The rumors of Googles investment in a browser of some flavor: we build it, we buy it, we tie in with a major player other than Microsoft who have decided that Googles growth should be Redmonds growth, and revenues, and profits. So these rumours have substance beyond the acquisition of the gbrowser.com name and Beda and Bosworth among UI and browser luminaries. Google has to do something, and substantial in the browser world.
Google needs to guarantee its transport mechanism … and it can see the handwriting on the wall. No updates to IE browser since 2001. Absolutely disasterous IE security record and yet the IE browser until mid summer of this year gains market share into the high 95% range. Absolute Mum is the Word from Microsoft about where Longhorn and future Redmond desktop OS are going to take. And until this Fall, the Mozillas, Operas, and other Open Sourcers appear to be doing nothing to gain market share and presence from Redmond. Meanwhile, stealthily, Micrsoft has managed to spread its proprietary tentacles into shop after shop with developers writing code that only works with JScript, DOM, HTML, and ActiveX that runs on IE and Windows. Redmond has recognized and is working triple overtime to neutrailze at the least and proprietize the Web API as nothing but a poor Proxy UI for Windows.
Google recognizes the danger … wonder what Softwares Seven Dwarts, you know-> Sleepy IBM, Sneezy Sun, “Bashful” Oracle and Dopey ….. think about this.