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Google announces "Chrome" browser
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Kerrigan
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Sep 1, 2008, 06:36 PM
 
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/...n-browser.html

What do you think? Is there room in the browser market for another newcomer to be successful? Or will this just slip into a tiny niche like Google Talk (or whatever it's called) and Picasa?
     
nonhuman
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Sep 1, 2008, 07:02 PM
 
Even if the browser itself (which I definitely plan on checking out) never goes anywhere, having Google working on WebKit can only be a good thing.
     
Jawbone54
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Sep 1, 2008, 07:02 PM
 
I was just about to post that. *waves angry old man fist at you*

Is the whole thing really necessary? Who out there is saying, "You know what we need? Another browser!" Google would be better served working on other things, IMHO.
     
Jawbone54
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Sep 1, 2008, 07:02 PM
 
Originally Posted by nonhuman View Post
...having Google working on WebKit can only be a good thing.
Ahhhh...
     
lpkmckenna
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Sep 1, 2008, 07:37 PM
 
The little comic book that explains it all is really great.
     
Andy8
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Sep 1, 2008, 07:53 PM
 
Originally Posted by lpkmckenna View Post
The little comic book that explains it all is really great.
Exactly.

It is good to have their resources behind this type of thing. Anything that can push IE away is good.
     
Chuckit
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Sep 1, 2008, 08:08 PM
 
Browsers are still very far from perfect, so yes, I feel like there is still room for Google to explore. If it's as well-threaded as they make it out to be, that will be awesome. No more random MySpace page or crappy banner ad bringing the browser to a crawl!
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mduell
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Sep 1, 2008, 08:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Jawbone54 View Post
Is the whole thing really necessary? Who out there is saying, "You know what we need? Another browser!" Google would be better served working on other things, IMHO.
No one else is (publicly) going multi-process like Google is going to. I think this is critical to the future of web apps.

If they can match the featureset of Firefox with plugins (abp, foxmarks, gmail notifier, quick searches) with better performance, I'm sold. But if they can't match the features I'm not really interested.
     
TETENAL
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Sep 1, 2008, 08:27 PM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
No one else is (publicly) going multi-process like Google is going to. I think this is critical to the future of web apps.

Safari 4 – going multi-process for web apps.
     
alligator
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Sep 1, 2008, 09:50 PM
 
Nice, but wordy. I wish Google could give us a short summary for those of us without much time to read the entire comic. Still, I'll download it as soon as possible tomorrow.
     
Visnaut
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Sep 1, 2008, 10:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by TETENAL View Post

Safari 4 – going multi-process for web apps.
Yeah, but Safari's approach is hardly user-friendly. A user has to know exactly where to find that feature, and what it will actually do. Not to mention that "Web Application" can mean different things to different people. At least Web Clippings make some sense.

Google's approach is better in that a user gets the benefit of multi-process pages just by knowing how to use a tabbed browser. I hope Apple can incorporate some of Google's innovations back into Safari, and make it a whole lot sexier. Imagine how much better MobileSafari could be.

You know, come to think of it, Safari started out strong as a rock-solid browser with a decent interface with room to grow. Except it never really did. Apple is sitting on awesome interface technologies it could leverage for Safari, such as Exposé or Coverflow, but it's just sitting there, looking basically the same as it did in the 1.0 days. I still use it as my main browser, I find it faster than Firefox, but things like bookmarking and history and search could be so much better.
     
Jawbone54
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Sep 1, 2008, 10:44 PM
 
I read up a bit more and came back to change my comments. Now that I really see what's going on here, go Google...

*cough*
     
Chuckit
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Sep 2, 2008, 01:32 AM
 
Originally Posted by TETENAL View Post

Safari 4 – going multi-process for web apps.
That's like saying System 6 had advanced multiprocessing because you could run it on different systems at the same time.
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nikstar101
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Sep 2, 2008, 06:05 AM
 
I must admit that the tabbed sandbox browsering sounds a great idea. That should be a must in Safari 4.

My only comment about all these browsers, is that although some may have little features here and there, a lot of people still rely on the one pre-installed on the system. Such as all our work computers run IE, and you cannot install your own. Therefore to get any market share Google need to get this installed as standard or make it business friendly.
     
Chongo
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Sep 2, 2008, 03:14 PM
 
failed Acid 3 test
45/47
     
RAILhead
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Sep 2, 2008, 03:30 PM
 
Any news on when a Mac version will be released?
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starman
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Sep 2, 2008, 03:43 PM
 
So far, the Windows version is WICKED fast. I'm going to have to try and crash this puppy.

