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Going one better, Good OS launched a stripped-down version of gOS earlier this year that runs just a web browser (Firefox) for accessing applications on the web. Thanks to its simplicity, gOS Cloud boots in mere seconds, allowing people to check their e-mail and perform other simple web tasks without having to boot a full operating system. If more horsepower is needed, then the user can quickly switch into the main operating system, which Cloud continues to load in the background.

If Google, with its powerful brand name and marketing clout, makes anything half as good as gOS Cloud, it will spell big trouble for Microsoft and its Windows franchise.