Journal of a Filipino Web Developer

Earlier this year, Microsoft released their browser’s latest version, Internet Explorer 8. Last June, Mozilla just had their launching of the Firefox 3. And just earlier today (September 2 on US Time), Google introduced their very own – the latest addition to all other Web browsers, the Google Chrome.

Google Chrome is an open source web browser which is currently available for Windows XP and Vista Operating Systems only. The MAC OS and Linux versions will soon be available, according to Google.

Installation is a piece of cake (for Vista at least). I never experienced any interruption to my current processes and it’s quick and easy. I remembered upgrading my IE browser from 7 to 8 required me to restart my computer! Given the fact that I have the same OS developer as my browser, I still had the hassle to reboot. When I also initially opened my upgraded IE, I’ve experienced error with my add-ons as they were not compatible with IE 8. Some required me to manually upgrade. In comparison to Firefox 3, upgrading the browser did not require me to restart. There were also compatibility issues with the add-ons but upgrading had been done automatically by Firefox.

So anyways, my initial Chrome experience was good. The browser is also tab-based like Firefox and IE allowing you to open several sites without having to launch a number of windows. Loading time is pretty quick, too. There are also new features which I find really cool.

First, Chrome allows you to see the images and link of your most recent visited Web sites. More like a graphical representation of your history – only it’s limited to a few sites. For downloading files, there are no pop-ups showing the remaining files and the time left. All these information are displayed at the bottom of the browser, which I think, is less annoying. Aside from New Tab and New Window options, Chrome also has a new feature called “Incognito”. Going incognito means that pages you viewed won’t appear in your browser history or search history, and they won’t leave other traces like cookies on your computer after closing the window.

I’ve also come across a CNET review about beating Firefox and IE on an Acid3 test. The Acid Test checks how well a browser complies with a given set of Web standards.

The downside I had seen so far – it does not come in handy with the ever useful Google Toolbar or it allows you to install one. I initially thought most, if not all, Google applications would be integrated on this browser. However, that is not the case. I tried downloading the toolbar for Chrome, which to my surprise is not currently available. It redirected me to toolbar for Firefox which is kind of strange. I hope it comes around soon.

All in all, I think Chrome’s BETA is off to a good start. To experience Google’s latest browser project yourself, download Google Chrome here.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 11:10 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.