September 23rd, 2004
Gbrowser to join Gmail?
Evidence is accumulating that supports the notion that Google is developing its own Web browser. Among the clues are a domain-name registration for gbrowser.com, new employees with skill sets that could be applied to developing a new browser platform and a recent patent application. Steve Gillmor has speculated that Google will expand its search platform to encompass more and more content and data types.
According to Jason Kottke’s blog:
Google is investing heavily in JavaScript-powered desktop-like web apps like Gmail and Blogger (the posting inferface is now WYSIWYG). Google could use their JavaScript expertise (in the form of Gmail ubercoder Chris Wetherell) to build Mozilla applications. Built-in blogging tools. Built-in Gmail tools. Built-in search tools. A search pane that watches what you’re browsing and suggests related pages and search queries or watches what you’re blogging and suggests related pages, news items, or emails you’ve written. Google Toolbar++. You get the idea…
It’s a matter of when, not if, Google introduces a browsing application to go along with GMail. If Google has success with those two applications how about a full-featured document/content processor fully integrated with the two. With that trio of integrated applications, as well as Blogger, integrated RSS support, open APIs and other goodies, the Google ‘platform’ could handle 90 percent of what most people do with their computers.
