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Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Google Rewires the Browser

Chrome is designed to make online applications faster, more stable, and easier to use.

By Kate Greene
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Credit: Technology Review

Google launched a browser optimized to run Web applications on Tuesday, a move that some observers believe could help loosen Microsoft's grip on personal computing. The new browser, called Chrome, has been built to enhance the performance, stability, and usability of complex Web applications. It could help broaden the appeal of Google's many online services.

Members of the Chrome development team and company cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin unveiled the new browser and demonstrated its capabilities at a press conference held at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, CA.

The announcement ignited excitement among technology bloggers and pundits, some of whom recalled the bitter "browser war" fought between Netscape and Internet Explorer (IE) during the 1990s. However, because Chrome essentially provides a platform for other applications, many believe that it may pose a direct threat to Microsoft's core product--the Windows operating system.

One of Chrome's most significant features is its ability to run Web applications separately, in different windows or tabs, just as an operating system can run applications as individual "processes." This promises to improve the speed and stability of Web software such as Google Docs, a suite of word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications offered by the search giant.

"If one tab dies, you don't lose the others or the browser itself," explains Darin Fisher, who led the project. This also delivers a performance boost, he says, and increases the number of Web applications a person can use simultaneously. "If one tab is busy, you can switch to another one and do work," he says. "This is nice for performance, especially if you have a newer computer with a dual-core CPU," because it can run separate operations using each of its cores.

Tabs also function as a prominent navigation tool in Chrome, since users can remove a tab and keep it running as a simplified, stand-alone application. Ben Goodger, lead user-interface engineer on Chrome, notes that people use Web applications differently than they do static Web pages. "We looked at browser interfaces and realized that some of those features--back, forward, and reload--weren't relevant for Web applications," he says. "We want to break Web applications free of the browser."
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Tags

Firefox Google Microsoft Web apps web browser

Comments

  • STILL SLOW
    LenovoguySA on 09/04/2008 at 10:32 AM
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    3/5
    The browser is still slow in loading pages, even slower that internet explorer. But i still believe that when the few bugs are fixed, its gonna be the best browser ever. One nice feature is that i did not have to configure settings for LAN, after installation everything was ready to go, just entered my login details and i was surfing. For the moment i will stick to Firefox, fastest of all of them. Its amazing how far firefox has come. Safari died on me, updated did not make a difference, it only loads google.com
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: STILL SLOW
      donaokka on 09/06/2008 at 2:38 AM
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      i donnt think so
      now i am using this browser and the google browser is more quick than ie; and the chrome did not chose the kernel that ie used ; so you will avoid many internet virus
      Rate this comment: 12345
      • Re: STILL SLOW
        LenovoguySA on 09/08/2008 at 3:46 AM
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        3
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        3/5
        I change my mind, its actually fast. but its still incompatible with some sites.
        Rate this comment: 12345
  • Java Issue
    cgs31u1p on 09/04/2008 at 2:11 PM
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    1
    I tried to use it for a game site (pogo.com) and the games wouldn't play because Java was not detected through the browser. I checked the settings and options and couldn't find anything referring to Java, but I'm still playing with it. I definitely like the "clean" appearance of it.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Crome Browser
    edunagin on 09/04/2008 at 11:16 PM
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    The announcement said that the use of  tabs was the most useful feature. I use tabs on Firefox and Galeon and they work quite well. I don't see this as an improvement. More PR stuff!!
    Rate this comment: 12345
    • Re: C[h]rome Browser
      LarryH on 09/05/2008 at 5:48 PM      		 Technology Review TR Staff
      Senior Editor
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      4/5
      I think the point is not that Chrome has tabs--every new browser has tabs--but that applications running in the tabs are walled off from each other. If one of those apps hangs, it doesn't hang the whole browser.
      Rate this comment: 12345
  • "Chrome" is not enough...Firefox rules!
    gabrielg01 on 09/05/2008 at 1:18 PM
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    3/5
    Google should learn from the American car manufacturers. Loading a lot of chrome on the car does not make it a better car. The "big three"s perennial losing streak is a reminder of that.

    Now even software is "chromed". Jesus!

    Anyhow, no browser comes even close to Firefox.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • ok w/e...
    jpm000001 on 09/05/2008 at 4:15 PM
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    ... let's see an O/S instead!
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • [no subject]
    shishir0610 on 09/10/2008 at 2:30 AM
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    Chrome has some rendering issues. It does not work well with all the sites. It even has issues rendering the map on the picasaweb page.

    Google needs to do something about it. Also, it might be one of Google's plans to slowly push in their ads on to the browser so even if you are not browsing a website which has ads by Google, chrome still produces them to you based on your surfing hence, Google gains a lot of real estate on the web without even having to pay to the user.
    OR they could go ahead and even start paying the user from the money that is generated from ads on the browser. Like Microsoft is doing to ads on Live search.
    Rate this comment: 12345
  • Chrome users in small bandwidth Areas
    7nobles on 09/23/2008 at 7:49 PM
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    I am not going to pretend that I know it all but I am going to comment based on my experience with  Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), Firefox 3.0.1 and Google Chromes. I have been using IE7 before I upgraded to IE8 when Microsoft launched it recently. Mozilla firefox has also been with me before I downloaded the 3.0.1 version a week or two ago from from Yahoo! I installed all three of them and I have test driven all three of them. In fact, I have all three pinned to my quick launch pad. I use a Dell Inspiron 1520 Core 2 Duo (Intel) and I reside  in an area (West Africa) where we still have the challenges of small bandwidth. From my experience I would openly assert that Google Chrome browser does some 'automagic'. Where Firefore 3.0.1 and IE8 crawl to a halt unable to 'cope' with the signals coming in trickles, Chrome chugs painstakingly on until my page is completely loaded. The only issue I have with Chrome is its difficulty in downloading PDF files. When I want to download PDF file I usually opt for IE8 because it allows my internet downloader software do the job. I made Chrome my default browser and I tell you sometimes it could be a 'jealous bride',it wants to monitor and manage every extensions and protocols. However, Chrome browser is really a 'man friday' when browsing speed gets so slow. IE8 and firefox3.0.1 will usually back off. If you don't believe me, maybe you should bring your PC to any average cybercafe in Nigeria and get a feel of what I am talking about. The creator of both IE8 and Firefox 3.0.1 did a fantastic job but it seems to me that they released their latest versions into circulation so as to maintain their esteemed places in the hearts of surfers and internet users. It feels safe for me to conclude that Google Chrome creators had concerns for the plights of surfers who reside in small bandwidth areas. Firefox may rule in broadband areas but Chrome champions our course down here in my zone!

    PS. Nobody paid me to do this. I just wrote from a sincere heart and experience.      
    -7nobles
    Rate this comment: 12345
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