IQue - Our Twist on the Web

Shortly after writing Comparing Web Browsers, Internet giant Google threw their hat in the ring of Web browsers with Chrome. The release (complete with its own promotional comic) followed years of speculation about if and when Google would develop a browser: some argued it would just be another player in already crowded field, while others felt it was the next logistical step for the Internet giant who was already heavily integrated with existing browsers through toolbars and other features.

Now that I’ve had a few weeks to work with the browser, its strengths and weaknesses are becoming more apparent. In the flurry of hype following its release, Chrome saw its market share spike to just over 3% (no small feat, considering mainstay Opera currently holds a mere 2%). Since then, however, use has dropped off. With the release of new cell phones using Google’s Android platform – and the Chrome browser – the adoption rate may increase. Here are some thoughts from a developer and user perspective:

Developer: Chrome uses WebKit, the same browser rendering engine as Safari, so site testing doesn’t mean having to account for an entirely new rendering. Google’s custom Javascript engine V8 was designed from the ground up to run more quickly and efficiently than existing engines – a benchmark which it reaches handily.

Equally important though, is that the browser carries Google’s signature minimalist look. Most browsers frame their window with borders, toolbars, widgets and other elements. In Chrome, these framing elements (which, in Web jargon, are ironically called “chrome”) only exist along the top, allowing maximum real estate for the beautiful websites we design. And isn’t that what’s really important?

User: Any browser worth its salt now offers tabbed browsing (if you’re on Internet Explorer 6 and don’t know what I’m talking about, please stop reading for a moment and upgrade). While it’s a fantastic feature, it can support some bad habits like leaving several (sometimes dozens) of tabs open, which I tend to overlook until something I’m loading causes my browser to freeze or hang. The result: many, many Web pages I can’t view until my browsers works through whatever it’s dealing with or, worse, it freezes and I have to restart.

One great feature of Chrome is that each tab runs as its own process, instead of them all running under the umbrella of a single process. That means if one tab is loading slowly, freezes or crashes, you can still access the other tabs without issue, and don’t have to reload them all if one has to be shut down. While this means a little more system resources up front, it can be a valuable asset for those who, like me, tend to abuse tabs.

Other Chrome features include integrated security features that warn against sites with malware or phishing threats, a streamlined download system, and a combined search and address bar. And for those worried about a record of their browsing habits, Chrome features an Incognito mode that will prevent the sites you view from being logged in your browser history.

On the downside, Chrome is still a beta release, and a few minor bugs are being ironed out. More importantly, though, is that the community of developers whose add-ons and plug-ins made Firefox so popular has not had time to develop around Chrome yet. So for those Firefox users who can’t imagine living without NoScript, AdBlock and FlashGot, you may have to wait awhile before Chrome becomes attractive.