Monday, June 15, 2009

Google Chrome Web Browser



Google Chrome is Google's own web browser. It is available for free for Windows computers, and is in final development and testing for Apple and Linux.

Chrome takes a very minimalistic approach as a web browser, keeping the interface simple and the screen uncluttered. Chrome is extremely fast, ranking 1st or 2nd in web tests, including Acid, V8, Sunspider, Celtic Kane, and Slickspeed. Web pages load quickly and simply, without problems.

When you download and install Chrome, it can import your favorites and other settings from you current browser, making the transition to Chrome very easy.

Chrome has tabbed browsing, crash control (which prevents one tab crashing from affecting your other open tabs), private browsing, safe browsing, instant bookmarking, and more. You can even create application shortcuts with Chrome and Google Gears. These shortcuts allow a web page or web application to run as if it was a native software application. This keeps the window layout much cleaner.




Chrome only has one area to enter a webpage or search. Google calls this the Omnibox, and you can enter a web page URL or a search term. As you type, Chrome automatically brings up related pages and past searches that you can quickly search. This makes web searches and entering web page URLs very simple and quick.

If you use a lot of other Google Web Applications, such as iGoogle, Blogger, or others, you will find that Chrome works flawlessly with them.

The bookmarks toolbar is very easily customizable, and there are some great user scripts that you can add to it. I have added "Clip to Evernote", "TinyURL", and "Google Bookmark" scripts to my bookmarks toolbar. This allows me to very easily clip a web site to my Evernote account, create a TinyURL for the web page I am browsing, and add the page I am viewing to my Google Bookmarks account. More scripts are out there and being developed everyday. Chrome does not have the kind of add-ons that Firefox has, but there are some and more are being worked on. Many companies, such as Evernote, have bookmarklets available for Google Chrome.

When you click on a new tab, Chrome brings up thumbnail images of your most visited websites. This is very convenient, allowing you to quickly visit important, often used web sites. This feature can also be disable for privacy.

I find Chrome works better than Internet Explorer, is the fastest at loading web pages, and I like it's interface and layout better than Firefox, Opera or Safari. I have not had any problems with it and it makes a lot of sense for me to use it because I use so many other Google products. Try it out and see what you think. A browser, like many other things, is a lot about personal preference.

For more information on Google Chrome, go HERE.

Some other Chrome resources:

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