Filling the device gap

Because if they can create their own OS and make it attractive then they can provide a solution that has a fully integrated stack from top to bottom very much similar to what Microsoft has with Active Directory...

Not the same thing, mind you, Microsoft targets corporations were Google is more going after individuals... but similar in concept.

Google mail, Google IM, Google Office, Google VoIP, Google Search, Google Calendering, etc etc. Everything is tightly integrated and 'just works' and is setup by default. Every aspect of the system is configured by default to make those things work as well as possible. All of it working together to provide a seamless solution that competitors are not going to be able to deal with easily.

Google won't be able to provide that same level of integration if they are dependent on Microsoft Windows based platform to reach their customers.

That's all. I know I am restating things, but its hard for me to tell if I am being clear or not.

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> Me thinks simpler things are more important, especially when they fit the bill. Not to discount all the other reasons you mention as promoting the same cause, but there really is a simpler motive for google. It is a no brainer if google can get more people online more often to access their services more often to bring them more money. Not evil, not some grand idealistic scheme either, just a simple one.

I think right now the Android stuff and Chrome OS stuff is probing the possibilities and trying to generate more hype and keep people interested in Google.

Right now I expect that Google has lots of excess capital. It's expected of them to use that to try to expand their markets and try to come up with new ways to attract customers and generate revenue. It's not expected that they win every time... even if they try a 100 different things and only 10 or 20 succeed and 1-2 succeed very well then that will more then make up for the losses caused by the failures.

So this is 'throw the pasta at the wall and see if it sticks' type thing. Chrome OS and Android are more research then anything else. Especially Chrome OS, I think that Android is a much more serious effort, but still it's very experimental.

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Another way to look at it is...

It's just a large corporation trying to play games, if you want to look at it that way. I am sure that for a corporation of Google's type it would be a feather in their cap to take another hunk out of Microsoft.

This sort of thing is not that uncommon, even if it does not make a lot of sense. It's human nature. Go and look at the NY skyline or any large city and you'll see huge business buildings erected for this or that corporation.

It's purely a phallic symbol.. a 'mine is bigger then yours' type thing. It gets exponentially more expensive to build taller and taller buildings. I have heard that due to the infrastructure required and all the extra expenses that it makes almost no economic sense to ever build a office building above 30 stories or so. Even in expensive areas. So those large buildings are just trophies.

Google OS certainly has a business potential, but ya it could quite possibly be more a Ego booster then anything else...