Google has officially joined the browser wars with Chrome. According to the official press release — a comic book – Chrome is designed to handle the rigors of web applications, not just websites. Google is also promising that Chrome will run in multiple processes, which in theory will eliminate things like Javascript hang-ups and browser freezes. The Windows version of Chrome is available now. Mac and Linux users can expect their own versions in a few weeks.

The tech industry and its related blogs are already discussing and analyzing the news, and the opinions are as varied as the web itself. TechCrunch writer Michael Arrington says that Chrome signals the beginning of the end for not only Internet Explorer, but for the entire Windows platform. The key, according to Arrington, lays in Google’s open source nature, combined with its ability to tie all of core Google services together. Because of this, many hardware and software developers will begin to program exclusively for Chrome, essentially cutting Windows and Microsoft out the process completely. The result, he writes, is a Windows-free computing environment that is totally dependent on Google and Chrome.

Arrington’s “Google-centric” vision of the future doesn’t ring true for everyone, however. Some, such as Lance Ulanoff of PC Magazine, argue that hype surrounding Chrome is essentially much ado about nothing. While Google releasing their own browser is big news, he points out that not everything the company does is a success. For proof of this, one should look no further than Google Talk, Google’s instant messaging client. Ulanoff also points out that the average user might not be as willing to abandon their current browsers as many tech pundits think. In the end, he writes, Google will be lucky to be fourth or fifth in the browser race, behind the likes of Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer.

For a more irreverent spin on the Chrome hype, check out the article “Chrome: What Google Said, What Google Meant.” Writer Jack Flack takes Google’s original press release about Chrome line by line, explaining everything that Google was thinking but didn’t actually say. Both funny and intriguing, Flack’s article is a nice little change from the other, more serious, pieces that are floating around out there.

Christopher Penn has an interesting piece up on how Chrome could affect your SEO habits. According to Penn, Chrome was tested against websites that rank highly in Google. If your website happened to rank poorly, it was, for all intents and purposes, ignored. Google has also stated that pages that rank high enough will be immediately suggested by the browser itself. If you wish to remain a major player in the post-Chrome web, making sure that your site is properly optimized is an absolute must. If it isn’t, Penn says, then there is a good chance of your site — and, by extension, your business — being ignored completely.