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Google's Chrome - a First Blush Look

Google's Chrome - a First Blush Look

by , 4:50 PM EDT, September 3rd, 2008

Chrome is Google's first attempt at adding a Web Browser to its suite of Internet Services. It's still in beta, and the first version is only available for Windows XP/Vista -- with a Mac version in the works. This reporter took a quick look to see what Google has done.

The browser was run within Windows XP SP3 on a MacBook Pro within Parallels Desktop. The installation was fast and painless and before long, there was a Chrome shortcut on the Windows Desktop. The app appeared to launch in less than a second.

At first, one is put off by the lack of a menu bar. The app is quit with the traditional 'x' in the upper right. In time one learns that the major functions are all combined in the two icons on the upper right that are popups. However, some things that a full fledged browser would naturally have, "open from file" and "print" do not yet seem to exist.


Google Chrome Beta for Windows

Opening tabs and browsing is fast and Chrome can be set to remember where you've been recently with nice thumbnails, in the style of OmniWeb. [See the screen shot above.] There is no separate search edit field -- the address bar doubles as the search field.

All in all, the browser, it least in its current beta state, seems a little unfinished and alien to the normal Mac and PC user. Time will tell if the new metaphor for dealing with the GUI is an advance or simply part of the beta growing pains.

Walt Mossberg has had a week to test Chrome and gave it a very positive review, worth investigating. Mr. Mossberg got into the real reason why Google developed its own browser, namely the war with Microsoft and the concerns Google has over what Microsoft might do in IE8 to leverage its desire to compete in the search business. Google sees the browser instrumental to its business model, but whether they can seduce enough Windows users away from Safari and IE8 to achieve that goal is too early to call.

Finally, there was a bit of a tempest in a chrome teapot, to use the words of ars technica, on the wording of the EULA, but that has all been fixed. Google's Rebecca Ward, Senior Product Counsel for Google Chrome told ars technica on Wednesday that the offending text in section 11 has been retroactively removed.

Given the political slant of Google's new browser to protect its turf and the fact that it's still Windows only, Macintosh users probably don't need to be in a big hurry to try out this browser unless they're set up with virtualization software and Windows and are simply curious to see what all the fuss is about.

Observer Comments

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Close Name:Guest
Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:36 pm Subject: Safari is still WAY better.

Google should go fly a kite, because this browser is clearly sub par. When will companies learn to follow Apple's lead and put USABILITY first, not gimmicky features and Windows-only functionality?


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:41 pm Subject: Typos

Don't you proof-read before you post?


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:46 pm Subject: Printing

My version of Chrome prints with either CTRL-P or (whatever the page icon is supposed to be called) Page>Print.


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:46 pm Subject: Spelling...

Wow... in the top 3 stories at Google.Com and you don't even spell check! In the 2nd sentence no less. I don't mind, I actually think it's funny.


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:14 pm Subject: Spellchecking

Why bother? McCain didn't check out Palin and look what he accomplished. On second thought, excuse me while I get out my dictionary...


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Close Name:Guest
Wed Sep 03, 2008 6:44 pm Subject:

Actually, the missing functionality (as stated in the article) is there. As stated by another, ctrl-p or right-click select print will print the page. As for open from file...try file://path in the address bar.

I've been playing with it for most of the day, and although Safari is still my browser of choice, with a little more polish, I could easily see Chrome taking it's place.

It's got extremely snappy rendering, and it seems to be far less of a memory hog than any other browser (we'll see if I stick to that last statement after I've had it open for a week or two).


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Close Name:Guest
Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:44 pm Subject: Missing the point

Complaining about usability totally misses the point of Chrome. Chrome is about refocusing the concept of a browser on web apps, which is why they completely re-did the Javascript engine, put every tab in it's own process, and minimized the interface. You can even create a shortcut on the desktop to launch a web page without the address bar and back/forward buttons, which would let you have a desktop icon for Gmail or any other web app that looks just like an app, essentially. (Take that Adobe AIR.)

Mix this with all that talk about SproutCore.

Remember that Google has GoogleDocs.


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Close Name:Guest
Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:14 pm Subject: If No Mac, No Linux, Say NO to Chrome

What is the excuse of Google for not releasing Mac, Linux versions of Chrome at the same time as Windows?

Chrome's basic plumbing are all technologies already used in Safari and Firefox. Both Safari and Firefox have been tested on the Mac for years. Now for Google with all its talent to release a browser that works only on Windows is so lame. Given that all Google employees use Mac and not Windows PCs, it means that Google will not be using it internally either. With all the smart people working at Google, and every piece of Chrome's technology borrowed from other open source browsers, why couldn't they figure out how Firefox works on the Mac and Linux? Unless it is just a gimmick to sway people away from IE. There goes Google's motto "Don't be Evil" out the door. Google is turning out to be more evil than Microsoft. They are becoming a me too company. They are saying "Look Ma, we have a browser too."


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Close Name:gslusher Posts: 2088 Joined: 13 Nov 2002
Tue Sep 09, 2008 4:14 pm Subject: Proofreading

Quote
Guest wrote:
Don't you proof-read before you post?


Apparently, the Guest does not, either, as "proofread" is not hyphenated; it's one word.


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