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First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/3/2008 1:18:00 AM
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Real_Solitude
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Hello, everyone.
As you may have heard, Google has entered the "browser wars" alongside FireFox and Internet Explorer. Their new browser is called "Chrome." (Or "Google Chrome," I'm not really sure if you're supposed to say the 'Google' part of it.)
For those of you who have downloaded it, I'd like to get your impressions of the browser.
-What do you like about it?
-What do you not like about it?
-What other features would you like to see added to it?
-Will you be switching?
Here are my impressions.
Things I like:
-For speed, it beats my Firefox (2.0.0.16) and my iExplore (7.0.5703.11).
-It takes up a lot less processing power. (Running 52k right now, as opposed to Firefox's 98k or so)
-I really like that when you open a new tab, it sends you to your Chrome homepage, which has all of your favorites, most visited pages, and bookmarks all within easy reach.
-I like that it has a lot less 'clutter', allowing the webpages to use more of your screen.
-I really like that the "find" function highlights all instances of a word in your scroll bar.
Things I don't like:
-It seems to have a worse refresh rate than the others as I scroll up or down pages.
-While it takes less processing power, it runs two or three instances of the browser in the Task Manager depending on what you're doing. For instance, just opening it starts two instances. Playing a flash video opens a third instance. While this is handy to be able to end individual parts of the browser without closing the whole thing, it is annoying when you do want to close it all, and you have to end each process individually.
-I really miss my FireFox "Search engines" bar up top, where I can search Wikipedia, Google, Dictionary.com, Amazon, etc... by just entering the search. iExplore has a similar feature that also comes in handy.
-It seems to have a little trouble running multiple instances of Flash at once. I've had a few hiccups on Youtube and AdddictingGames.
-I'm not sure if it's just me, but I can't get both my iGoogle homepage and my Chrome homepage to both load on startup. I'm used to iGoogle being my homepage, and I make frequent use of the iGoogle gadgets, but I also like the Chrome homepage, but can't find out how to load them both without opening a tab when I start.
-While mis-spelled words are still highlighted in red, (and Chrome's dictionary seems to be more accurate than FireFox's in determining if a word is wrong or not) there's not spelling suggestion feature. Maybe it's for the best, but I've gotten used to simply right-clicking a word and changing it that way, as opposed to re-typing it.
Things I'd change:
-To contend with FireFox, Chrome's going to need user-generated add-ons like FireFox has.
-It needs a search function available without opening a new tab.
-It needs some debug. But since Chrome's in Beta, that's understandable.
Will I switch?
I'll probably be experimenting with it a bit more, but if they fix a few small things, Chrome will be my primary browser. For now, however, it'll probably just replace iExplore as my secondary, with FireFox still in the top slot.
< Message edited by Real_Solitude -- 9/3/2008 1:30:06 AM >
_____________________________
"Instead of feeling alone in a group its better to have real solitude all by yourself."
~Faye Valentine
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/3/2008 1:30:13 AM
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InfoCentral
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I'm running FireFox 3.0.1 so you may want to upgrade to the latest release.
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/3/2008 7:52:35 PM
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MWD
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It's all right. It *is* very fast, but most times the link or the server is the throttle anyway. Passes Acid2, gets a reasonably high score on Acid3. I wish new tabs auto-opened -- doesn't seem to be a switch to enable that. Adjustments-wise, it appears to be very rudimentary. Many "knobs" are missing altogether. Maybe they're in a config file somewhere. I haven't had a chance to poke around yet. I'm sticking with Firefox and Opera at least for the time being, since I just don't see any tangible added value with this thing.
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/3/2008 9:13:13 PM
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iluvatar
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Real_Solitude
-While it takes less processing power, it runs two or three instances of the browser in the Task Manager depending on what you're doing. For instance, just opening it starts two instances. Playing a flash video opens a third instance. While this is handy to be able to end individual parts of the browser without closing the whole thing, it is annoying when you do want to close it all, and you have to end each process individually.
That's because each tab runs in a separate process, which can really help with garbage collection and fault isolation. What happens when you close out the main application window?
-Dan.
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/3/2008 11:03:07 PM
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Real_Solitude
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quote:
ORIGINAL: iluvatar
That's because each tab runs in a separate process, which can really help with garbage collection and fault isolation. What happens when you close out the main application window?
-Dan.
It still closes, but I have a particular problem with the multi-processes thing.
I'm running an 01' machine, so I really don't have that much processing power to distribute. If something like AVG kicks on while I'm streaming a movie, it can pretty much freeze my browser, at which point I have to close everything down. While I can see the benefits of having all tabs as separate processes for the average user, for me it will probably be a nuisance.
_____________________________
"Instead of feeling alone in a group its better to have real solitude all by yourself."
~Faye Valentine
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/4/2008 1:16:26 AM
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LCannon
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From: Lebanon, OR
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My first impressions are 'faster' and 'streamlined'(less overhead both hardware and more usable monitor area). My default browser is Foxfire 3.0.1(was?). We'll see.
