SmallBizResource Blog
-- Internet
Google's Chrome Dreams
Posted by Gayle Kesten
Friday, Sep 5, 2008, 03:18 PM ET
This week's big news: Google has put into beta an open-source Web browser of its very own.
Coverage of Chrome has been widespread, including roundups on sister sites bMighty.com and InformationWeek. You'll find plenty on CNET, too. Already a few vulnerabilities have emerged, but I've written about enough of Microsoft's Patch Tuesdays to jump on any bashing bandwagon. And last year when Mozilla thrust Firefox 3.0 into beta, the company had its share of security headaches.
Me? I just want to know how Chrome can make our browsing lives better. So I did what any novice tester would do and downloaded it. Then for apples-to-apples purposes, I customized Chrome to open the same five pages that launch when I start up IE. Chrome definitely loaded those sites a tad bit faster. Same went for any site I requested. The interface is neat and clean, and one cool feature is the ability to search from the same field where you type in a URL. Setting up bookmarks is a snap, too; just click on the star next to the URL.
I thought I'd test out the speed more from a multimedia standpoint, so I zipped over to YouTube, which told me I needed a new Adobe Flash Player. (I don't feel like closing all of my other apps to install it.) Google Video told me I needed Adobe Flash Movie. (Ditto.) A private Ning network I founded wouldn't let me view photo slideshows without a new plug-in. (Ugh.) But maybe that's just me being lazy on a Friday afternoon. I'll get back to those additions when I have a few minutes to spare. Ha.
Give Chrome a try and let me know what you think. Part of me wonders why Google is even bothering (of course, they do have their reasons), but from a small-business standpoint, more choices of any product is a good thing. It means competition. And competition means developers continually trying to one-up each other with better features and, when charging, better prices.
P.S. I posted this blog via Chrome. Definitely zippier.
Internet
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