Yes, Google has taken over my desktop

Internet browsing to many people is simply a functional chore. You get an Internet connection, launch Internet Explorer, and the proverbial"world is at your fingertips".

Along comes Firefox, boasting of a more secured and customized browsing experience. Mozilla developed a browser that sparked an innovation war between itself and Microsoft, getting around 25% of the Internet browser market in the process. Of course there are other players in the field such as Apple an its Safari browser and Opera.

4 browsers, all free, each satisfying its legions of fans. Excellent!

Then Google decided to join in the fun and introduced Chrome. The reviews have been mostly positive, lauding its speed, minimalistic nature, the Omnibar and the Incognito feature - surfing for porn has never been more discreet!

What really got me thinking is the fact that Google has taken over my desktop. The OS has become somewhat irrelevant.

Say, I'm running a small business. I will typically:

- Log into my Gmail

- Check my Google calendar for upcoming appointments

- Use Google Document to write my business proposals and prepare my presentations

- Use the spreadsheet to sort out my finances

- Take a break by logging into Google-owned Youtube and watching online videos

- Keep my friends updated of my life via Google's Blogger

- Research further into my competitor's products and trends using none other than Google's search engine

- Advertise online using Google's adwords and adsense

- And so on and so forth. You get my drift.

All done via Google Chrome! Which is probably programmed to streamline all of Google's applications and services. For some weird reason, my gmail loads incompletely in Firefox, making me hit the F5 everytime I log in. Chrome on the other hand, loads my gmail in an instant. Hmm...

Anyway, give it a shot and see what you think. Most importantly, it's absolutely free!

Download it here