Google launch a brand new open source operating system called Google Chrome OS which is set to shake the OS marketplace, but does Microsoft have anything to fear?

Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that has been initially targeted at netbooks and laptops. Due to be launched later this year Chrome OS will be a much debated platform. Google believe in collaborative development and Chrome OS will be no different to any of their other software products, featuring a Developers Community. Google will be opening the product up to the community to allow product testing and fast growth of compatible applications. As always it has to be said that this is indeed a very cleaver move by Google, allowing 1000’s of developers to participate in the growth and development of the product will ensure a robust and feature rich platform. Google has also announced that Chrome OS will be available to consumers by 2010.

“Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.” Taken from the official Google blog.

Chrome will be lightweight, fast and secure with a boot time of only a few seconds. The user interface will be minimal and Chrome will be designed to work in an online environment. The underlying security architecture of the OS has been completely redesigned so users will not have to deal with viruses and malware. The Chrome OS will run on both x86 and ARM chips, Google are currently working with a number of OEM’s to bring the product to market preinstalled on laptops and netbooks. It’s also interesting to note that the software architecture is very simple and will run within a new windowing system which will be on top of a Linux Kernel.

Google seems to be going all out with the development of new ideas and new products, Chrome OS offers an exciting and simple challenger to Microsoft’s Windows OS but in this early stage, Microsoft have nothing to worry about.

Article by Creative SEO UK

Google is to remove the beta logo from many of its key services including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Talk and Google Video for business. Google wants to attract more business users to its applications and is reported to be in the process of creating a business suite of communications tools which will be available for download.

Although this might not seem like a big deal as most users will only see the removal of the beta label from the service logo, in order to attract more business users Google’s Applications need to be seen as fully developed, trusted and working products in order to be accepted by the business community.
We’ve come to appreciate that the beta tag just doesn’t fit for large enterprises that aren’t keen to run their business on software that sounds like it’s still in the trial phase,” wrote Rajen Sheth, senior product manager at Google Apps in a recent Blog post.

“No business is going to rely on a ‘beta’ service for something as important as e-mail,” says Matt Cain, lead e-mail analyst with market research firm Gartner. But, he adds, “just by lifting the beta label does not guarantee Google success”.

Only recently Google announced the forthcoming launch of Google Wave, a new communication based product which will allow multiple channels of communication to be accessed in one, real time online environment. Is Google’s current move to attract the business community part of a bigger strategy which involves Google Wave?

Cloud based communication is definitely the next big thing and Google Wave will offer a platform which will directly integrate into the cloud. It’s safe to say that there are some very exciting big changes ahead of us, Google will be taking on the likes of Microsoft with over 70% of the communication software marketplace, if they expect to compete Google will have to pull something pretty special out of the hat.

Article by Creative SEO UK

Speculation has been high, will Microsoft’s new search engine have enough features and offer users a better more refined and user friendly experience? Is this the search engine to take on Google and will users change their allegiance?

Microsoft’s new search engine, called “Bing”, has been launched as a beta version. The search engine optimisation community has jokingly labelled Bing as “But It’s Not Google” but it’s still too early to judge just how the beta version will grow and adapt. There are some cool features which are very user friendly. The video search uses Adobe Flash and allows you to see a preview of the video just by hovering over the thumbnail. The Image search features some nice “filters” which allow you to search for images by size, layout, colour, style and people.

Bing will grow and adapt over time, let’s hope that Microsoft listens to feedback from its users and develops the search engine along with their needs, taking a leaf from Google’s book. Weather the brand is strong enough to draw die hard Google users across to a new search engine platform is yet to be determined. It will be interesting to see how Bing progresses but in the mean time why don’t you check out “Bing” and see if it rings your bell. www.Bing.com

Article is written by CreativeSEO, Search Engine Optimisation Consultant.

Microsoft want a larger share of the £22bn Search Marketplace, but will there new search engine “Kumo” be the right contender to take on heavy weight Google?

Billed as a Google killer, Microsoft’s Live search never managed to live up to the hype surrounding its launch, although live was an improvement on its predecessor, the search engine did not entice search engine users to give up the ever popular Google. Google’s simple to use interface and relevant results have made it the first choice for the majority of search engine users.