_____________________________
"It may be that when the angels go about their task of praising God they play
only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they
play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/4/2008 7:55:03 AM
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Bob_George
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I like the minimal design. It looks a lot like Safari actually with a light blue design as opposed to a brushed metal design. It doesn't look very native in Windows Vista. But then again, nothing really does, not even Windows programs. That's been one of my biggest complaints about Vista, but that's another story.
Two things I like about the tabs, they have the little plus sign for easily adding new tabs and they've included the Safari feature of being about to drag tabs out of the tab bar and make the separate windows and vice versa. The drag and drop thing also works with favourites, just like Safari. However, unlike Safari, your favourites are automatically named whatever the title of that page is. In Safari, you drag a webpage to the favourites bar and it'll ask you want you want it to be called. So instead of YouTube automatically being called "YouTube - Broadcast Yourself" you can just call it "YouTube". Having to rename your favourites after they've been added is a bit annoying.
Another awesome thing which I think it has over other browser is that search is integrated into the address bar. I thought it didn't have a search field at first, which is weird for a Google browser. But upon closer inspection I found out the address bar has a search feature too. A very good search feature too. If you type in a word like "cars", the browser will (in real-time) show you the top search result on Google, an option to search for "cars" on Google and it will also display other possible search entries like "cars for sale" and ask if you want to search for that. So it's really cool.
I think it's a good contender to Safari for best browser available for Windows. I'll probably still use Safari as my main browser just because I'm so used to it. But I'll definitely make an effort to use Chrome now that I've got it. I could end up using it full-time when I'm on Windows. It's definitely better than IE and Firefox.
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/4/2008 10:40:44 AM
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stellaluna
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So far, I like it. EXCEPT that I have a nice black skin on my Firefox and I want a nice black skin for Chrome. (Yes, yes...I know we're in beta.)
I like the stealth browsing and I like the ease of adding windows. I also like seeing thumbnails of webpages.
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/4/2008 10:57:57 AM
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stellaluna
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And also, I really like my web developer toolbar on Firefox. (I'm a diehard Firefox user.)
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/5/2008 1:02:57 AM
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psaulm119
Posts: 192
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I thought it was ok. It was decent enough to become my third browser (behind Firefox as #1, and the obligatory IE 7--I'm running XP), which gave me reason enough to uninstall Opera...I mean who needs four browsers anyways?
Seriously, I thought it was ok, but if it wasn't made by Google, I surely would have passed it over. The minimalist interface I do like a bit, but the huge increase in speed over FF that I have heard over and over again just wasn't there for me. The few pages I counted page loads for, Chrome beat FF by a half-second if anything at all. Nothing I would have noticed if I wasn't counting.
I won't be using it as my main browser, b/c I can do so much with Firefox already that Chrome can't do (I realize its beta); moreover, the only real problem I've been having with Firefox is that occasionally Gmail has page load errors--but since the same problem happened with Chrome, I know its not FF.
I've had search integrated in my url bar with FIrefox for so long that I forgot how to do it. I'll post instructions if anyone wants---its an about:config tweak that takes 5 seconds.
EDIT: Not to stay down on Chrome, but a lot of what makes it different, is indifferent to me. Making a tab its own window? If I want that, I'll right-click in FF, and open link in new window. I have FF put all my downloads onto the Desktop so I know where they are.... ya get the picture.
< Message edited by psaulm119 -- 9/5/2008 4:50:45 PM >
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/5/2008 2:12:31 PM
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LCannon
Posts: 1261
Joined: 2/22/2007
From: Lebanon, OR
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quote:
-Will you be switching? Not right away. Although it's notably faster(I haven't timed it but the pages tend to come up quicker)and less overhead both, monitor real estate and resources expended, that carries with it a certain lack of function. Also, some 'subpages', logins within the site can't be opened, 'My Yahoo' among them. Until that functionality is resolved I'll stay with my Foxfire.
_____________________________
"It may be that when the angels go about their task of praising God they play
only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they
play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/5/2008 5:55:54 PM
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Bettawrekonize
Posts: 1374
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It's definitely still in beta (ie: where are all the options?), but I think it has lots of potential. I definitely like the way it tabs stuff, it would be nice if firefox does the same thing.
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/8/2008 9:58:10 PM
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Bettawrekonize
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Oh, I figured out how to get to the options. I was expecting file, edit, view, History, etc... menus. I like this browser, but I think I'll need some getting used to it. It seems to be good at utilizing screen space (ie: with the tabs at the top).
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/9/2008 12:04:21 AM
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LCannon
Posts: 1261
Joined: 2/22/2007
From: Lebanon, OR
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The "Home" button can be set by picking the little wrench in the upper right corner(left button picks)->'Options'->'Basic' Tab'(upper left corner of that dialog box)->'On Startup(upper pane)->'Open the Home Page' then On Home(middle pane)->Open this Page(your Home Page).
_____________________________
"It may be that when the angels go about their task of praising God they play
only Bach. I am sure, however, that when they are together en famille they
play Mozart and then too our dear Lord listens with special pleasure."(Karl Barth)
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RE: First impressions of Google Chrome? - 9/9/2008 11:37:47 PM
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InfoCentral
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Reviewer say it looks like a stripped down browser but it is a beta version. Google states they are going to be adding features that none of the other browsers have. The next version should be worth getting.
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