Google is developing a new operating system, called Google Chrome. Chrome will compete with other operating systems like Windows, Mac's Leopard and desktop Linux. For purposes of this blog, the question is: how does it compare with Windows, and should you consider moving to it?

In a word, No.

This isn't to bash Google; it makes very good products. But for now, the use cases for Chrome are very narrow. It will find a niche, but is not -- nor is it intended be -- a replacement for a desktop operating system.

Chrome is an operating system primarily for netbooks -- those small, inexpensive computers designed mostly for things like Internet surfing, emailing, social networking like Facebook and Twitter, and so on. Google itself positions Chrome as a web operating system.

That means it will work well, as long as you're online. Applications, like Google Docs (a Microsoft Word-like word processing program), will be available. If you're not connected, Chrome will be of little value.

Chrome will have some nice features. For instance, it will boot up in seconds, and your work will be backed up separate from your computer -- so if your computer dies, you will still have access to your data through another computer or smartphone like the iPhone. And given the high quality of most Google products, I expect it to be well-executed and stable when it's officially released, sometime in the second half of 2010.

But a replacement for Windows or Mac? Not yet. Google could add more features in the future -- if it does that, however, it risks losing many of the advantages it touts now, like working on low-end hardware, faster operation and quick startup and shut down.

If Google holds to the vision of a web-based operating system, it has a chance to become a solid product with a well-defined market. If it tries to take on Microsoft and Apple in this space, it's in for an uphill climb.

I've posted an article about some of the top Microsoft turkeys through the years. There are some real stinkers in the list, but the list could have been longer, for sure.

Remember DOS 4.0? That's something old-timer, hard-core geeks will recall less than fondly. Internet Explorer 6 was, and is, a giant security hole. What other Microsoft products do you love to hate? Look over the article, then include your own fond memories.

So, this guy "can't give away" his copy of Windows 7. What does it prove? Absolutely nothing.

For those who don't want to follow the link, here's the summary: an editor at a technology magazine had an extra copy of Windows 7, and had difficulty selling it in various venues. His conclusion? Windows 7 must not be a hot commodity after all.

That article is a sterling example of shoddy thinking. He takes one example -- his own experience -- and extrapolates industry trends from it. That's like me saying that my iPhone crashed when I loaded a new application on it, so all iPhones stink, and the apps written for it are garbage.

Uh, no.

I love how all the data show that Windows 7 uptake is roaring along (and it's not all from Microsoft's internal sales figures, either), but because this guy couldn't sell his copy for more than $50 (and he did sell it, by the way, so he did more than "give it away") is solid evidence that all the data is somehow wrong.

Now, this doesn't mean that Windows 7 sales will slow, or that Microsoft is hyping the numbers somehow. Both of those could be true. But to assume that your single experience somehow discounts all available evidence to the contrary is hubris in the extreme.

Remember: You can't believe everything you read on the Internet.

It's not just consumers that are buying Windows 7 like hotcakes; businesses are snapping them up, too.

According to an article in PC World, Dell is among the companies that has seen a boom from Microsoft's newest operating system. Here's a quote from a Dell executive:

"As soon as Oct. 22 hit, both our consumer business and our SMB business had a very healthy increase in demand."

Oct. 22 is when Windows 7 went on sale. "SMB" stands for small- and medium-sized businesses.

This shouldn't really be surprising. The business cycle is generally very slow to adopt new technology, slower than the consumer market as a whole. A large percentage of businesses decided to skip Windows Vista altogether, given the reports of its initial problems like incompatibility with hardware and software.

Many of those businesses are now ready to upgrade to new computers, and the positive reports about Windows 7 will fuel a spending spree, I predict. With the trends in both the consumer and business market segments, Windows 7 has the potential to become Microsoft's most popular product -- ever. Note that I said "potential"; if big problems start cropping up with Windows 7, that momentum could be halted.