Google is updated as part of an ongoing “rolling” development program, adapting with the changing search environment. This has resulted in a constant improvement of service, the addition of new functionality and an increase in user loyalty and trust. Can Microsoft break the bond between Google and its users?

Code named “Kumo”, Microsoft’s new search engine is set to be demonstrated for the first time at a technology conference in California next week. The new search engine has been designed to replace Live Search and has undergone months of secret testing.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s Chief Executive, has made the new search engine his key focus on developing the company’s growth during the economic downturn. Mr Ballmer will launch “Kumo “ during a speech at a Wall Street Journal sponsored conference according to the companies “All things Digital” blog. At this time Microsoft have refused to comment about the possible launch.

“Kumo” is the Japanese word for spider which appears to be a reference to the search engines new crawling software. It’s believed that the search engine will group and categorise search engine results to provide shorter more relevant groups of information to the search user. This does sound very similar to Google’s new refined search options which were launched last week, but it’s believed that Microsoft has taken this one stage further allowing information to be grouped and filtered by subject specific categories. This is of course pure speculation and until the launch of “Kumo” next week we will not be able to see the full extent of the technology.

One thing we can be certain of is Google’s ability to adapt, develop and improve its search engine results. If Microsoft launches something new, it won’t be long before Google has improved the technology and integrated it into its search. The SEO community is waiting to see just what happens.

Finally after a long period of Beta testing Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) has finally been released, this hot browser is publicly available and can now be downloaded from the Microsoft website. On the same day, in a cunning publicity move, Google Chrome has launched Chrome Experiments, a unique site which has been designed to showcase the power of Google Chrome and its unique JavaScript capabilities. Will you be rushing to download the new IE8? Click here to visit the IE8 website.

So how has IE8 improved and will the upgrades convince dedicated Firefox and Chrome Users to move away from their existing reliable browser platforms? IE8 is definitely a lot faster it boots up quickly and tab sessions are treated as individual processes, as in Chrome. This means that if a webpage now decides to crash, is slow loading or has errors, it will not affect the entire browsing session, just the specific tab. This will come as great relief to existing IE7 users. Microsoft have also looked at the tab processes and improved the usability. If you open a new tab, IE8 will group the tads by domain, placing the new tab to the right of an existing webpage tab. This great improvement will mean that pages from the same website will be grouped in the tab navigation rather than sending it to the end of the line, allowing browser sessions to be easily recognised. Another handy feature is the ability to drag tabs into tab clusters allowing them to become part of the browser session. IE8 uniquely colour codes the tab to mark it as part of the group and if any one of the tabs in a session is lost then IE8 will reload the tab and the page into its original position so nothing is lost.

Two other great features are Accelerator and Web Slices. Accelerator is a user experience enhancement designed by Microsoft to make the browser experience flow more fluidly. By right clicking on a webpage you will access the Accelerator context menu which will give you access to unique features like Live Search Maps, Email content to a friend and Post to a Blog or Facebook. This facility is still in its early stages of development but the more website developers that get on board with the technology the better the functionality will be in the future. Web Slices allows you to add and monitor web pages and web content from your tool bar. You could configure it to keep track of your emails or update you about an Ebay auction you’re following. The service uses a form of RSS technology but unfortunately the toolbar restricts the amount of content you can add. IE8 also includes Private Browsing (know by developers as “Porn Mode”) which allows the user to anonymously browse websites without leaving tracks or personal information.

The new IE8 is a massive improvement on IE7 but the jury is still out as to whether Google has done enough to temp Firefox users to betray their beloved browser.

Google Chrome has taken the opportunity to directly challenge the release of IE8 by launching Chrome Experiments, a website which has been designed to showcase the power of the Chrome browser and its outstanding JavaScript performance. There are 19 amazing animated games to play with and it’s well worth a visit. One of the experiments called Google Gravity, allows you to collapse the Google homepage into a pile on the base of the browser but still allows you to use the Google search facility and view results. Browser ball is a fun game that allows you to throw a beach ball from one browser window to another. The site is well worth checking out and offers a glimpse of the power of the Google Chrome platform. Click here to visit Google Chrome Experiments