the name is pretty crappy, Chrome means browser to everyone, what's the point of doubling it's meaning? Couldn't they come up with something unique like Google Doorway or Google Vents or Google Tunnel

if we use the Windows example, it'd go like:

Damn my windows just crashed.

The OS or the browser?

I assume that is the point. Users unable to differentiate Browser from OS.

I don't think Chrome has had enough penetration among the average consumer to mean anything yet. How many people use Chrome? It's just a word; apparently they are branding their consumer desktop platform as Chrome.

Chrome is a much better name than Doorway or Vents or Tunnel. It's different than Windows. It's fast and shiny.

In addition to fast and shiny, Chrome is elemental. It's really a great brand name for their attempt to make the dominant web operating system, where web operating system means the underlying software infrastructure from bottom up required to run advanced web services perfectly.

Speaking as the owner of ChromeServer.com I just wish they'd stop naming their stuff after my stuff!

That aside I guess they're building a brand and want to populate it with some related products. I'm dubious about the value of that approach though; Sun's plastering of the "Java" brand onto on OS didn't do them much good. IBM's WebSphere overloading has caused me problems in the past. Microsoft turned ".NET" from a useful label into a meaningless one.

I would be happy if Google, started using a term I thought I had some authority in. I would guess your web traffic will be up a bit for a couple days - perhaps you should have redesigned your site... (no offense)

The name is both relevant and ironic.

They called the browser Chrome because part of the mission was to strip back the browser's chrome (i.e. its UI) and give prominence to the web content. This philosophy is likely to be applied to the OS too.

"The OS or the browser?"

The OS only exists to provide the browser, which in turn only exists to provide the web. As others have pointed out, no-one (non-geek) knows what a browser is, I doubt they'd do much better with questions about operating systems.

If you look at the google video asking what a browser is chrome doesn't really mean browser to anyone... The main thing is that google means something to everyone and that is all that will end up mattering.

edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MwTvtyrUQ (What is a Browser?)