"1.It's a step toward developing a browser that could eventually be incorporated into a Google operating system"
I'd say that browsers have become operating systems in their own merit, at least the part of the OS that's relevant: the client-side GUI. The rest is hardware and config tools. Offering a complete browser as BSD is like offering a multiplatform GUI toolkit for all programmers out there. If I'm not mistaken, it's being realeased for Windows only, but the rest of platforms are expected soon.
Mozilla's Gecko has some rough edges, like C++-centric interface. If Chrome solves that, it could became a platform in itself very quickly.
I'd say that browsers have become operating systems in their own merit, at least the part of the OS that's relevant: the client-side GUI. The rest is hardware and config tools. Offering a complete browser as BSD is like offering a multiplatform GUI toolkit for all programmers out there. If I'm not mistaken, it's being realeased for Windows only, but the rest of platforms are expected soon.
Mozilla's Gecko has some rough edges, like C++-centric interface. If Chrome solves that, it could became a platform in itself very quickly.