Microsoft introduces Gazelle: the Web Browser as O/S

Microsoft has released a paper introducing Gazelle (Abstract here; Complete PDF Paper here):

Web browsers have evolved to be a multi-principal operating environment where a principal is a web site. Similarly to a multi-principal OS, recent proposals and browsers like IE 8 and Firefox 3 advocate and support abstractions for cross-principal communication (e.g., PostMessage) and protection (for frames) to web programmers. Nevertheless, no existing browsers, including new architectures like IE 8, Google Chrome, and OP, have a multi-principal OS construction that gives a browser-based OS, typically called Browser Kernel, the exclusive control to manage the protection and fair-sharing of all system resources among browser principals.

In this paper, we present a multi-principal OS construction of a secure web browser, called Gazelle. Gazelle’s Browser Kernel exclusively provides cross-principal protection and fair sharing of all system resources.

This document limits its discussion exclusively to its unique resource protection architecture.

[HT: Slashdot]

Google to release its own Browser

In a move that will spark a new round of browser wars, Google will challenge Firefox and Internet Explorer by releasing its own internet browser:

Called Chrome, it will launch as a beta for Windows machines in 100 countries, with Mac and Linux versions to come.

“We realised… we needed to completely rethink the browser,” said Google’s Sundar Pichai in a blog post.

The new browser will help Google take advantage of developments it is pushing online in rich web applications that are challenging traditional desktop programs.

That last bit is important. Google describes its browser as a platform for web-based applications, such as its own “Google Docs.” It’s likely that Google will try to influence browser development in such a way that accelerates the adoption of the Software as a Service (SAAS) model. Of course, we’ve already pointed out that issues still exist with that model.

Update: Here is the link to a post on Google’s Official blog; so you can read for yourselves their goals for Chrome.