Google phasing out use of Windows on corporate computers

A report today suggests technology giant Google is phasing out the use of Microsoft's popular operating system, Windows, on corporate computers because of concerns with security.

According to the Financial Times, Google is no longer offering new employees the option to use Windows-based computers, instead pushing the use of Apple's Mac OS X operating system or the open-source Linux. While the Financial Times suggests the hacking in China back in January led a push for a quicker switch-over, it's likely that Google also want to move away from using Microsoft's operating system - given they're working on their own, Chrome OS, and are competitors against the company. "We’re not doing any more Windows. It is a security effort,” one Google employee anonymously told the Financial Times. Google was unavailable for comment on the matter, but it seems that employees are able to use Windows only on their personal laptops - and not on their Google-supplied desktop computers. For those wanting to use Windows on their corporate desktops, permission apparently needs to be granted from Google's chief information officer, Ben Fried. It's unclear how this will affect company development for the Windows platform, but with many Google products desktop-based, it shouldn't have disastrous results.