Microsoft to fight Chrome OS with browser?

updated 04:50 pm EDT, Wed July 8, 2009

 

MS Teaser and Gazelle


Microsoft is planning a "big" announcement on Monday that may have forced Google's hand in launching Chrome OS, tech pundit and Rackspace blogger Robert Scoble claimed today. While a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from providing further details, he implies that the news will have something to do with web apps, which will be the way software can run in Google's upcoming platform.

The Windows producer is unlikely to produce its own web-based OS as the company's core businesses still center around native apps, including Office and supporting third-party code in Windows. A recent preview by CNET, though, may provide clues. Microsoft has been developing an experimental web browser nicknamed Gazelle that is designed to secure web apps. Expanding on a sandboxing approach similar to what Google uses in its Chrome web browser, Gazelle isolates the web apps themselves rather than whole pages, in some cases restricting apps on the same page. The approach permits advanced web code to run without allowing malicious pages to infect the browser or the operating system. Apple's Safari only just recently implemented a very limited version of this concept that prevents plug-ins from crashing the entire program.

Gazelle is in a rough state and still uses the basic Internet Explorer engine; it's also not anticipated to directly translate into a future version of the company's browser. Company researcher Helen Wang all the same says the prototype is an example of the "right way to go" for all browsers and hints that the technique could eventually arrive in an official release.


By Electronista Staff

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Previous Comments

  1. jarod

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2005

    +3

    LOLLLL

    Another MicroSHIT blunder coming to you live on Monday.


  1. c4rlob

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2009

    -1

    Oh shnap!

    LET LOOSE the hounds of war!!!
    The battle is on now.


  1. eldarkus

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2004

    +2

    lemme guess...

    Another rushed product to compete with another company? how original...


  1. IxOsX

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2009

    -3

    Saying

    I have a saying... if is Microsoft leave it to the others. :-)


  1. tvalleau

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2005

    +4

    web apps..

    Great: with a massive DOS web attack over the last 2 days, people are heading TOWARD web apps, instead of AWAY?

    Lemmings... (and just about as bright, too...)


  1. byRyan

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jun 2007

    +1

    love it

    " it's also not anticipated to directly translate into a future version of the company's browser. "

    I love it how Microsoft is going to develop a demo on what they COULD do, but not make any plans to put this technology in their existing products.

    classic!


  1. chas_m

    Moderator

    Joined: Aug 2001

    +2

    Web apps, web OSes ...

    ... sorry, but I don't quite get it.

    A web-OS or a web app are only useful if you always have internet access. As in always.

    While I certainly do have internet access most of the time, that's not a guarantee. Having a local copy (and a locally-based OS) is a much better idea.

    But maybe I'm wrong, and "subscription apps" will work out as well as "subscription music" has done ...


  1. LouZer

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2000

    0

    Re: lemme guess

    Except according to the article, it was google rushing out their announcement ahead of ms.


  1. devospice

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2000

    -1

    so...

    "Gazelle is in a rough state and still uses the basic Internet Explorer engine"

    So then according to their standards it's ready to ship.


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