Chrome: Tit for Tat

I haven’t seen anyone explicitly say this yet, so I will do so:

Google Chrome is not a web browser, it just happens to be shaped like one. Chrome is Google’s entry into the web application platform wars, currently being waged by Adobe (FLEX) and Microsoft (Silverlight). The horse Google is backing is the (oft maligned) one currently in the lead, DOM/Javascript, Chrome is an attempt to ensure that DOM/Javascript doesn’t lose that lead for reasons of speed or stability.

Chrome + Gears can deliver stand-alone and web-enabled apps. Next out of the gate from Google, I expect some debugging / IDE tools to support DOM/Javascript development in Chrome, ala Firebug+.