Instructify

I remember in 1996 when someone told me that I didn’t just have to use AOL’s web browser to surf “the ‘Net” (that’s what everyone called it back then). Apparently, you could also use Internet Explorer to check out web pages! Surely, such mind-exploding information probably gave me an instant nose bleed.

Jump to early 2004 when someone tells me that there exists a way to put an end to all the rampant pop-ups and regular browser crashes I was experiencing with Internet Explorer. The answer: Mozilla Firefox. A love affair with Firefox blossomed, IE was banished from my computer and I turned into a total snob towards IE users.

Now Google is getting poised to toss their hat into the web browser ring with Google Chrome. Right now its only being released as Google Chrome Beta so they can gather user feedback, but you can see what direction they’re heading in and some of it definitely looks good. You can find out more about Google Chrome by just, well, Googling it, I suppose. But how about I give you a quick rundown while I’ve got your attention?

Pros:

1. Google Chrome is very clean and sleek — that’s probably why they named it Chrome. If the T-1000 from Terminator 2 turned into a web browser, this is how it would look. One thing I initially resisted, but now enjoy is that the status bar at the bottom of the browser is no longer there all the time. Chrome looks a bit like other browsers would in good old Full Screen, F11 viewing mode. At first I felt a little un-anchored on the web page, as though I was about to fall into the screen. Eventually, I started liking it more and more. Even though it’s just a very small part of the window of other browsers, what’s the point in just taking up space at the bottom of the screen and declaring “Done” the whole time? Chrome’s subdued status bar appears in the bottom left only when needed. Seems like I wrote a lot about one small thing, but hey, it’s the little things, right?
2. Stand alone tabs – No longer will a crash on one tab bring down your entire browser.
3. Speed – Chrome definitely seems fast, but without a few weeks’ worth of browser history and add-on browser applications bogging it down, I can’t say I’ve really put it through the paces yet.

Rather than list the following as “cons,” I’ll give Google the benefit of the doubt since this is a beta version.

Wait and see:

1. Safe browsing – I didn’t really buy anything online because this is still a beta version, and payday is next weekend, anyways. Also, I avoided visiting dubious websites because I’m at work and I wouldn’t want to shatter your illusions about me.
2. Web apps aren’t ready – If you’d like to set up Twitbin in Google Chrome so you can follow LEARN NC on Twitter, you’re just going to have to wait until the browser is able to support web applications. -NICK YINGLING

Google Chrome

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