Google recently made news with its entry into the Web browser "war" -- a direct challenge to Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox.
Google's browser is called "Chrome" (no, I don't know why). It is still in Beta, but was released to the public early this month.
Needless to say, the "tech community" was a-buzz. Why would Google build a browser? Aren't there enough of those? (Read Google's answer here.)
It was fun to watch.. especially the conspiracy theorists.
But seriously, are you still searching for the perfect Web browser? Or, do you have your favorite 'tweaked' just right.. and it would take some kind of revolutionary quantum leap forward to get you to change? (I am one of the latter.)
I recently exchanged e-mails with a frequent reader of Tech--for Everyone, and the subject of Chrome came up. Since she is an excellent writer (check out her poker-oriented blog http://www.gadzooks64.blogspot.com/) and computer savvy, I asked her for her opinion of, and experiences with, Chrome.
She has kindly agreed to allow me to share with you what she wrote.. a non-techie's review:
"Chrome is definitely nicer than Firefox is some respects. I certainly don't have the Flash issues with it that I sometimes have with Firefox...
The interface is clean, but I prefer that my actual window space be maximized and the menus and toolbars to be as small as possible...
I realize this is still a Beta release so I hold out hope that the issues I had with it will be addressed prior to release. (Issues = nit picky quirks.)
• Every time Chrome opens it opens in the same place and size: WHICH IS NOT THE PLACE AND SIZE I WANT IT TO BE. Even after I maneuver it into the spot I want and the size I want, it continues to open where it darn well pleases. A nuisance for sure but not necessarily a deal breaker.
• Chrome must have and/or allow Add-ons: I LOVE my Delicious Toolbar, Woot Watcher, Abduction!, Adblock Plus, Colorful Tabs, Forecastfox, ScribeFire… you get the picture. I assume Chrome won’t have any need for IE Tab. Honestly, I could live without all of those BUT Delicious. I have to have my Delicious. I assume the Chrome will take Add-ons once it’s released. I can’t see anyway they could not allow developers from creating add-ons.
• For something that is supposed to be so streamlined I find the title area to be pretty large compared to my compact theme for FF. I think they could do a better job minimizing the browser and maximizing the viewable area. Since Chrome has no footer bar, it appears they have pretty comparable viewing areas..
Other than those quirks I found Chrome to be delightful (my emphasis). I would be inclined to give it a serious go as my default browser when it's released.. provided I will have access to my Delicious bookmarks toolbar!
There’s a good chance I will use it before IE when I run into a Webpage that just won’t load right for me in FF. I recently pulled up a page with video feeds from all over the areas being hit by the hurricane. Firefox just didn’t want to load that page correctly while Chrome loaded it just fine.
I will be giving Chrome another tryout once they release the full version, that’s for sure. It definitely needs some work before it will replace Firefox as my default browser.
So there you have it-- an average person's (by that I mean, not a tech blogger's) experience with Google's new browser.
I don't have anything to add (except, I hope they get the Safari bug repaired). I welcome competition in the browser market. I am looking for serious improvements in security (and speed is nice too).
Who will win the "browser war"? You got me.
Today's free download(s): The new generation of Web browsers are here, and if you're still using IE 6, well, please stop. Try a more secure and capable browser-- such as:
* Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 (currently in Beta2).
* Firefox 3 from Mozilla (first update released).
* Google's Chrome (Beta).
* Apple's Safari for Windows.
* Opera 9.5 Avant Maxthon Flock 2.0 etc.
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.
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