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From its origin as just another search engine running a distant second to Yahoo, Google has evolved into one of the largest, most powerful computing and technology companies on the planet. But it’s still just a company that offers web search and sells online ads, right? Wrong.

Google is about much more than search these days, but it’s a safe bet that the majority of the web surfing and computing public have no idea how many pies the company has its fingers in.

Its free web email client, Gmail, was the first true contender to pose a threat to Yahoo Mail or Hotmail. Gmail does away with the traditional folder storage structure in favor of virtual “labels” that can be applied to messages meeting defined criteria, making it easy to filter and sort through mail. The interface is slick and streamlined without a myriad of confusing options.

Google’s Android operating system for smartphones has become a heavyweight in the marketplace. They basically give Android away to any company that wants to use it to power their mobile devices. This is in marked contrast to Apple’s iPhone, whose operating system (iOS) is tightly controlled by the boys in Cupertino. Some stats indicate that Android-powered devices have already surpassed the iPhone in market share. (Notice I don’t mention the new Windows phones. Why? I think they’re a non-player and always will be.)

Docs is a free browser-based office suite that anyone with a Google account (also free) can use. While it has only a fraction of the features of Microsoft Office, the bald fact is that for most people, it’s good enough for daily use. And since your document are stored remotely, you can access them from any computer using any browser running on any operating system… anywhere you are.

Of course, Google does none of this for purely altruistic reasons. They make most of their money selling ads. Gmail and Docs serve up unobtrusive text ads while you use them. You see discreet ads on the pages of your search results. Google has an agreement with many Android handset makers whereas they promote Google products and services in their phones’ bundled applications.

What many non-techies don’t know is that Google is also working on a computer operating system. So what’s an operating system, some of you may ask. Windows is an operating system. So is MacOS. So is Linux, Unix and BSD. They are the layer between your computer’s hardware and you. It’s what allows you to surf the web, edit photos and compose text documents. Without an operating system to basically tell your computer what you want it to do, it would be a dumb hulk of metal and plastic. Microsoft Windows is by far the most dominant operating system for your average PC, followed with MacOS at a distant second, then the others.

Google wants a slice of the pie currently being mostly eaten by Microsoft and Apple. Their new operating system, ChromeOS, is intended to be a lightweight, low overhead and malware-free alternative to the big two. If you’ve ever tried Google’s Chrome web browser, then you have an idea of what ChromeOS will be like. It’s pretty much just the browser on steroids… with additional code to let it talk to your peripherals (printer, external hard drive, etc) and do all the other little things an OS has to do in order for you to be able to use your PC.

ChromeOS is intended for use mostly on small, lightweight notebook computers, aka netbooks. Google’s reasoning is that as the computing world moves to the cloud, there will be less of a need to have the applications you use every day actually installed on your machine. You won’t need a massive hard drive to store programs and data. It will all be in the cloud. The operating system itself will not be on your disk drive as it is with Windows – it will be installed on a memory chip inside the machine. And since the OS is so lightweight, couple that with the fact it’s on a chip and you will have nearly instant bootup times.

The system will update itself silently and continuously – you will hardly ever be asked to confirm a system update and will seldom have to restart to finish the process. Best of all, ChromeOS will be nearly invulnerable to virus infections, since it is inherently more secure than Windows.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about ChromeOS is the rumor circulating that Google intends to sell Chrome netbooks on a subscription basis. For a small monthly fee, the user will get the computer along with free repairs and upgrades as needed – rather like leasing a car as opposed to buying. According to the rumor, the target market will be companies that utilize the premium, paid versions of Google’s many services offered to home users for free. But to me, they would be stupid to lock out private individuals, should this rumor turn out to be fact.

So, why is Google spending millions of dollars hoping they can convert millions of people who know only Windows or Mac? Again, it’s all about promoting products and services, especially their own. The upcoming Chrome netbooks will be preconfigured to work with Google’s applications like Docs and Picasa. When you use a Google app, you know you’re going to see ads, and some of you will click on them. Some of you will end up buying something as well.

What’s not usually mentioned in their self-serving press releases concerning ChromeOS and the netbooks is that Google wants to knock Microsoft’s and Apple’s blocks off, plain and simple. They do not like the fact that two companies basically control the computing experience of much of the world. Apple and Microsoft are both notorious for locking users into a never-ending upgrade cycle. Still using XP? You’re out of luck now if you ever have a real problem since Microsoft has phased out technical support, and system updates, for XP. They want you to buy either a new PC loaded with Windows 7, or buy a DVD to upgrade your current system. Similar deal with Apple, except in their case they actually directly control the hardware and manufacture of ALL Mac computers, so they make even more money.

Google also envisions a world where the user is not tied to a certain operating system due to the requirements of the software they run. In the cloud, where most applications run inside your browser, it doesn’t matter what OS you have installed on your computer, or what browser you use.

For the foreseeable future, there will sometimes be a need to have a good old-fashioned PC or workstation for gaming or specialty applications… as an example, I need to have Adobe Photoshop available to me because there are no cloud-based apps that can do a tenth of what it can do.

But what about the huge chunk of the population that uses their machines for mundane everyday tasks like email, web surfing, lightweight photo touchup and word processing? Google is hoping these people will be ready to embrace ChromeOS for their computing needs.

It’s a gamble – and a big, expensive one. Some experts have already predicted ChromeOS will fail.

A few years ago, many tech pundits said that Google’s plan to create and distribute a smartphone operating system for free was a huge mistake. And any of us that use a smartphone know where Android is at today. So, I would not pass judgment this early. The future of computing does lie in the cloud, and ChromeOS was written from the ground up to be a “cloud friendly” operating system. It’s worried Microsoft enough where they are making their own push into the cloud.

More choices for the consumer is always a good thing. It also encourages innovation amongst competing companies. That’s why I hope ChromeOS is able to gain a foothold, even if it’s only a small one. For too many years, Microsoft and Apple have told us what to do with our machines. They need competition, and Google has the technical know-how, and the cash, to encourage them to do better by their customers.

Related articles

• Chrome OS Subscriptions: (Possibly) A Step Forward (pcworld.com)
• Will Google Sell Chrome OS Portables for Low, Monthly Subscriptions? (ostatic.com)
• Google’s Chrome OS Windows rival to launch in May? (telegraph.co.uk)