Google's "Chrome" Browser Launches Tuesday

Posted by Jeff Jeff is offline

on 09-01-2008, 06:21 PM

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.

Last edited by Jeff : 09-01-2008 at 06:26 PM.

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Comments

Philip says
09-02-2008, 08:07 AM

This sounds most interesting, Jeff. I, for one, can't wait to test it!

Fanatic says
09-02-2008, 01:06 PM

I'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.

VvWolverinevV says
09-02-2008, 05:22 PM

Seems to be downloadable here. Anyone try it yet?

Jeff says
09-02-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VvWolverinevV

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.

nakedzero says
09-02-2008, 11:36 PM

Google 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

VvWolverinevV says
09-03-2008, 04:32 PM

Okay, 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.

patndoris says
09-03-2008, 09:21 PM

I'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.

MrOats says
09-06-2008, 01:07 AM

...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. ;)

Fanatic says
09-06-2008, 03:57 PM

If 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):

V8 Benchmark Suite

The higher the number, the better.

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