Google Chromium

Many people who are using Firefox are thinking about switching over to Chrome. Here are five reasons why you may want to do that, too.

• There is more stability to Chrome

• Chrome has more speed, and it’s enough that it’s obvious

• It is more secure, stopping it from causing problems for other programs

• The entire Chrome browser is open-sourced

• More privacy is a big plus. With the ‘incognito’ window you can visit any page you like and keep that information from appearing in your browser history. The cookies from it are also wiped away, so you don’t have to worry about someone finding them if they go snooping on your computer.

There are all different kinds of shortcuts that can be used for Google Chrome. You can make shortcuts for:

• The start menu
• Your desktop
• Google apps – like documents and calendars
• Windows Live Hotmail, and more.

But that’s not all you can do. Other things you can do with this new browser include:

• Opening sites in such a way that they don’t appear in your browser history
• Loading your home page with thumbnails of the sites that you visit the most
• Hide your bookmarked sites from prying eyes, and
• Drag your links around to put them where you need them.

The greatest thing about the tips and tricks that work with Google Chrome is that people continue to find more of them, and when they do they blog about them, putting them out there on the Internet so that everyone can get use from them.

Helping people out with a new browser is a great way to make friends and share ideas, tricks, and new tips. We don’t know how many more shortcuts are still out there, but we bet you’ll find more of them to talk about. Google Chrome seems to have a lot to offer.

Google Chrome already has reviews from all over the world on the web discussing, raving and complaining all over the new beta application and the anticipated converging of Chrome and Android, but what about us web designers?

Web designers and developers are very different from the average web surfer and internet marketing and sometimes what may seem to be great new bells and whistles to play with, are just that, stuff to play with rather than something that actually increases our productivity.

Most designers agree that web standards will be increased thanks to the addition of yet another browser and this will push the other browsers to catch up to the pack or go under the radar.  In addition, that fact that it is an open sourced application, it makes the field of add-on’s wide open and there is really no limit to the features that could be possible all within one browser.

Most designers will agree that many of the new features and the extreme speed will make Google take the lead in browsers along with everything else.

Many analysts are predicting that, within two years, Chrome will be ahead of all the other browsers and be dominating the market.  The future certainly looks bright for Google with many predicting that it will bring with it a taking over of the mobile market with their new mobile application, Android.

In addition to the melding of Chrome and Android, a lot of attention is being paid to the way Chrome offers instant opening of other web based applications from right within the browser, making it seem to have features something like that of an operating system.  (I hope Microsoft is paying attention. )

Of course, one of the main reasons that Google may take over is the address bar being converted to an address, history and search bar all-in-one and the extreme speed that even the new beta version is offering.

Another feature that makes it leading the pack already in some opinions is the homepage that gives you a list of the most visited pages that you have been to.  This makes it so much easier to head to all of your favorites with just a click of the mouse rather than typing in the URL’s or going through the favorites.

The Windows version of the new Google browser, Chrome, has been a pleasant surprise even to those that may have been groaning and rolling their eyes at the thought of yet another browser on the market.

One of the best features is that the whole thing is open sourced.  It is also intriguing that Chrome comes with its own task manager, making it quite easy to close a misbehaving tab without closing the whole browser and starting over.

The new feature that is really rocking the internet is the use of one bar for the address, history and a search feature.  The functions of the tabs and being able to move them is huge.  With Google’s love of web based applications it makes sense that this would appear in the browser.

The Incognito browsing feature is perfect for a shared computer that doesn’t necessarily need to be shared with everyone.  Another huge plus is of course, the speed Chrome offers.

Chrome also has an awesome download bar and tracking window for easy monitoring of downloads and when you mouse over a link, you will see the URL in a see through status bar in the lower left corner that will fade away as soon as you move the mouse.

After launching the new beta version of Google Chrome, within days they seemed to have the masses headed in their direction.  Now that the initial versions of Android and Chrome have both been tested, Google says they will be heading in a new direction of melding the two including a new name for Android that will be more in line with the main browser, Chrome.

While developed separately, both Chrome and Android’s browser rely on WebKit open-source software for interpreting HTML code that builds and renders a Web page.

This will make it very easy to blend many of the new features of Chrome into Android and make them much easier for users to become accustomed to.

The first Android phone is being manufactured by HTC and will be sold by T-Mobile.  It is expected to be launched as early as November in the United States.  Google’s success with this may depend on whether the software will be readily pick up and used on other phones.

Many internet users are groaning over another new browser to deal with, especially designers who may be feeling yet another browser to have to check and adapt to when designing is really just going to create more of a pain and be more time consuming.

But, if you take a moment and give it some thought, Google is already very well known for leading the cutting edge as far as internet standards and although we may already have more browsers that we know what to do with, some of them have been quite lacking in how quickly they keep up with the web standards that are in place.

With Google coming out of the gate with many of these standards already in place and surely more to come soon since this is only the beta version, some of the other browsers are going to have to step up their plans and develop better standards or get left behind.

While Firefox may have a good foothold for now, they need to get their plugins issues remedied before Google begins unrolling a whole slew of new add-ins that quickly surpass and take over.  Who ever said that competition wasn’t a wonderful thing?

Just days after the launch of Firefox’s newest plug in, Ubiquity, Google put its beta version of its new browser, Chrome, out there for all the world to see.

Basically, Ubiquity is a pop up search box that makes it easy for users in the middle of working. By pressing option and the space bar, a box pops up, you put your search in and get the answers right there.  By pressing enter, the window opens the page for you or by hitting escape you can close the box out. Read the rest of this entry »

As quickly as Google announced their new browser Google Chrome, users have just as quickly put their reviews and opinions out there about the new application.

Most seem to feel that the speed is quite good but there are a couple of complaints.  Most users seem to agree that the speed and simplicity of Chrome make it quite pleasant to use.  Even many of the complaints issues, like the fact that there is no way to save bookmarks yet, are not taken as a big problem. Read the rest of this entry »

Although many are finding the charms of the new beta version of Google’s browser they have launched, others feel that Chrome may be a short lived fascination.

Some are thinking that all the bells and whistles and the fact that the branding alone of it being a “Google” application may wear off quickly and have people heading back to Firefox and Internet Explorer before too long. Read the rest of this entry »