Inside Google's browser project:

It is an explicit attempt to accelerate the movement of computing off the desktop and into the cloud...

In the coming era of cloud computing, the Web will be much more than just a means of delivering content -- it will be a platform in its own right. The problem with revamping existing browsers to accommodate this concept is that they have developed an ecology of add-on extensions (toolbars, RSS readers, etc.) that would be hopelessly disrupted by a radical upgrade.

Previously.