Chrome

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Chrome
Topic Started: 2 Sep 2008, 06:03 PM (156 Views)
Amanda & Simon	2 Sep 2008, 06:03 PM Post #1
Badger In A Strange Land Posts: 2,287 Group: Members Member #1,707 Joined: 28 September 2007 Migration Status Citizen My Mood I love my brick. My Location Middle Park	A beta version of Google's new browser Chrome is out today, but there's a readable comic style intro to it here (also a PDF version). I know there are some very expert IT techy types among the Britvics and I'm interested in what they know/think of Chrome. Have those "in the trade" heard anything good, bad or indifferent about it? If it's as good as Google say I'll certainly want to try it, but then they would hardly say it was crap would they.



Lurks	2 Sep 2008, 07:03 PM Post #2
Addicted Member Posts: 215 Group: Members Member #2,230 Joined: 15 May 2008 Migration Status Citizen My Mood Living for scuba diving My Location Hampton beachside	S'very interesting. Looking at it now. I could do with my Google shares taking an upswing :)



Lurks	5 Sep 2008, 02:31 PM Post #3
Addicted Member Posts: 215 Group: Members Member #2,230 Joined: 15 May 2008 Migration Status Citizen My Mood Living for scuba diving My Location Hampton beachside	Well, it's fantastic at what it does. The problem is that's not very much since there's no Google toolbar for it. I'm sure there will be though, or they'll just build the functionality into it. The best thing is hitting tools and creating 'application shortcuts' for stuff like gmail. Then it runs just like an application in it's own window. Very handy, what I've wanted for gmail all along.



Amanda & Simon	5 Sep 2008, 02:52 PM Post #4
Badger In A Strange Land Posts: 2,287 Group: Members Member #1,707 Joined: 28 September 2007 Migration Status Citizen My Mood I love my brick. My Location Middle Park	Lemme get this straight - Google haven't put the Google toolbar on the new Google browser? :rofl: Well, it's a beta I suppose. I like the idea of an application shortcut for things like gmail as you can presumably make multiple versions, e.g. Amanda's gmail and Simon's gmail. Frankly the only reason why I haven't given it a go yet was I read something about the end user license having a clause that basically said that you give Google rights to anything you put on the web via Chrome and basically waive any intellectual property rights as far as Google are concerned. Not really something the majority of web users including me need to be concerned about perhaps, but a bit bloody presumptuous and annoyed me a bit. And then I got distracted fighting the computer over a new hard drive and forgot about Chrome. But I think I'll be giving it a serious look later for the application shortcuts - we've got half a dozen gmail accounts and it sounds like Chrome would make them easier to manage.



Karo	5 Sep 2008, 05:58 PM Post #5
Addicted Member Posts: 315 Group: Members Member #1,916 Joined: 30 January 2008	I downloaded it the other day, I love it designing my own home page. However, the beta version has a bug in it and does not work with their own toolbar, however, I am sure they will fix this before the full and final release.



Amanda & Simon	7 Sep 2008, 03:44 AM Post #6
Badger In A Strange Land Posts: 2,287 Group: Members Member #1,707 Joined: 28 September 2007 Migration Status Citizen My Mood I love my brick. My Location Middle Park	Well I've installed Chrome and at this very early stage I'd say there are some pros and cons, some things I don't really care about and a couple of big drawbacks. Pros: Looks very good and presents web pages, especially certain fonts and colours, better than Opera does. The actual page bit is nice and large. Easy to use, especially the address bar or omnibar as Google are calling it. I thought that would be harder given that I'm used to a separate search box. Handled a couple of dozen tabs including some with flash elements that normally slow up Opera and Safari. Which is pretty much what Google said it was supposed to do anyway, but still an improvement. Web application shortcuts :thumbsup: to the idea at least (see below). I like the way text boxes that are in use are highlighted. Safari does it too but it's clearer in Chrome. Like the idea of the incognito mode even though I personally don't use the web for porn :wink: Cons, mostly beta release related and hopefully will be addressed in the not too distant future: Not much customization possible at the moment (skins etc). It would be nice to be able to put a search field next to the omnibar for those who like 'em separate. Context menu is a bit limited compared to Opera, though perhaps not to the main competition. Set up offered the option to import from IE or Firefox, but not both. You'd have to do the other one in the options menu. And fairly predictably no Opera import option anywhere let alone more unusual browsers. There's a bug that the scroll wheel doesn't work properly. Don't care - just one. Tabs above the address bar/omnibar. Google's comic book presentation seemed to suggest that it's better but really I can't see that it makes any useful difference one way or the other. It's just a style choice AFAIC. Big drawbacks: You can't create a web application shortcut that uses a remembered log in and password, so my plan to have several Gmail shortcuts for our various mailboxes (about half a dozen at last count) has gone nowhere. To me this was potentially the most useful feature and the main attraction of Chrome in the first place, so finding out that in that respect it's no better than a bookmark linked favicon on a toolbar is a big let down. Weapons grade drawback - no Mac version. :crybaby:



