From Innovations, a website published by Ziff-Davis Enterprise from mid-2006 to mid-2009. Reprinted by permission.

Sometimes, innovation is in knowing what to take out as much as what to put in.

Case in point is Chrome, the new browser from Google. You would think the last thing the world needs is another browser, and you would be right if all that browser did was pile on more features.  Google again bucks the conventional wisdom with Chrome, however. It’s fast, simple and designed for the way people use the Web today rather than how they used it in a few years ago.

Google released the Chrome beta yesterday to immediate speculation that it’s the foundation for an Internet operating system.  The company vigorously denies these claims, but based on my own admittedly limited tests, I’d say Google’s protests ring hollow.  Chrome is clearly aimed at Microsoft’s jugular, and if it succeeds in gaining widespread adoption, it will hasten adoption of the whole software-as-a-service style of computing.

There is nothing particularly innovative about the Chrome interface, other than its stark simplicity and the clever way in which it integrates search and browsing history.  Simplicity comes from Chrome’s adherence to the Firefox interface and its minimalist features.  For example, the browser has no menu bar.

What blew me away about this early version of Chrome, though, is its speed. For starters, Chrome doesn’t burden users with the constant procession of warnings and dialog boxes that have made Internet Explorer almost unusable. That may change if Chrome becomes an object for hacker attacks, but for now, Google’s relative freedom from security threats and government scrutiny is a plus.

More importantly, Google has done some innovative work under the covers to enhance Chrome’s performance running AJAX applications. AJAX is the foundation of Web apps, but its surging popularity has caused some problems for users. That’s because programs written in JavaScript (the “J” in AJAX) seize control of the browser while they’re working. A single bad script can slow an entire computer to a crawl. Memory management limitations in Firefox have also hampered performance.

Chrome has several features to optimize JavaScript programs. In brief, Chrome allows each JavaScript program to inhabit a unique virtual machine and a unique thread.  This lessens the likelihood that one program can monopolize an entire session.  It also means that a crash in one browser window doesn’t take down the whole application.

There are also some innovations in memory management and garbage collection that speed performance.  You can satisfy your inner techie by reading an extensive sequence of technical explainers presented in cartoon format at www.google.com/googlebooks/Chrome/.

Google has a self-interest in optimizing AJAX, of course: that’s the way it delivers its Documents line of office applications. Chrome is clearly optimized to work well with Google Documents.  In my tests, a Google Document loaded faster than one launched with Microsoft Word or Excel.  While Google Documents still don’t approach Microsoft’s functionality, its open architecture has been a magnet for independent developers, who will quickly add features the core applications lack. Google also recently made it possible for word processing documents to run offline using its Gears plug-in. Taken together, Google Documents on Chrome are a much more compelling alternative to Microsoft Office than they have been in the past.

Google now enjoys the pole position on the Internet and has an impressive suite of applications with the capacity to run them offline. Chrome still requires Windows to run, but we can expect that barrier to fall soon. Microsoft is about to fight back with Internet Explorer 8, but previews suggest the browser won’t break a lot of new ground. I suspect throats are tightening a little in Redmond, Wash.