, and the various enhancements Google is developing to milk every bit of potential from the Internet, are shaping up nicely. But there is still one major hurdle to overcome — HTTP, or hyper text transfer protocol. HTTP is what browsers and and Web sites use to define how and when data is passed back and forth. The problem is that HTTP has existed, more or less in its current form, since 1996, a time when Web sites were primarily simple documents with static text and images.
Of course, there are problems. Sites will have to switch to this new protocol from HTTP — not an easy task — and browsers will have to support it. Until that happens, no Web sites will be jumping in and risk alienating non-Chrome-using customers.
In the lab Google was able to improve load times 55-percent over HTTP. If it can replicate those results in the real world, expect developers to sit up and take notice. This will of course set off alarms at Microsoft, which would not be happy with Google owning the protocol through which all Web sites are transmitted.
This could be the first salvo in a whole new theater in the battle for the Web. The browser wars may give way to the protocol wars, which could lead to a much faster and more flexible Internet — a boon for all of us. [From: Download Squad, Ars Technica, and The Chromium Blog]
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