Recently it was announced that Google plans to release Google TV and a Google computer operating system in the near future.  Is there any realm of today’s media that Google wont be able to compete in (and possibly end up dominating)?

A Ring of Google Apps

Google TV will be a free service that will allow users to access the internet directly from their television screens.  Sony has already signed on to have it incorporated into their TV sets, and Samsung will probably follow suit.  As far as content is concerned, CEO Eric Schmidt said, “We will work with content providers, but it is very unlikely that we will get into actual content production” (THR).
[Image]I’m a bit skeptical about Google TV catching on.  First of all, will people with old TVs be able to get it on their TVs, or will only new televisions have Google TV installed in them?  If people with old TVs can get Google TV on their sets, it will probably be a pain in the ass navigating the web with a TV remote.  And even if new remotes are made that fix that issue, I still don’t see the whole concept of internet on the TV catching on.  It isn’t a hassle for me to be on my laptop while I watch TV, and I’ve never once thought to myself “Jeez, if only I could do a Google search right here on the TV!”  The one thing I see being a plus would be watching videos online on a screen much bigger than the average laptop screen.  That YouTube video of the dog growling at his own leg would look pretty sick on my 45″ HD TV…

There’s more Google news, and this is what I’m looking forward to.  The THR article mentions that Google is planning on reworking Google Chrome into a new operating system.  The Google Chrome operating system would compete with  Microsoft’s line of operating systems (XP, Vista, 7).  About six months ago I switched my internet browser from Mozilla Firefox to Google Chrome and saw how easily Google crushed the competition.  So I can only imagine the blow a Google operating system could deal to Microsoft.

It has also been reported that Google has been looking into the realm of music as well.  Apparently they are interested in possibly creating a music store that could compete with the mighty iTunes itself.  If Google TV and eventually Google’s music store turn out to be successful, both seriously put a cramp in Apple’s style.  Don’t forget that Apple just revealed Apple TV only a week or so ago.

Of course, Google isn’t exactly immortal.  They have produced a few things that turned out to be duds, like Google Wave or Google Buzz, which failed to catch on.  Granted, those were only really experimental programs coming out of Google Lab – nothing on the same scale as Google TV would be.

And honestly, even if Google TV fails and Google’s music store never catches on, I still applaud their efforts.  I’m not against Google dominating the competition because I like Google.  I like Google because they always have a ton of new projects in the works and they always seem to be working on ways to make their products better.  As a result, they have great stuff – I still Google things all the time (Bing? Please, Microsoft) and Google Chrome is the best internet browser I’ve had to date.

If somebody is going to rule the world, it might as well be Google.  And I’ll go willingly.