What will Chrome mean for us?

Obviously the media is full of news about Google’s Chrome browser today. But do you think it will have an impact in the UK/European market? Will users take up the Chrome browser to the point where it will impact the mainstream? Or will it remain a browser for early adopters? With Firefox still relegated to the minority (though significant minority), does Chrome have a real chance? What does Chrome mean for UK and European businesses? If Chrome is a Windows Killer, will we be happy with that – or will it make the life of a startup more complex, with another browser to cater for in the marketplace?

Chrome will clearly be more than just a browser – it will bring together Google’s services on and offline. That means Google will know not just the contents of your Gmail and search terms, but also the URLs you visit, via this browser. Is that too much power for one company? Or will we prefer the ‘joined-up’ experience? Will the European Union have something to say about this, as it did about Microsoft’s Windows hegemony? Is Chrome the death-knell of the whole operating system world, apart from free Linux?

Leave your thoughts in the comments.