Google CEO Eric Schmidt to Discuss Role on Apple’s Board in Wake of Chrome OS Announcement

Friday July 10, 2009 09:15 AM EST
Written by Eric Slivka

Reuters reports that Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who has served on Apple’s Board of Directors since 2006, will discuss with Apple how his role on the board may change in the wake of increasing overlap between the two companies’ markets. The report comes just one day after Google announced that it will be entering the operating system market with Chrome OS, initially targeted at netbook computers.

Because Google’s new Chrome OS would compete with Apple’s own computer software, Schmidt said on Thursday he would talk to the Mac computer maker about whether he should recuse himself from Apple’s board.

“I’ll talk to the Apple people. At the moment, there’s no issue,” Schmidt told reporters at a Sun Valley media and technology conference organized by boutique investment bank Allen & Co.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission last month reportedly began taking an interest in the two companies’ ties for potential antitrust reasons, as both Schmidt and Arthur Levinson, former CEO of biotech firm Genentech, are directors of both Apple and Google.

With Google’s release of its Android operating system for mobile phones, Schmidt has recused himself from discussions regarding the iPhone at Apple board meetings, and it now appears that the operating system overlap between the two companies may necessitate further restrictions on Schmidt’s participation with Apple, if not an outright resignation if potential solutions are deemed unworkable.

Is Chrome OS The Future Of Computing? I Hope Not.

Chrome will not be a threat to Windows dominance. What is it is (or will be) is a free alternative to PC makers seeking to offer low-cost Web devices in a netbook form factor. Nothing more, nothing less.

Chrome will be a disruptive force to the extent it would diminish (even slightly) the prevalence of Windows in the high-volume, low-cost cheap portable PC market. It puts another chink in the hegemonist’s armor and offers Google another means to expand the use of its own Web-based apps.

... Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst covering web applications and services for Forrester Research, says the trend is towards internet-centric rather than browser-centric applications ... Link to original article.  SJ had made this forecast 10 years ago.  In 2001, iTunes become a pioneer of this type of application.

Mace - 12 July 2009 10:51 PM

... Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst covering web applications and services for Forrester Research, says the trend is towards internet-centric rather than browser-centric applications ... Link to original article.  SJ had made this forecast 10 years ago.  In 2001, iTunes become a pioneer of this type of application.

A browser is an application that reads files from the Internet that are written for the Web or graphics-based component of the Internet. In addition to being a content management solution, iTunes is also a specific-use Internet browser for Apple’s music, movies and app stores.

Browsers need to be more powerful, more stable and more secure. For this reason, the new Google’s Chrome OS is release. The big news on the software front these days is about the Google operating system that is beginning to debut. It’s good to know that you can get the Google operating system without needing payday loans and the unending amount of registration that comes with Microsoft products. The Google operating system is being released as a competitor to Windows 7, and the Google OS, or Chrome OS, bears the same name as the internet browser they released last year, and best of all will be free.  It is set to begin debuting on netbooks, and its primary focus is online applications.  Press for it has said that they geared it to plug the gaps in internet security of most OS packages.

Gina T - 13 July 2009 03:09 AM

Browsers need to be more powerful, more stable and more secure. For this reason, the new Google’s Chrome OS is release. The big news on the software front these days is about the Google operating system that is beginning to debut. It’s good to know that you can get the Google operating system without needing payday loans and the unending amount of registration that comes with Microsoft products. The Google operating system is being released as a competitor to Windows 7, and the Google OS, or Chrome OS, bears the same name as the internet browser they released last year, and best of all will be free.  It is set to begin debuting on netbooks, and its primary focus is online applications.  Press for it has said that they geared it to plug the gaps in internet security of most OS packages.

SPAM DELETE PLEASE

Microsoft CEO laughs off Google OS challenge

“Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) chief executive attempted to laugh off the challenge of Google Inc’s (GOOG.O) planned computer operating system on Tuesday, conceding only that it was “interesting”.

“I will be respectful,” Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said to laughs from the audience at a conference for the company’s technology partners in New Orleans, which was broadcast over the Internet.

“Who knows what this thing is? To me, the Chrome OS thing is highly interesting,” said Ballmer, choosing his words carefully and drawing more amusement from the largely pro-Microsoft crowd.

Ballmer’s previous attempts to make light of new competition have not always been successful. He also derided Apple Inc’s (AAPL.O) iPhone as too expensive, but it went on to take a significant share of the smartphone market.”

balmer is at it again . . . laughing off the competition.
but who will have the last laugh?

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE56D5MU20090714