We know it’s coming as part of their grand plan. So, let us all welcome the Google Chrome Operating System.

Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management and Linus Upson, Engineering Director formally announced the highly anticipated OS via the Official Google Blog. Pichai explained the nature of this new project:

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, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Google Chrome OS will run on both x86 as well as ARM chips and we are working with multiple OEMs to bring a number of netbooks to market next year. The software architecture is simple — Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel. For application developers, the web is the platform. All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

IAC’s Match.com has signed an agreement to acquire People Media, operator of targeted dating sites, from American Capital Ltd for $80 million in cash.

The acquisition of People Media will expand and strengthen Match.com’s position in the online dating space. People Media operates 27 websites including BlackPeopleMeet.com, SingleParentMeet.com, SeniorPeopleMeet.com, BBPeopleMeet.com and LDSPlanet.com.

Greg Blatt, CEO of Match.com, said:

People Media’s momentum will continue, and that the combination of Match.com and People Media can accelerate each business’ current growth trends in a variety of ways, including through the sharing of product development and online marketing expertise and the ability to market a broader array of services to the combined customer base, thereby improving customer acquisition economics for both companies.

ReferQuest.com and its Facebook version has launched, allowing its to state what they’re looking for, along with the reward they’ll pay the person who finds it for them.

Money can be earned also by promoting requests, finding matches, and earning the offered rewards. ReferQuest.com currently offers over $40 thousand in rewards. Small businesses can use the free application to offer finders’ fees to reward customer acquisition. Posting requests is free, and users only pay when they’ve found what they’re seeking.

It’s straightforward: Offer rewards for the results you want. We will see though how this new site progresses.

Bing has increased Microsoft’s share of the search market by 1% in the US according to analysis for June conducted by StatCounter. Google, obviously, still dominates the US search market.

Microsoft (Bing, Live Search and MSN Search in total) had 8.23% market share in June, behind Yahoo! at 11.04% according to monthly analysis by StatCounter Global Stats. Google has fallen back slightly from 79.07% in April to 78.48% in June but maintains its strong foothold on the lead. Nothing to worry for Serge and Larry.

Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter, said:

“At first sight, a 1% increase in market share does not appear to be a huge return on the investment Microsoft has made in Bing but the underlying trend appears positive. Steady if not spectacular might be the best way to describe performance to date.”

Data is based on an analysis of 1.316 billion search engine referring clicks (336 million from the US) which were collected from the StatCounter network of over three million websites.

As I posted last April 1, my time to move has come after Splashpress Media decided not to renew my services. Others thought of that post as an April Fools joke but it’s true. My term ends at the strike of midnight today.

I asked you to continue supporting 901am.com and other Splashpress Media sites. I remain grateful to them for the opportunity. In the same way, I would like to invite you to visit me from time to time as I go back to my roots.

MySpace together with NBC News and msnbc.com announced an exclusive partnership to launch Decision ‘08, a comprehensive online center for in-depth 2008 election-related news, analysis and discussion.

Decision ‘08 presents up-to-the-minute election coverage, news feeds and daily videos from NBC News and msnbc.com, user-generated content from the MySpace community, and will link to profiles of NBC News and MSNBC anchors and reporters, including Brian Williams, Tim Russert, and Chris Matthews. In addition to offering its content via MySpace, msnbc.com will also link to and integrate Decision ‘08 into its own Politics home page.

SpiralFrog announced a licensing agreement with RoyaltyShare, provider of technology solutions to the entertainment industry. As a result of the agreement, RoyaltyShare’s leading independent record label customers will now be able to leverage its Content Management Service to deliver content directly to SpiralFrog, making thousands of additional songs available for download on the SpiralFrog site.

RoyaltyShare’s recently announced Content Management Service provides record labels and distributors with a cost-effective way to manage the complexities of the digital sales process, including the delivery of content to leading services such as SpiralFrog.

Fox Interactive Media (FIM) announced the appointment of Adam Bain to the new post of President, Fox Interactive Media Audience Network. The new unit’s charter will be to optimize monetization across FIM’s content network and for third-party publishers leveraging both the company’s industry-leading HyperTargeting technology and ad-serving platform.

Bain previously served as the company’s EVP of Technology and Production, a role in which he oversaw FIM’s 2007 acquisition of Strategic Data Corporation (SDC), which became the basis of FIM’s monetization platform, and spearheaded the creation of the company’s industry-leading HyperTargeting by MySpace. Bain will continue to report directly to Peter Levinsohn, President of Fox Interactive Media, and will be based out of FIM’s Santa Monica offices.

The new unit will combine FIM’s advertising technology, ad operations and performance sales efforts into one unit. The team will be responsible for the sales of performance-based ads for both FIM and third-party sites.

Millennial Media, the leading cross-platform mobile advertising company, announced an agreement with Verizon Wireless that will add a significant portion of the company’s mobile advertising inventory to Millennial Media’s rapidly growing networks.

These mobile advertising networks include MBrand for targeted audiences across premium content, and Decktrade for performance-driven campaigns. Through the terms of this agreement, Millennial Media will be able to deliver its advertiser campaigns to millions of Verizon Wireless Mobile Web users. This added reach provides Millennial Media’s advertiser partners express access to a highly valuable, highly targeted audience. Verizon Wireless consumers will benefit from the deal as well, as they will be exposed to a wider variety of advertisers and offers, without disruption to their mobile web experience.

JetBlue Airways Corporation announced that customers booking at www.JetBlue.com now have the option to purchase flights using PayPal.

With more than 57 million active accounts, PayPal provides a safer, easier way to pay for items and services online. With PayPal, JetBlue customers can now pay for travel through debit cards, bank accounts, stored balance, or credit cards without sharing their financial information.