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September 1, 2008 at 10:21 pm #29226Jeff HesterKeymaster
[attach=right]1379[/attach]Google is getting their fingers into everything these days, and the latest foray is a new web browser called Chrome. According to the official Google Blog, Chrome will be available for download on the Windows platform beginning sometime Tuesday, September 2.
Chrome is an open source project that borrows bits from Apple’s Webkit and Mozilla Firefox. What makes Chrome special? It remains to be seen, although process-independent tabs, better memory management for large javascript applications (like Gmail) and faster browsing have all been hinted at.
For now, Chrome will only be available on Windows; Linux and Mac versions are “coming soon.”
Will you use Chrome? Should you? I’ll be taking a look and posting my findings later this week.
September 2, 2008 at 12:07 pm #171076PhilipModeratorThis sounds most interesting, Jeff. I, for one, can’t wait to test it!
September 2, 2008 at 5:06 pm #171069FanaticMemberI’m looking forward to it. If it’s faster and cleaner, I’m all for it.
I found the “first” screenshot of it:
As of 10am PDT, http://www.google.com/chrome/ still returns a 404 error, but according to Rafe Needleman at CNET, Google has scheduled a press conference at 11am to announce the release.
September 2, 2008 at 9:22 pm #171074VvWolverinevVParticipantSeems to be downloadable here. Anyone try it yet?
September 2, 2008 at 11:29 pm #171067Jeff HesterKeymaster@VvWolverinevV 232339 wrote:
Seems to be downloadable here. Anyone try it yet?
Yeah, the download page went live around 11:30 PDT. I’m running it on my Windows XP desktop and like what I see so far. I sat in on the press conference (well, virtually… it was streamed over the net) and was really impressed with the new features.
At first, I thought that Chrome might be “just another browser” but it really introduces some great new features. I love the UI and the “application mode” for things like Gmail. And the fact that each tab (and for that matter, each plug-in) runs in it’s own process will theoretically make it much more stable.
Also the “icognito mode” for browsing sites without keeping any history is useful, especially since Chrome makes great use of your history.
Take some time and look at the feature tour on their website, and I think you’ll be impressed, too.
September 3, 2008 at 3:36 am #171066Jeff HesterKeymasterGoogle Chrome (BETA) for Windows
Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.
One box for everything
Type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.Thumbnails of your top sites
Access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.Shortcuts for your apps
Get desktop shortcuts to launch your favorite web applications.It looks great. I am using it right now. Till now its working good for me. Hope like always, google’s product will be among top and useful.
DOWNLOAD ==> Google Chrome for Windows – Terms and Conditions Agreement
September 3, 2008 at 8:32 pm #171075VvWolverinevVParticipantOkay, I’m trying it out. There’s definitely some nice stuff here, but I’ll stick to FF for now. A major downfall of this beta in my eyes is security of saved passwords. I am often in the situation where I have to let other people use my computer, and it makes me extremely uneasy when all of my passwords are just a couple of clicks away from being displayed in plain text.
September 4, 2008 at 1:21 am #171077Doris KenneyParticipantI’m loving it! I did need to install Java 6 RC10 to be able to play Yahoo games. They don’t make it easy to find out that to use Java effectively you must have this beta build of Java installed.
I have a slight touch pad scroll bar issue….I can scroll down but not up – which is slightly annoying since I’m used to my integrated scrolling.
But all in all I’m liking it more by the hour.
September 6, 2008 at 5:07 am #171072MrOatsMember…I’m a little late on getting the news of this but I am interested in trying it out.
I am still unsure if it can beat Firefox, though. Guess we will have to wait and see. 😉
September 6, 2008 at 7:57 pm #171070FanaticMemberIf Chrome can be faster than Firefox, then it can beat Firefox. Speed rules.
Here is a good benchmark for testing javascript performance (one of the key areas where Chrome excels):
The higher the number, the better.
September 6, 2008 at 9:36 pm #171073MrOatsMemberI used Google’s Chrome for the first time yesterday and I was very impressed!
The speed, overall look and simplicity really got me. I might just make it my default browser-but only time will tell. 😉
September 9, 2008 at 2:21 am #171071FanaticMemberOkay everyone, here’s the results of my V8 Benchmark tests of IE8, Chrome and Firefox 3. For this test, bigger is better (that’s what SHE said, anyhoooo).
Internet Explorer 8 Beta – Score 28Firefox 3 – Score 101
Google Chrome – Score 817
Clearly, Chrome wins, at least in these benchmarks.
Why does the javascript benchmark matter? Well, it makes a difference in websites that use a lot of javascript. Most webmail clients do, as do most web IM systems like Meebo, and many forum sites (like here at BigBlueBall). So you should see a noticeable improvement on most of those sites, even beyond the basic speed enhancements of Chrome.
September 9, 2008 at 4:53 am #171068Jeff HesterKeymasterGreat stats, Fanatic. I did some checking of our recent visits using Google Analytics and found that over 4% of all visitors were already using Google Chrome. Pretty amazing for a browser that’s still in beta and barely a week old.
April 22, 2009 at 10:43 pm #171079kelseycMemberI’ve been using Google Chrome for about 2 months now and I really like it! I like that the status bar and address bar are the same. The only thing I don’t like is that there’s really no easy way to find your history.
April 23, 2009 at 12:17 am #171078Doris KenneyParticipantIf you have the “New Tab” set to show your most recent sites, at the bottom of the screen is “Show full history” – that should do the trick for you!
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