Google's Chrome operating system already lining up hardware partners

Anything Google does that has the semblance of challenging Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) on any front generally pulls a lot of attention, and the announcement of an "operating system" on PCs definitely qualifies. In fact, this qualifies a Google-Microsoft war more than any other announcement I can think of.

But, Microsoft won't be de-throned so easily -- even in a computer industry "lifetime" like five years. The good news is that competition -- even a paradigm-shifting one like Google is proposing here -- is good for consumers.

Google's hope is that PC users starting treating the web browser as the tool they use almost all the time while in front of the PC. That will not be an easy task, no matter how many users of Google Gmail and Google Docs there are. There are millions of consumers and businesses with intricate ties to Microsoft's operating system products, and that cord will be incredible hard to pinch, let alone cut.

However, Google's fast-track to getting onto PC desktops will be to attack the netbook market first, which is where it is headed. Indeed, it would be an interesting consumer shift to go from traditional laptops to netbooks over time in terms of sales. Businesses are another matter. One thing is clear -- Google's new partners are also heavy Microsoft partners. The war is now officially on.