As if the search giant didn’t have enough to do right now, what with fixing the Android SDK and staving off search and mapping rivals, Computerworld’s Stacy Collett has gathered together a number of analysts and set them the challenge of predicting what Google will do next.  The results vary from the predicable (setting up or buying another social network) to the outlandish (buying an Ad Agency), with stops made at the dull (local reviews) and debatable (giving away ad-supported PCs) along the way.

Of particular interest is the final prediction, tucked away in a single paragraph at the end of the article: that Google will broaden its Android platform to the desktop market and in doing so rival not just Windows Mobile but Windows Vista too.

“It would not shock me if there was an announcement next year that Google was going to put into beta an operating system on Linux, an open-source system, or something like it”Rand Fishkin, President & CEO, SEOmoz

This would fit in well with rumors that a Google-designed, Linux-powered set-top box is planned, as well as increase the popularity of the open-source environment among consumers who have, traditionally, found the OS to be difficult to adapt to.