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Just installed: Chrome/1.0.154.36
Forgot that they don't auto-notify you of updates like Opera and FireFox.
Alternately, you can dig down through google.com to find and download the current version.
Jim
[edited by: jdMorgan at 2:38 am (utc) on Dec. 12, 2008]
It still needs extensions to make it a day-to-day browser for me.
Google Chrome 0.2 .. 7812
Google Chrome 0.3 .. 3192
Google Chrome 0.4 .. 2326
Google Chrome 0.5 ..... 1
Google Chrome 1.0 ..... 9
So many users gave the first release at try, but usage dropped quite fast. I read about a deal with Dell about pre-installing Chrome on new PCs; perhaps that will help to reach more users.
Even a tech savvy person like me found the interface slightly un-intuitive. No other browser uses the URL address bar as both an address bar AND a search box. That is a little confusing.
And the "Home" button should default to a homepage, not the tab of pages. But that is just my opinion. Some of these little things confused me, so I imagine they confused others as well.
If you want to win users over, you can't make them work to figure things out. That is only going to work with our die-hard fans, who will already be using your product anyway.
A Google product out of beta? Shocking!
Ye, but this is a strategic product designed as a pseudo OS for cloud computing, not a fishing expedition into the [popularity-montisation] continuum
Mack.
No other browser uses the URL address bar as both an address bar AND a search box. That is a little confusing.
That's actually one of its most noteworthy innovations. It asserts that requesting and seeking and searching are all the same thing, an assertion that bodes well for the #1 search provider on the www. Chrome is a good product, albeit infantile. I'm surprised they yanked its BETA status so soon.
yanked its BETA status
Probably two reasons :
i. To get rid of the "everything is in BETA" mantle - even though it still is
ii. As a way of ensuring someone like DELL sees it as a serious player enough to warrant shipping on OEM.
I haven't even bothered to download - for a number of reasons.
i. G has enough information about enough people - you're not getting any more of mine than is necessary
ii. Firefox works perfectly well as does IE7 with a few tweaks
iii. It's not ready by a long shot according to almost everyone that has actually used it.
Wonder how long the hype will last - and their promotion of Firefox browser - especially seeing as that's where they will probably make most in roads in the short term!
I use chrome a lot because it's so fast. Side-by-side against FF and it blows it away. I do love FF though because of the great plug-ins.
I use a throw-away google account with chrome. When I do "important" stuff I use my covert box.
I can think of a few improvements that I'd like to see (such as having PDF files open in the browser window instead of being downloaded to a location on my hard drive), but I find that I'm already using Chrome more than I do IE, Firefox, or Opera--all of which are available on my Windows desktop. I especially like the combined address bar/search box and the fact that one locked-up tab doesn't freeze the entire browser.
That's actually one of its most noteworthy innovations. It asserts that requesting and seeking and searching are all the same thing
Innovative is not always user-friendly. For instance when you first open up Chrome, the address appears in that box. But no where does it say you can use it as search box.
Even if you click your cursor into the address box, it lets you edit the address. Not until you delete the entire contents can you actually use it as a search box. Very annoying. There should be at the very least a "clear" type button to delete the address from the box so you can do a search.
Maybe there is a reason why it has not been done before... As it is now, I think it is a good idea that was poorly implemented.
You should, if for no other reason than to make sure your sites render properly in it, and to be sure that their "V8" JavaScript accelerator doesn't choke on any JS you might use.
For most Webmasters, these HTMAL & Browser forum discussions are not about "which browser is better," but rather, "What's going on in browser development that may affect how my site is rendered and how it functions?"
I currently have eight different browser icons in my "Quick Start" bar, and heavens only knows how many more browsers and versions available in my Start menu. Although I use only one or two of them for my personal browsing, I use all of them when testing new pages, and many of them when testing changes to my pages.
Since Chrome has a powerful company behind it, I consider it worthwhile to use it to check new pages today, even though it hasn't gotten wildly-popular yet, and in fact may never do so. But I wouldn't want to bet against Google, so I consider this checking to be well-worthwhile.
If you have security concerns about Chrome, all that's needed is to set a few rules in your firewall to keep it from phoning home. You can then temporarily relax those rules if you want to download an update.
So, again, this isn't necessarily about which browser is better, but simply about what browsers Webmasters might want to use to check their Web sites for proper rendering and function.
Jim
your sites render properly in it, and to be sure that their "V8" JavaScript accelerator doesn't choke on any JS you might use.
No fair do's - but then that's what I have people do for me ;)
I'd never heard of these tests before; it matched my impressions - especially Opera excelling - but how valid and useful are these tests, and what does that tell us about Chrome?
The number of lazy, inexperienced or ignorant users to use the address bar for everything to key in including search is quite large.
Users don't care, the browser shouldn't either. Good move. If its confusing to the experienced users, they can cope.
ii. As a way of ensuring someone like DELL sees it as a serious player enough to warrant shipping on OEM.
do you actually how much crap dell loads on their OEM PCS? its standard operation to open up add/remove and spend 20 mins uninstalling dell preinstalled b/s. If you could write them a big enough check you could get ANYTHING pre-installed. It has nothing to do with them seeing chrome as a serious player as it has to do with seeing the signed check.
[edited by: J_RaD at 5:40 am (utc) on Dec. 17, 2008]
F6 selects the whole content of the address bar (also works in IE and FF).
Chrome is a decent browser. Fast and stable.
funny comment :)
I agree.
