I’ve noticed quite a few articles popping up in the last few weeks concerning Googles plans for their new Chrome colored web browser, and what it will mean for the future of the company.

I’ve been using the browser for a couple of weeks now, and it really isn’t too bad. It has a few interesting features, such as the URL box also functioning as a search engine and the fact that the browser itself functions as a platform independent Java operating system; with a few minor modifications and the addition of Linux kernal technology, the browser could feasibly compete with the likes of Microsoft and Apple for OS dominance. It’s exactly the reason that Microsoft had for running Netscape out of business ten years ago, and it’s exactly for this reason that Google can’t be considered the new kid on the block any more.

With Google poised to take market share of over 90% of internet advertising assuming it’s Yahoo deal goes through, bridging into cell phones with Android, moving into the browser wars, and dominating internet searches, what does that mean for Google?

Google is one of those weird companies where no matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to hate them…they’re just too good at what it is they do, and their idealism is catchy. As time goes by however, they are going to have to make some tough choices. Launching Chrome for instance could mean the end for companies such as Firefox, a company which Google has traditionally supported. Also, once installed, the browser defaults to using Google as it’s search engine, and while that isn’t entirely unexpected, less innovative search companies such as Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo will have to work even harder to gain access to their customers. The same can be said of internet advertising, of which Google currently owns 64% of the market.

If you think back to the eighties and 80’s and 90’s, when Microsoft was competing against products such as OS2 Warp, Next OS, Unix, and Linux, most of their wins were made in the board room with shrewd business deals and brand recognition; the other half of the recipe was sheer usability…all things that Google is good at. Let face it, Google is cheap, Google is plentiful, and Google is easy to use. It’s hard to argue with those tangibles.

So what does that mean for Google? Lets just say that if one day I wake up and they own a sports team, buy Time Warner, run Rupert Murdoch out of business, build a statue of Sergey Brin on the steps of the White House, and start wearing T-shirts that say “It’s a Google World” on the front, I won’t be a bit surprised.