Jumping Ship to Google Chrome

A month ago I recommended through this blog that anyone reading should stop using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser if they had not already.

PC’s are equipped with IE by default and most people simply don’t know there are alternatives available. I mentioned several alternatives, one was the recently released Chrome browser from Google.

I was impressed initially with the minimalist UI and the “smart” bar that controls all URL input, bookmarks, and Google searches.

When I got down to using it more often, I was impressed with the speed and stability of the thing.

In fact, I’ve come to use it as my default browser, leaving behind Mozilla’s FireFox.

It is by no means perfect, it has a long way to go, but it is enough of a foundation to use regularly. I find myself using it about 99% of the time with only a need for FireFox for really labor intensive internet use.

The Good

• The thing is so fast- noticably faster than FireFox and IE.
• The “smart bar” works like a charm.
• It is simply the best browser for Java, PHP, or Rails viewing.
• Isolated tabs mean that each tab open is run on its own. If one page fails, only that tab goes down, not the whole browser.
• “Sandbox” security. At PWN2OWN this year, Chrome was the lone browser not to be hacked.
• “Most Visited” Integration

The Bad

• No support for add-ons or extensions. That means there is no Ad-Block Plus unless you’re tech savvy and know scripts.
• Not available for Mac yet.
• The built-in spell checker isn’t even close to FireFox’s. That is not so good when blogging.
• There is always some concern of privacy and usage information when using Google’s products. I, however, don’t buy it. If you do have tin foil on your head, use the ‘Incognitio Mode’ which doesn’t track history, cookies, passwords, etc when in use.

All in all, anyone coming from Internet Explorer or Safari would notice a big increase in performance. Google’s browser attempt looks great and promises to only get better with third party support. If no Ad-Block is an absolute deal breaker, I feel your pain. Email and I’ll give you instructions on how to utilize ad-block in Chrome.