Microsoft has been doing there best to suppress ARM Netbooks for sometime now. Windows (the non mobile versions at least), don’t run on ARM. Look at the Taiwanese vendors who have announced, and then quitely withdrawn ARM models.

ARM promises to deliver huge battery life in a netbook model, and is a real threat to Microsoft.

This IS a game changer, and Microsoft might win on a x86 platform, but if ARM can deliver the battery life that is claimed, then Microsoft are going to have to tart up Windows Mobile for Netbooks very quickly….

Comparing Linux to Google is like comparing Transonic to Sony. Linux isn’t a household brand, at best, its part of geek mythology as far as most people are concerned. But everyone knows Google “just” as well as Microsoft.

If Google arms Chrome OS with Windows applications compatibility, then Microsoft have got a very big problem on their hands, and it’s unlikely they’ll waste their time pitching for a slice of the Linux cake… because it’s Microsoft they’re gunning for!

So pc owners, and not just Netbook owners, will have a choice. A free platform capable of running all their software applications and supported by the “Google” brand, or Windows in different flavors at different prices supported by Microsoft that’s widely identified as a ship that’s sailing on auto-pilot crewed by those who would aspire to possess half the genius of Bill Gates.

And fresh in the minds of consumers .. the trauma of Vista and the expense of an OS which forced them to upgrade their pc’s only to witness something they’ve never seen before… Microsoft abandoning it. Bad decisions concerning XP and dropping support for what many identify as Microsofts best OS. Now throw in the least creative person in technology today, Steve Balmer. An unattractive man who sweats profusely and radiates smugness anytime a problem gives users no choice of solution or alternative. And now his biggest blunder to-date, poking a hot stick at Google with a sloppy copy of its search engine and not having the vision or insight to know there would be “serious” consequences.

Right now, I think the market has already responded favorably to Google’s Chrome OS, and that reply can be seen in Microsoft’s share price. The only questions that remain, are how low will it go, and how long will it take to get there.

39 mill netbooks by 2013 plays 400 mill PC/laptops + 300 mill smartphones. That’s about the same market share Apple has achived in 20 years.

Office isn’t going away any time soon. All online spreadsheets fail at multiple levels as do the WP’ers. They’re just not good enough.

Google dev is like a kiddies play pen: nothing gets finished and all are messy.

Google is effectively washing its hands of support by open sourcing. How many versions will we see?

Much more I could say but all in this doesn’t look promising.