Google is becoming a dominant part of many people's lives (both work and personal). Here's a few links that provide some insight into the company's possible future:
Google's Real Rivals: "Google has an almost insurmountable lead over its search-engine rivals, but will face its stiffest competition from portals like Yahoo and MSN and mega-online retailers such as Amazon.com"
The Google Browser: "It's been obvious for awhile now that Google isn't a search company, nor are they an advertising company, despite what the experts have to say. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I'm convinced they're building an operating system (of sorts) from which they will dispense all sorts of applications and data (as well as allow other people/companies to do the same in this fashion)."
The G-spot: "...Google’s owners, both public and private, can turn to the real battle ahead—control of the next generation operating system of the network. Just as Microsoft has inexorably expanded the Windows platform to absorb compression, multi-media, the Web, and security from within, Google will expand its search platform to encompass more and more content and data types.
One way to handicap Google is to deconstruct the notion that Google’s intellectual property is bound solely to search. In fact, it’s bound to the emerging platform known as software-as-a-service."