No news on a Mac release, but you can download the source. There are instructions on how to build it.

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Ratm
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Sep 2, 2008, 03:44 PM
 
Posting form it now. It's a fast browser with a clean interface. But its...whats the word...blah. That's the feeling you get when using it. They need to work on the UI and iCandy but besides that it's pretty nice. It's not enough to move me from Safari once it comes out for the Mac but the speed is definitely nice. It will do well to combat against IE 8.

(Should say it's very stable for a beta program. Wish other software makers had this kind of stability for their beta releases).
     
RAILhead
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Sep 2, 2008, 03:56 PM
 
The icon is freaking horrible -- it's a like a 3-button Simon Says or something...
"Everything's so clear to me now: I'm the keeper of the cheese and you're the lemon merchant. Get it? And he knows it.
That's why he's gonna kill us. So we got to beat it. Yeah. Before he let's loose the marmosets on us."
my bandmy web sitemy guitar effectsmy photosfacebookbrightpoint
     
starman
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Sep 2, 2008, 03:58 PM
 
It shows how each tab is its own process with a core in the middle.

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Kerrigan  (op)
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Sep 2, 2008, 04:08 PM
 
I'm using it right now also, and it is very fast indeed. My computer is gradually getting bogged down for no apparent reason, so Safari, Firefox, and IE are all terribly slow, but this thing flies. That's all I have to say.

Oh yea, the UI is pretty dull.
     
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Sep 2, 2008, 10:48 PM
 
Originally Posted by RAILhead View Post
Any news on when a Mac version will be released?
The comment now is 'when it's ready'

http://googlemac.blogspot.com/2008/0...riorities.html

Based on that blog post, they're not very far along at all so it's going to be awhile.
     
mduell
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Sep 2, 2008, 11:00 PM
 
Originally Posted by RAILhead View Post
Any news on when a Mac version will be released?
It's going to be a while... they said some of the component build, but there's no release timeframe (ready when it's ready).
     
mr. burns
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Sep 2, 2008, 11:01 PM
 
so far i like it more than firefox, when in vista, simply because of the speed. i've never been one to use addons in firefox so i don't miss that. i guess i'm not much of a 'power browser'. i don't mind the simple, monotone interface. it's perfectly fine and doesn't distract from the actual content. then again i run OS X and vista in graphite so that's kind of my style.

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Kerrigan  (op)
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Sep 2, 2008, 11:30 PM
 
http://www.google.com/support/chrome...95464&hl=en-US

The "incognito" mode is a slightly amusing take on porn mode.
     
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Sep 2, 2008, 11:32 PM
 
I think it's all a leftist liberal conspiracy.
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TETENAL
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Sep 2, 2008, 11:33 PM
 
     
moep
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Sep 3, 2008, 07:22 AM
 
Originally Posted by TETENAL View Post
Why would they deliberately strip out text-shadow and other CSS3 properties? Odd.
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mattyb
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Sep 3, 2008, 08:13 AM
 
I like it.

The license sucks though.
     
memento
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Sep 3, 2008, 08:59 AM
 
it seems to be unable to install through a proxy, though.
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TETENAL
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Sep 3, 2008, 09:26 AM
 
Javascript performance seems to be impressive:

http://waynepan.com/2008/09/02/v8-tr...e8-benchmarks/



25 times faster than Internet Explorer 8.
     
Andrew Stephens
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Sep 3, 2008, 09:34 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kerrigan View Post
http://www.google.com/support/chrome...95464&hl=en-US

The "incognito" mode is a slightly amusing take on porn mode.
"For times when you want to browse in stealth mode, for example, to plan surprises like gifts or birthdays"

yeah, uh, surprises, yeah, that was what I was doing.
     
nikstar101
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Sep 3, 2008, 01:18 PM
 
I heard that the licence for Chrome is a tad odd??

http://www.psfk.com/2008/09/pwned-by-google-chrome.html

From the Chrome ELUA:

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.
     
mduell
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Sep 3, 2008, 02:41 PM
 
Originally Posted by TETENAL View Post
And anti-aliased corners, yow!
     
moep
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Sep 3, 2008, 03:32 PM
 
"The road to success is dotted with the most tempting parking spaces."
     
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Sep 3, 2008, 05:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by TETENAL View Post
Javascript performance seems to be impressive:

http://waynepan.com/2008/09/02/v8-tr...e8-benchmarks/



25 times faster than Internet Explorer 8.
Which version of WebKit are they comparing it to, the one with Squirrelfish or the older one?
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lpkmckenna
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Sep 3, 2008, 07:49 PM
 
Great stuff, but there's too much unnecessary empty space at the top.
     
