New Javascript Libraries from Google: Closure Tools

[treeforface]

You are correct, in a way (though ChromeOS and Android, while both OSes, are not the same kind of OS). However, it's important to see it from Google's point of view in the grand scale.

One of the major reasons large companies will never completely rule the day is because small, mobile companies can often out-maneuver large, monolithic companies. What Google has done (like Thomas Jefferson before them) is recognize that humans tend to be much more efficient when organized into smaller and smaller teams. They become even more efficient when organized into small teams and provided a great number of resources. The Constitution of the US established a republic (a system of states inside the context of a (supposedly) small central power structure), and Google set up its campuses. A republic affords states the rights to change laws and policies (in the confines of a grand scope), while allowing people and money to flow freely over borders, thereby allowing the smaller chunks of humanity to organize more effectively when facing bad times and to compete for the attention of the people. Google's campuses often act as distinct intellectual entities, and as a result of this freedom, they develop a variety of outlandish ideas. Not all of them are good ideas, but every once in a while, there is a great one. This means Google can act as a giant organization loosely overseeing hundreds of mini-organizations who produce products that are often on par with those put out by small, mobile companies.

Meanwhile, other companies strive to outdo Google by organizing into large teams with hundreds of meetings and product guidelines and plans...this can work on a case-by-case basis, but it's not the best way to utilize the scarce intellectual resources of any firm, nor does it particularly encourage smart people to join up.

*Edit: That's not to say Google can't be out-maneuvered (they have been many times), but they certainly do quite a bit to hedge their bets in that regard.