Google Chrome: Four Weeks On

Thanks to our own Lauren Mattegat for writing the original drafts of this posting!

When Google launched their new web browser, dubbed “Chrome,” a few weeks back, our initial thoughts immediately jumped back to “they are becoming the next Microsoft, they really want to rule the world.” After Google created the Wikipedia-like Knol, We wondered what their next target was – then came Chrome. Chrome is Google’s very own web browser. It is designed to be a new and innovative tool for the media driven Internet we now know. They described it in a comic about how it will change the Internet, and maybe they’re right. But there is no doubt that it’s a necessary move in Google’s march to dominance in the software space.

We had this review all set up in draft form the day after they launched the product. And a few of us even made Chrome our default browser on our computers. However, in the past few weeks we’ve also come across a few key weaknesses that have sent most of us crawling back to trusty old FireFox, begging it’s forgiveness. We even tried to buy a FireFox plushie to show our renewed devotion, but they were all out.

At first glace Chrome looks very clean, sleek, and light, but just wait till you try it. There is no doubt that it’s the fastest browser we’ve ever seen. It’s actually pretty amazing. Our first few hours with the new browser will certainly not be our last. Here are some more good points, and then some issues we’ve had as well…

Besides the unparalleled speed of Chrome, Google has taken all the best components of various browsers (Firefox, IE, Safari, etc…) and turned it into one, easy to use tool. They created the omnibox, which is a search box (defaulted to Google, duh, but change-able) and a web address bar in one. No doubt a very cool feature, however it of course comes with its own set of “privacy” issues.

The funny part about the privacy issues around the Omnibox is, in other areas of the software, Google has made it incredibly easy for the user to surf with as much anonymity as a browser can provide. The “Incognito” feature ensures that nothing about the session is saved, including cookies and passwords. It’s basically a little Internet Las Vegas - what happens in the incognito window, stays in the incognito window. Of course this feature has already been referred to as “porn mode” as it makes searching for private items completely confidential.

Chrome, like the Windows operating system, has its own task manager wrapped in with the usual developer tools (view source, debug JS, etc). This feature allows the user to see which sites are taking up the most memory and slowing down the computer. You can then kill just those sites without having to kill the whole browser session. A sweet feature for “power surfers” who have many tabs open at once. This feature is made possible by the core architecture of Chrome, which silos each “tab” into it’s own set of processes, rather than grouping all the browser windows into one “browser process.”

That’s all great stuff, but as we moved through the next few weeks, little issues came up that had a large impact on our usage. Keep in mind that the first issue revolves mostly around the fact that we are a web development shop…we are geeks…not the average web surfers. However the second is critical to anyone who uses web applications like Facebook…

1. We’re addicted to a few of FireFox add-ins. One is the Remember The Milk task list for Gmail. The others are FireBug and the Web Developer Tool bar. We use them all constantly - can’t live without them. This is the first reason that Chrome can’t be our primary browser just yet – to our knowledge no one has made versions of these add-ins for Chrome. Not to mention that FireFox add-in Stylish allows to us remove ads and other unwanted elements from the Gmail interface (ssshhhh).
2. In using a few key web applications we found that form submissions work intermittently. While certainly not a “key” application to our business…Facebook does not function properly in Chrome. There are a slew of issues reporting on Google’s bug tracking pages.

Aside from any other bugs, those are our key issues with it thus far that are keeping it from being our “go to” browser.

Now the real question: How does this browser link to any kind of revenue for its creator? Aside from the “Googasm” that bumped the stock when they launched it, the answer is surprisingly simple. Google pays the Mozilla Foundation (and maybe even Microsoft?) millions of dollars per year in Adwords click referrals (meaning: every time you use the built-in Google search box in FireFox, and then click an Adwords link after that search, Mozilla gets a cut of the revenue per click. Multiply that by billions of searches…you get the idea). What if Google were to put out a superior browser to take market share away from FireFox (certainly) and Internet Explorer (maybe?). They would save millions of dollars.

Aside from monetary advantages, could Google now launch cool new apps that only work in Chrome? Ergo – in order to get/use the cool new toy from Google, you have to first use their browser. It’s a fair possibility. Then, once they have you hooked on Chrome, they have a very efficient way to flirt, nudge, and even yank users into using their other products, like Gmail, for example.

To sum it up, Chrome is a great new browser and a very import step in the maturation of Google as the next generation global software powerhouse. The shear speed it offers vs. its competitors makes it our favorite “leisure” browsing tool of choice. However it isn’t ready for prime time just yet, as the Facebook issues prove out. Ton’s of people from many walks of life use Facebook – if Chrome can’t pass this simple test it definitely needs more work.