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Sep 3, 2008, 09:48 PM
 
This browser really is farking awesome already. I installed it on my work PC today and may never go back to Firefox. It loads a full second faster and with the multiprocess setup simply doesn't bog down at all compared to Firefox. I can't wait for the Mac version as it may dethrone Safari very quickly for my uses.

One site in particular that it provides a massive upgrade for is Seeqpod. I don't use it Seeqpod at work, of course, but decided to try it out to see what the improvement, if any, would be. Normally in Safari and Firefox Seeqpod slows the browsing experience down to a crawl (mouse momentarily freezes every 3-5 seconds, buttons and typing are sluggish, delays switching between tabs) but with Chrome ALL of these issues are gone. I have Seeqpod running in one tab and performance in every other tab is as if it didn't exist.

I'm loving the all-in-one address/search bar too.
     
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Sep 4, 2008, 01:42 AM
 
I liked the comic. explained everything they're trying to do. but as a designer sucks to have another browser to test.

I have installed it at work which has a great connection but it is only load half the pages. It's feels fast cause it's only doing half the job, huh.
     
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Sep 4, 2008, 07:58 AM
 
Looks like enough people complained about the EULA, so they're changing it:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...change-it.html
     
jokell82
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Sep 4, 2008, 10:48 AM
 
It would replace firefox full time on my work PC if I could install Adblock. I can't even believe how ad-laden sites I go to on daily basis are.

And I do like how easy it is to create web apps with it. I already have Google Reader and Socialthing! apps set up. May do the same for Gmail, too...

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Visnaut
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Sep 4, 2008, 12:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by jokell82 View Post
It would replace firefox full time on my work PC if I could install Adblock. I can't even believe how ad-laden sites I go to on daily basis are.
Doesn't look like they're setting it up for extensibility. Besides, what would the chance be that the world's largest internet advertising company would allow you to block ads in their own browser? I'm sure that wouldn't sit well with advertisers.

However, I'm sure we'll see open-source projects that take advantage of Chromium (chrome's underpinnings) and allow for all sorts of functionality, including extensions. Maybe even a wrapper for Mozilla's extension api.
     
jokell82
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Sep 4, 2008, 01:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by Visnaut View Post
Doesn't look like they're setting it up for extensibility. Besides, what would the chance be that the world's largest internet advertising company would allow you to block ads in their own browser? I'm sure that wouldn't sit well with advertisers.

However, I'm sure we'll see open-source projects that take advantage of Chromium (chrome's underpinnings) and allow for all sorts of functionality, including extensions. Maybe even a wrapper for Mozilla's extension api.
Well there's always privoxy (http://www.privoxy.org/), but I can't use that at work.

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Sep 4, 2008, 02:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by Visnaut View Post
Doesn't look like they're setting it up for extensibility. Besides, what would the chance be that the world's largest internet advertising company would allow you to block ads in their own browser? I'm sure that wouldn't sit well with advertisers.
Probably about as much as they'd set Chrome up to default to MS's search engine.

If you’ve only got IE7 installed on your machine Chrome will even default to Microsoft’s Live Search as the default search engine, asking you if you’d like to change it. The assumption is that your computer is setup the way you want it to be and Google isn’t going to force its services on you - competition is best done based on merit, not by manipulating the market.
     
Laminar
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Sep 4, 2008, 02:14 PM
 
I noticed they included Safari's text box resizing. My biggest problem with the browser is the fact that "Open link in new tab" is first on the right-click list, not where I'm used to. But this actually makes more sense, because I always open in a new tab.
     
kmkkid
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Sep 4, 2008, 02:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by starman View Post
So far, the Windows version is WICKED fast. I'm going to have to try and crash this puppy.
Try entering " :% " into the addressbar
     
Kerrigan  (op)
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Sep 4, 2008, 02:50 PM
 
I like the page that is displayed when you open a new tab (thumbnails, which I believe are live, of my most frequently visited sites).

I also like how the tabs are situated at the top of the window, so when the window is maximized it makes it a little easier to change tabs.

The speed compared to my other browsers, in all aspects of usage, is a big plus.

Despite the boring blue interface, it is very nice to use and I do not see myself going back to Firefox. It is certainly way above Safari in books.
     
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Sep 4, 2008, 08:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by kmkkid View Post
:%)
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