Google launches Chrome Web Store
Google launches an app store for Chrome, Barnes & Noble will help you publish your memoir, and Togetherville aims to be Facebook for the kiddies.
Google announced the Chrome Web Store at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. It is a place to find and install programs that run in the Chrome browser, and most likely in the Chrome operating system in the near future. So it's Web-based software. Or SaaS.
Now why do we care about this when we can easily just go to a Web site and accomplish the same thing? I'm not really sure. Do I need a Mint application that only runs in Chrome when I can just go to Mint.com? Aren't Web sites already built like Web apps these days?
Google's Web Store page says the advantage of a browser app is that it adds "a convenient shortcut" for "quickly accessing the app. Installed web apps can also request advanced HTML5 permissions."
That doesn't really answer my question but I'm also not a developer. So is this mostly for gaming? Or just a stepping stone for the full-blown version of the Chrome operating system, which we have yet to see? Maybe developers can see value here that I cannot. Feel free to post your postulations in the comments section.
Other links from Wednesday afternoon's show:
EU slaps chipmakers with a hefty fine for price fixing
Barnes and Noble announces Pubit! for self publishing books
Shutterfly lets you make photo books from Facebook albums
Togetherville aims to be the Facebook for kiddos