Lurks	8 Sep 2008, 07:21 AM Post #7
Addicted Member Posts: 215 Group: Members Member #2,230 Joined: 15 May 2008 Migration Status Citizen My Mood Living for scuba diving My Location Hampton beachside	Amanda & Simon 5 Sep 2008, 02:52 PM I like the idea of an application shortcut for things like gmail as you can presumably make multiple versions, e.g. Amanda's gmail and Simon's gmail. Mmm that's a cookie thing. I'm not sure if it isolates the cookies for different application shortcuts. Be interesting to find out though. "However, the beta version has a bug in it and does not work with their own toolbar," It's not a bug, it needs a different version than the IE and FF versions available now. The word is that the toolbar functionality is going to be built into Chrome rather than being a plug-in. There are concerns over what will be possible ad-blocking wise though. Remember Google is in the ads game.



Petals	10 Sep 2008, 04:20 PM Post #8
Addicted Member Posts: 481 Group: Members Member #2,324 Joined: 22 June 2008	I put it on one of our computers but don't like the ads so back to Firefox for me until they get an ad blocker.



Amanda & Simon	10 Sep 2008, 05:09 PM Post #9
Badger In A Strange Land Posts: 2,287 Group: Members Member #1,707 Joined: 28 September 2007 Migration Status Citizen My Mood I love my brick. My Location Middle Park	Daisy 10 Sep 2008, 04:20 PM I put it on one of our computers but don't like the ads so back to Firefox for me until they get an ad blocker. Odd. We don't get any ads with Chrome, or at least nothing that isn't in the web pages we're looking at. Maybe something else is blocking them but I don't recall setting anything specifically to do that. :scratch:



Lurks	11 Sep 2008, 08:43 AM Post #10
Addicted Member Posts: 215 Group: Members Member #2,230 Joined: 15 May 2008 Migration Status Citizen My Mood Living for scuba diving My Location Hampton beachside	I'm sure Daisy means one of the proper addblockers like exists for FF. Eg where all the banners are killed. Some people like that. As opposed to just pop ups which clearly should be killed on sight. I think it's a bit rude meself, having worked for web companies before. It's essentially just binning the thing that's paying for it being there in the first place. And it's rarely that annoying anyway.



Petals	11 Sep 2008, 08:56 AM Post #11
Addicted Member Posts: 481 Group: Members Member #2,324 Joined: 22 June 2008	I do mean the banner ads that move as I suffer from acute migraine, the flashing light kind find they do not help. I think epileptics find the same thing with anything that moves out of direct vision. So I avoid them. :Grin:



Amanda & Simon	11 Sep 2008, 09:38 AM Post #12
Badger In A Strange Land Posts: 2,287 Group: Members Member #1,707 Joined: 28 September 2007 Migration Status Citizen My Mood I love my brick. My Location Middle Park	With you, but still rarely get pop-ups and can't remember the last banner ad I saw. Not just Chrome but any browser, and we've not installed an adblocker either. I doubt Vista is doing any blocking not least because we don't see 'em on the Mac either, and I can't believe we never go to websites that have 'em... weird. I'm not technically savvy enough to know if it's possible but could BigPond be blocking them? Or a router setting?



Petals	11 Sep 2008, 10:45 AM Post #13
Addicted Member Posts: 481 Group: Members Member #2,324 Joined: 22 June 2008	Could be I use Big Pond oh does not get much on his Mac, Google does stop popups I think you get to switch it on or off. Banners usually stream down the side or accross the top and catch the corner of the eye



Amanda & Simon	31 Oct 2008, 09:42 AM Post #14
Badger In A Strange Land Posts: 2,287 Group: Members Member #1,707 Joined: 28 September 2007 Migration Status Citizen My Mood I love my brick. My Location Middle Park	One of the annoying thing about Chrome, that the scroller on the laptop touchpad only went down, has mysteriously been fixed. I'm not sure when or why it started working but I'm guessing a new improved driver has been part of a recent Windows update. This was a major pain in the arse before and now it's fixed Chrome has become my preferred browser. Best of all, they're working on a Mac version of Chrome. It'd be nice if for once the Mac version of something other than an Apple product came out first, or at least at the same time as the Windows flavour. I suppose I'm expecting a bit much there as long as Windows machines outnumber Macs by such a huge margin. :-/



P and M	Yesterday, 9:16 PM Post #15
Fabulous People Posts: 290 Group: Members Member #1,758 Joined: 24 October 2007 My Mood Happy Camper My Location Behind You	An alternative, stripped by the German government. Works as well, just not as annoying. Thanks Herr! http://lifehacker.com/5054276/iron-is-google-chrome-for-the-tinfoil-hat-crowd PJ


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