Microsoft mystery announcement next week prompted Chrome announcement

July 9, 2009 | Paul Boutin | Comments | |

scobleOmnipresent Net personality Robert Scoble made his name working for Microsoft as a blogger. So it’s credible when Scoble claims that “Microsoft has a big announcement coming on Monday (I’m embargoed).” Google’s Chrome OS announcement did seem a bit odd, in a why-are-they-announcing-this-now sort of way. Let’s see if Microsoft can keep its secret until Monday.

Business Week has an inkling of this as well. In the June 24 cover story on Steve Ballmer and Office 2010 by Peter Burrows, the magazine noted that Microsoft would offer details about its plans related to Office 2010, which will have many web-based functions similar to Google Docs, on July 13. Office 2010 will also have a free, ad-supported version that competes head-on with Google Docs. Microsoft is also said to be working on Gazelle, a Chrome-like web browser. That combination of things means that Microsoft may also be able to do its own stripped-down operating system, if there is demand for it on netbooks. By the time the Chrome OS is ready in the second half of 2010, Microsoft may be there with its own competing software.

Microsoft has a conference in New Orleans next week where the announcement will take place.

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About the Author, Paul Boutin

Paul (paul@venturebeat.com) covers Apple & the iPhone, social networks & social media, digital music & video, and any crazy Internet story. Paul wrote and edited for Valleywag from 2006-2008, after several years with Wired magazine and Slate. He writes regularly for The New York Times' technology section and sometimes for Wired and The Wall Street Journal. He studied computer science at MIT in the early 1980s, and worked as a software developer and network administrator for 15 years before becoming a professional writer. Follow him on Twitter at @paulboutin, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Deralaand
    IEOS?
  • I hope microsoft embraces the free-software-paid-for-by-ads market because that is the only reason Google gets all the free passes it does from the public...they're not financially invested in its products. Honestly, Microsoft should spinoff some company to do half its crap because so many techies will hate anything with Microsoft's name on it regardless of how good it is.