Exploring the Mystery

Google Chrome

Google has unleashed their Chrome browser on the world. I’m playing with it now and thus far I see nothing that would cause me to stick with it. Granted it’s just a beta but we all know what Google means when they call something a Beta.

Studying the Comic book about Chrome reveals a few interesting ideas about tab management. Giving each tab its own process certainly won’t go easy on memory but it will make the whole thing much more stable and will help isolate different browsing tasks from each other. Though that is a nice idea and seems to be a good implementation, the browser on the whole is a little limited. Options are few, leaving very little that can be customized. There may be some advanced interface (sort of like Firefox’s about:config) but I haven’t seen it yet.

One thing I want to say to everyone who has ever complained about IE7’s hidden menus: if you like Chrome I never again want to hear you say anything about IE7. Chrome didn’t just hide menus, menus do not exist. There are two drop-downs next to the location bar that let you access any tools and features in the browser, similar to the five or so IE7 has. There is nothing that enables a File, Edit, etc menubar. Because of this bookmarks are also a little tricky to access. You can turn on a bookmark bar which includes an Other bookmarks link but this is a little clunky. I’m also surprised that they put this below the tabs. They want nothing above the tabs in their interface.

I also haven’t figured out how to access RSS feeds. If they are implemented in this version then they are hidden. I am sure Google will include this in a future release but I am a bit surprised it didn’t make it early on.

The initial tab page looks like it might be interesting and useful. When you open a new tab the default action is for Chrome to show you your 9 most visited sites along with some additional info on the side. This might be useful, particularly since bookmarks aren’t as easy to access, but who spends much time on a page like this? It isn’t a compelling reason to switch.

So I don’t think Google is trying to win anyone over yet. I am tempted to say they are not even off to a good start. The interface strikes me as a little too clunky (color scheme included) and even a tad sluggish at places despite their claims of fast and slick. Things will improve but I don’t know how long until it becomes a serious contender against IE7, Firefox or Safari.