Well it was bound to happen at some point, but this was quite unexpected. A comic accidentally released yesterday tells the story of Chrome’s development and Google’s approach to creating the new Internet browser. It’s not a bad read really.
The Chrome beta is proposed to launch today, although I’m struggling to find it anywhere. Google have kept things pretty hush hush on this project, although have formally announced the launch of Chrome on their official blog.
Chrome is designed to be clean, well-tailored towards the user experience, fast and get this - it’s open source! The new browser, if successful, will help to aid Google’s development of online apps and technologies, as well providing a fresh perspective on how we use the internet.
Good news or bad news?
It all sounds tremendously exciting. But how will this effect us as web designers and developers? Will it supply further cross-browser compatibility issues to contend with, break the browser usage market down further or will it crush rival browsers and monopolise the market? Who knows… it’s Google, anything could happen!
Google generally provide tools that help us. I spend a good hour a day utilising Google’s vast toolkit in various ways. Developing a browser is huge step - they’re entering a delicate market with stiff competition. It will be intersting to see what Google will offer to entice users over to Chrome.
*Update*
Google will be holding a press conference at 18.00 UTC which will hopefully mark the release of Chrome.
Darren T
It’ll be interesting to see whether Chrome helps to erode MS IE’s share of the the browser-usage stats or ends up cannibalising Firefox’s audience.
The worry, I suppose, is that there are only so many open source developers around and if their attention shifts from writing Firefox plugins to writing for Chrome, then the two of them may end up scrapping whilst IE quietly continues to distribute it’s own hunk of junk to the noobs and anyone else too lazy to look for a better alternative.
And the one phrase I haven’t spotted in connection with Chrome - yet - is ‘fully W3C standards compliant’…
Hmmm.
James
Nice post nath, Its good to see this taking place, people use IE becuase it came with the computer, yet whatever computer you use (mac pc) you will allways use google its a way of life, if they are clever and have nice little links everywhere good wording then people will install this browser as google is a trusted name id go as far as saying google as a brand is as known as microsoft, at least google is in the dictioary (googling).
Plus you have to remember that the vast majority of users dont care about open source coding standards, they just want the content to be there, they are not bothered about validation etc. It will be an intresting couple of years as most software projects will either fail or suceed in the first year,
I do like the way google are moving forward to create the online desktop, so you have the power of you emails calander and docs all available on any google browser you log onto. a very nice touch what else do they have in the pipeline?
only time will tell.
nathan
hmm well I’ve just seen some screenshots and it dusnt luk 2 priti… Cud this be a big slip up from google? Eel!
james
Well i have just downloaded it and i have to say. errrm.
other than the fact that it seemd google crashed on me, wouldnt allow the download. the actual browser is very basic.yet very powerfull. the tabs and the way that they work is very nice, i like to see in a new tab a list of the pages i have been on, it works well with google maps etc.
im just wondering if its to simple.
on more playing it does have a nice firebug console buit into it, just right click and inspect element. the fine is very nice, but it is using the same rendering engine as safari so what do you expect. all in all you dont feel that you are browsing the web, it does feel like your desktop. but only time will tell
Clay McIlrath
I’ve downloaded it, and it’s pretty cool looking, I don’t know if i care for the menu being so similar to IE 7.. that’s not a very friendly UI. I like the low profile and task manager built in though. It passed ACID2 and a good amount of ACID3 but i’ve noticed some bugs with rendering complex designs.
Peter
I am not completely sure but I would bet that by having WebKit built in that it would have the same rendering strengths and weaknesses as Safari and the like. It would be kind for everyone to realize that this is a beta, not gmail stage beta, but down-to-the-core beta. I have no expectation of completeness but have found it to be solid (not perfect, but solid). Good post, I’m excited, hope all will at least try it on for size. Long live the Google.
nathan
Well I must say I’ve just had a look and it does seem pretty impressive. It’s noticeably quick, secure, clean and contrary to the screenshots I’ve seen, doesn’t look too bad.
If Chrome is as secure as it makes out to be, this could be a huge step for anti-malware on Windows. Just imagine a world where you didn’t actually require additional anti-virus and spyware software on a Windows machine… no more annoying daily updates and memory-hogging scans… ahhh!
Phil Thompson
Having also played around with Chrome - I agree with Nathan - I though the screenshot made it look a little cheap but it actually looks great.
Usage-wise, it seems nice and quick and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to a non-tech savvy crowd and I’m sure that’s the market Google is going for.
nathan
Well one day down and there’s been some massive stirs in the water.
Just a selection of articles debating the pros and cons and revealing flaws in Chrome:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10030888-92.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/03/google_chrome_eula_sucks
http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=1843
http://evilfingers.com/advisory/google_chrome_poc.php
I’m going do a full review in a week, I’m not going to bombard the blog with update posts every day.
*However, on the subject of using your material; Google have now amended their terms to:
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights that you already hold in Content that you submit, post or display on or through the Services.
… quick thinking