In an interesting piece of soothsaying, Jason Calacanis, the “formerly” man par excellence, predicts that Google will release not only a cheap PC in 2007, but also an operating system.

“He [Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO] also told me they would never do a OS or a PC. Well, Dell is bundling Google apps with their PCs now, and I predict that in 2007 Google will release an Operating System and a super discount PC. Think, a $300-400 PC all-in-on unit that is sold at cost in order to make money off of their services.”

In a further chilling message for Microsoft, he says, “The next upgrade cycle for Office is dead in the water thanks to the Google Office suite.”

Scary.

And here’s Google’s contribution to the festive mood in another take on its famous logo.

No mention of Christmas, though. Just festive holidays and season’s greetings etc.

It’s a pity the West can’t be itself nowadays.

The dotcom crash of 2001 is a spectre that haunts anyone who makes their living on the internet. Those who work around what’s often called Web 2.0 are particularly sensitive about it because if another online slump materializes, that’s where it will strike.

But what will be the harbinger of a Web 2.0 crash? According to Dave Winer, that grand oldish man of blogs, RSS and OPML outliners, it will be signalled by the busting of Google.

… today we got the first rumblings of the shock that will signal the end of the bubble. Google stock will crash. That’s how we’ll know.

When I realized this, I should have known, because I’ve been saying for almost a year that Web 2.0 is nothing more than an aftermarket for Google. Startups slicing little bits of Google’s P/E ratio, acting as sales reps for Google ads, and getting great multiples for the revenue they generate by fostering the creation of new UGC to place ads on. When Google crashes, that’s the end of that, no more wave to ride, no more aftermarket, Bubble Burst 2.0. And the flip of this is also true — as long as Google’s stock stays up, no bubble burst.

Currently Google stock is riding high around $500 and forecast to go to $600 within a year. But stranger things have happened.

Now we hear this : “Google shares, which topped a milestone price of $500 a share last week, are overvalued and poised to fall, says Barron’s financial newspaper.

New.com reports : “Barron’s said Google is overvalued because it trades at 37 times next year’s expected earnings and because its growth rate is slowing.”

Is the bell already tolling for Google and Web 2.0?

Google shares have topped the $500 mark despite analysts scepticism, reports The New York Times.

“I thought the stock was a little expensive,” said Mark Mahaney, an analyst for American Technology Research and now for Citigroup said. “It turns out that was a terrible call.”

With forecasts of a $600 share price within a year, the Google fairy tale continues.

So by the beginning of last year, Mr. Mahaney jumped on the Google bandwagon. And so have most of Wall Street’s analysts, along with the portfolio managers who look after big pension and mutual funds.

Today, Google’s shares gained $14.60, or 3 percent to close at $509.65, passing the $500 mark for the first time. (Mr. Mahaney, whose sell recommendation came at $137, is now among those predicting that it will rise to $600 within a year.)

It has also been reported that Google is now worth half of Microsoft’s share cap, an astonishing rate of growth for an eight-year-old company.