If there was ever any doubt, now it’s official: Google is at war with Microsoft.

Google’s announcement late yesterday about the launch of the Google Chrome Operating System puts Microsoft square in its sights. The announcement is chock full of little jabs clearly aimed at Microsoft:

“the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web”

“Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code”

“The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web.”

“we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

“we believe choice will drive innovation for the benefit of everyone, including Google”

“We hear a lot from our users and their message is clear — computers need to get better. “

The best news is that the description of the upcoming operating system reads like a response to the “top 10 pet peeves” that people have with today’s bloated systems. Here’s a few of them:

• Fast: boots in seconds
• Web based user experience
• Large footprint – works on browsers on Win/Mac/Linux
• Universally accessible data
• Open source – code will be opened “later this year”
• Range of devices – from netbooks to desktop systems
• ARM and x86 support

Can’t wait to see the Microsft response to this. No doubt they’ve imagined this day might eventually arrive – but they’ll need more than bing to counter the Google threat. If anything, the conclusion here is that the OS itself is no longer the seat of competitive advantage. It’s not even clear how much leverage the desktop computing environment is going to have long term anyway if game console and mobile phone manufacturers have their way. This is less about Google getting into the “OS business” and more about the shift of computing into the cloud – the only platform that matters. Apple, Google, Microsoft and a huge number of wild cards are all jockeying for position there, and each bring very different competitive assets to the table. It promises to be an interesting horse race.

Inspired elsewhere, I think this image captures the emerging competitive dynamic nicely: