Re: Here comes google! (again)
Firenze,
Don't discount COS just yet - I whole-heartedly agree with your first assessment about MSFT's deep pockets and their ability to compete based on their cash flow and consequently their ability to continuously innovate by virtue of their internal resources as well as acquisitions.
On the other hand, Google has been pretty successful in various areas starting from search/advertising where there's virtually no other service provider as effective and successful as Google. GMail leading the way in online email service - if you remember when GMail was launched, many felt that the business model is bound to fail with all the privacy issues surrounding targetted advertising... but today, GMail is one the most popular online email provider. Similarly, Google has made quite a headway into the SMB arena with its Google Apps suite allowing businesses to use applications for a small subscription fees. They are still very far from garnering widespread acceptance from the corporate world, but in my recent consulting engagements I've observed management considering these options. Google's Analytics service is another example of an extremely successful online service which is already proving profitable since its launch.
As far as the OS market is concerned, Google has a very tricky road ahead of itself, but in my opinion, if any organization can challenge MSFT's position, it's gotta be Google. I won't speculate on whether they're going to be successful or not, but Google's very nicely positioned at this juncture in time. As others have noted, the OS is based on the web computing paradigm, and we've already seen how successful the SAAS model has been over the last few years. I can only see this pattern to continue... hell... even MSFT has started to offer what it is calling Software and Services (not software as a service) because in Gates' own words, this is where the future is. So if other application vendors also follow suit and start offering their software online, then this lightweight OS can prove to be a key market contender.