First Impressions: Google Chrome

Whenever I do off-topic posts, they tend to be either geeky or inflammatory. This is clearly a case of the former.

Google has been steadily engulfing our collective technological consciousness since its conception in 1997. It has essentially become the Microsoft of the web, but luckily it's managed to remain considerably less annoying than its bigger and far more exorbitant sibling. To this day, all of Google's apps and services are free. The only consumer-driven annoyance tied to the corporation would be its rampant text ads, which are easily ignorable if not a bit irksome.

Google's presence has rarely left your browser, but it was only a matter of time before the company completed its quest for internet dominance by introducing its own browser. Well, today it did just that by making the Chrome beta available for download.

I learned only yesterday that Chrome was in the works. (Funny how a behemoth like Google can still drop its projects very quietly.) And I, like many of you, had my own go at Chrome today.

At this point, I should probably make clear that I rep Mozilla all day, so most of what I like and dislike about Chrome directly coincides with how it compares to Firefox 3. It turns out that Chrome measures up quite well, even for a Beta, but it's definitely got its shortcomings. The question most people will have is, "Is it worth the switch?" And not surprisingly, that all depends on your own routines and comfort zones regarding the world of web browsing. You'll need to try it out and give it some time to know for sure, but here are some first-glance pros and cons to help you make that decision:

PROS

Consolidated Toolbars. Chrome may have a hokey name, but its design is immaculate. The interface is the cleanest and most sensible I've yet to see on a browser. It fittingly takes a cue from Google's overall minimalistic aesthetic. The tabs are situated in the title bar. There's no permanent status bar—instead an inobtrusive URL appears at the bottom of the window when the user hovers over a link. The menu bar has been replaced by buttons, and the bookmarks bar is optional. These features in effect give Chrome an edge in the vertical real estate department. (We're only talking about a difference of an inch or so, but that can still make a significant difference in the internet age.)

History Search. When you open a new tab, instead of a "blank" tab popping up, a unique Google page specialized to your own viewing history loads. It displays a grid of thumbnails pointing to your recently visited URLs. This page also contains an option to search your viewing history. However, if you don't like the idea of your pr0n hits being organized in thumbnails for anyone who may happen to open a new tab in your browser, you can open a secondary "incognito" window that won't show up in your history. This is a peculiar personal twist on the modern browser that essentially assumes you're the only person using your computer at a given time. It's a tricky paradox, but obviously there's a lot of potential for convenience there.

Download Status Bar. When you're downloading file, the status of the download is contained in place of the would-be status bar rather than being launched into a pesky smaller window. This feature is clearly taken from the Download Statusbar Firefox extension. This is simply a must for all future browsers, so kudos to Google for getting there first.

CONS

Barebones Configuration and Options. The lack of advanced options and preferences may be an annoyance to more particular users. The essential stuff is there, but in typical Google fashion, the simplicity negates the potential for a more optimal usability.

Buggy/Crashy. This shortcoming is totally expected and forgivable considering the browser was unveiled less than 24 hours ago. However, it's still worth noting that Chrome isn't super stable yet. It's not ungodly unstable, but if you're looking for stability, give Chrome a few months if not a year before you attempt a switch.

No Plugins. Chrome is an open-source app, so we can only assume that someday it will have as many (if not more) plugins (or "extensions," as Mozilla likes to call them) as Firefox. However, at the moment Chrome has no user-made plugins of which to speak. Of course, much of the Firefox appeal comes from plugins, so Chrome's lack of them will be a deal breaker for many.

No Font Smoothing. This will be a trivial complaint for a lot of you out there, but Chrome lacks the font smoothing feature of Safari and the Mac OS in general. Font smoothing will undoubtedly be a must feature for browsers in the future, so hopefully future versions of Chrome will have a smoothing option.

Windows-Only for Now. Google tells us we'll eventually get it for Mac and Linux, but we're stuck with crappy ol' Winders for now.

MISCELLANEOUS NEUTRALITIES

Memory. The question of how Chrome handles memory is still a bit of a mystery to me. Rumor has it that it is slightly more memory-efficient than Firefox, but I suppose that remains to be proven.

Web Application Shortcuts. This feature is intended to be definitive for Chrome, but it's not one I care about in the least. It allows users to add links to web applications on the Desktop, Quick Launch and Start menu. I keep most of my bookmarks (for web apps and otherwise) in the bookmarks toolbar, so I don't have much reason to go littering my Quick Launch and Desktop with Google app links. Thanks but no thanks.

Importing. For the record, Chrome successfully imported my Firefox bookmarks but failed to import my saved passwords.

Alleged Sense of Humor. Chrome has little "savvy" wisecracks peppered throughout its software. Or at least I assume it does. It has at least one I've noticed so far. Chrome doesn't have your granny's old 404-style error pages. Instead, you'll be graced with this: a page with a turquoise background and a pixilated image of a frowny-faced folder. The error message reads, "Aw, snap! Something went wrong while displaying this webpage."

Now, hopefully that's the longest off-topic post you'll have to deal with out of me.

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