Chrome OS announced, who should be scared?

Today Google announced that it is developing an operating system called Chrome, the same name as its excellent browser, which I am using now and prefer to Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari.

This operating system will supposedly be very light weight, free, and open source. So who has the most to lose? Let's work in decending order:

3. Apple - I think that Apple will be the least affected. Some Apple OS will run on all of its devices for the forseeable future. People buy Apple's to stand out, not necessarily because they are the best at doing anything. It is hip to have an Apple now. If this changes, it won't be due to the OS. However, I think the cost factor may come into play, if the Chrome enabled netbook revolution is able to poach Apple's customers, especially poor college students.

2. Microsoft - Microsoft is launching its own web-enhanced OS, Windows 7, later this year. It was moved up due to the awful press Vista has received. I think that Chrome will compete somewhat with Windows 7, since both are designed to be deployable to netbooks and other less powerful clients. Furthermore, Google owns the web in ways Microsoft only dreams, so people may flock to something that they know will seamlessly work with their Google services, such as Gmail. Additionally, Windows 7 will not be free.

1. Ubuntu - I think that Ubuntu will be blown out of the water by Chrome. It is already known that Ubuntu is the consumer version of Linux. It is not as serious as Fedora or others. Many people like Ubuntu because it is something they can run for free on older computers (this is how I use it), or it is something interesting to play around with, since it is Linux. Chrome will bring both a Linux based OS, that is open source and free, plus the backing of a major corporation. The first to go will be Ubuntu's developers, and next you'll find consumers flocking to it as well.