Google's Chrome Sets a New Precedent for Web Browsers

Google has never been known for their intricate designs, and Chrome is no exception. Where Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox have multiple toolbars and dropdown menus, Google has just one bar plus a bookmarks toolbar and the tab bar. In total, the interface takes up less than an inch of vertical screen real estate (my resolution: 1280x800). Additionally, the bookmarks toolbar can be toggled on and off by pressing ctrl + b to save even more space.

Everything in the Chrome interface has been simplified. Bookmarking takes one click, and settings can be accessed through a single icon dropdown. But the biggest interface change is the omni bar. This feature combines the address bar, search bar, bookmarks, and help files in a single element, thus saving a great deal of screen real estate. Typing in something with an "http://" or "www" prefix will trigger the bar to act like an address bar and take the user to that website. Typing in a string words resembling a search query will send the user to a search page (using the search engine of his or her choice) with the results of that query. And finally, as the user types, relevant bookmarks show up in a non-intrusive dropdown menu.

Oh, and tabs have been moved to the top of the page rather than under all of the toolbars. Nothing earth-shattering here.

Features

For those looking for endlessly customizable settings and an abundance of features, Chrome will disappoint. Google took the simple route with the web browser, giving just a few basic settings and gutted features. And quite frankly, it gets the job done. A Chrome user can install the browser, import bookmarks from Firefox or Internet Explorer, and start surfing the web in a matter of minutes. There are very few options to customize, so the average user doesn't get overwhelmed trying to find and optimize everything.

However, Chrome does have some new features that are helpful additions. The omni bar has already been mentioned, so let's move on to the incognito window. This feature has been raved over, but honestly, I can't see what all the fuss is about. The incognito window allows users to surf the Internet without saving any data (cookies, passwords, session data, etc.). Essentially, it gives the user a higher degree of anonymity while surfing the web. This can be useful for clicking on a link at work where the destination is uncertain, but that's about the only thing I'll be using it for. If it's any consolation, the dark blue color of the incognito window is far superior to the Fisher-Price blue of the normal window, so it might be worth using just for that reason.

Also, when opening a new tab, Chrome loads a page that contains thumbnails of a user's most visited pages ala Opera's Speed Dial, giving them quick access to the sites he or she views most. There is additional information as well, including search history and recent bookmarks. I, for one, have not found this page all that useful, as that's what bookmarks are for, and I don't find recent bookmarks to be useful information. The key aspect of this page, though, is that it loads quickly, thus preventing the need for people to set the default new tab page to blank for increased performance.

Performance

Speaking of performance, this is where Chrome shines. I have never had my home page (www.google.com) load so fast. Cold startup is amazing, and loading pages is much faster than other web browsers I've used. This is primarily due to the way Chrome handles memory management. Up until this point, browsers are run as a single process. Chrome, however, decided to break away from this and make each individual tab its own unique process (the details of which can be viewed in the Chrome Task Manager). This cuts down the memory required to launch the browser initially. Each new tab increases the amount of memory that the browser uses. While this might be a fatal pitfall if a user has 40 or so tabs open, the average or even above average user will not have anywhere near that many tabs open at once. Also, with separate tab processes, if one tab crashes (trying to load a nasty PDF, for example), then it doesn't take the whole browser with it, but rather just crashes that one tab.

For developers

Here's an additional section for the developers out there. Google has made its biggest impact on developers. The Internet is becoming more and more technically advanced, and, as a result, websites are eating up much more memory and taking longer to load due to the latest graphic design trends and applications. Just social networking and media streaming alone bogs down sites, and those things are becoming increasingly prevalent.

At the root of all of those great applications and media is JavaScript. This client-side scripting language has gotten a pretty reputation over the years and is notorious for slowing down websites being a general cumbersome annoyance. In fact, many people disable JavaScript altogether. As a result, accessibility has taken a big hit, as many of the cool new technologies (AJAX, for example) are JavaScript reliant. Google decided to fix this problem once and for all by rebuilding the JavaScript engine from the ground up. With a dramatically increased speed, JavaScript isn't the slow, bloated annoyance that it used to be. That should greatly increase accessibility across the web.

JavaScript got some more attention as Chrome includes a JavaScript console and debugger. There are several Firefox extensions with the same (plus more) functionality, but for basic JavaScript tasks, this feature is quite nice.

Additionally, Google decided to use the WebKit rendering engine (also used by Safari and known for its speed), which means web developers don't need to worry about testing their websites in yet another web browser.

Conclusion

I would absolutely switch from Firefox to Chrome if it weren't for the lack of plug-ins and extensions. I rely on Firefox extensions to increase efficiency and convenience; something that no amount of speed can make up for. However, Google has said that plug-ins are part of the plan, so it seems inevitable that Chrome will become the most advanced web browser available.

For more information about Google Chrome, visit the project website at www.google.com/chrome.