After mulling this over some and discussing with various others I've come to the conclusion that there has been some sort of secret deal worked between Google and Microsoft, and likely including Google's kept child Mozilla.
Clearly Google as decided for some reason to abandon enabling the browser to compete with desktop-like apps. Their first move in this direction was the depreciation of Gears. They provided a smokescreen for this by saying they attained their goal of getting a commitment from Microsoft to support HTML5 which would provide the same capabilities as Gears, and that they would support Gears until HTML5 was ready. And at that time it may not have been a smokescreen, it actually does make sense to push for standards instead of a plugin. But then what happens? Somehow the main standard committee kills the very popular Web Database standard that was replacing Gears storage capabilities in HTML5, even though if I understand it correctly a Google employee is the Chair of the committee? At the same time Mozilla announces they are dumping Web Database and going with IndexedDb, which by any objective analysis is a HUGE step backward for developers of database-centric Browser-based apps. See this<http://hacks.mozilla.org/2010/06/beyond-html5-database-apis-and-the-road-to-indexeddb/comment-page-1/#comment-120231>discussion to get a sense of just some of the overwhelmingly negative response to Mozilla's laughable attempts to justify the decision. And guess what happens next? Google decides to discontinue Gears even in their own browser, Chrome, and not support Web Database to boot! While all this is going on and developers are screaming bloody murder about the lack of any technical merits for these decisions, posts on various forums where these discussions are taking place have been deleted when they suggest any sort of connection to Microsoft in regards to No SQL in the browser. We know for a fact that Microsoft has always feared the browser and done much to cripple it in the past. They used their monopoly to kill Netscape, inflicted the plague of IE6 on the world of web developers and then basically abandoned it for years, allowing Mozilla to benefit. They have consistently thumbed their noses at standards that didn't originate with them, and are ruthless in eliminating or burying superior technology, which sadly always seems to include just about anything innovative in regards to the web. Google Apps combined with an offline-capable browser would have to be a huge threat to the only thing they have ever done well, Office. And now, after laying the groundwork to successfully attack them on that front, and actually having a working implementation, Google walks away completely from offline apps and SQL, and then Mozilla jumps on the Microsoft No-SQL-in-the-browser bandwagon. So, what do you think? What is going on here? Does anyone else smell a rat? Some wild guesses: Google quits on Apps, MS quits on Search? Some sort of patent deal to help Google with Android VS Oracle? Lead poisoning?
