Stephen's Web

OLDaily

by Stephen Downes
September 3, 2008

Google Chrome Now Live
Google's Chrome browser is now available. You can download it for free and install it on your Windows machine (Linux and Apple users won't even see the download link). Here's the Wikipedia page on Chrome. The open source project behind Chrome is called Chromium, and you can download the source for various systems and mess around with it. Here's the developer documentation.

I've had a lot of people comment here on Chrome. Don't forget that you can subscribe to my comment threads and read every comment people post here (after I've expunged the distasteful ones). If you would prefer, you can now also subscribe to comments by email - go to your Options Page (you may have to login first) and then click on the Manage Newsletter Subscriptions to subscribe. Brian Rakowski, Official Google Blog, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Apple Inc., Google, Wikipedia, Open Source, Project Based Learning, Microsoft, Google Chrome] [Comment]

Google Chrome: Initial Reports Round-Up
Good round-up of initial reactions to Chrome (I offer perspectives from the Ed Techish crowd below). "It is a lightweight, fast, and pretty stable browser, although perhaps not as smashingly great as Google had hoped." Thord Daniel Hedengren, The Blog Herald, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google, Google Chrome] [Comment]

7 Really Awesome Things About Google Chrome
I'll grant, Chrome is really fast. But you still end up waiting when the server at the other end grinds on... as it does, say, at Facebook. It's also easy to switch - I picked it up and started using it right away; I wasn't all confused the way I was (and still am) when I tried to use the latest Internet Explorer. Stan Schroeder, Mashable, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google, Microsoft, Google Chrome] [Comment]

Oooohh...Chrome Is Shiny....So?
Mark Oehlert comments on the way Chrome was announced. "I think it becomes pretty apparent that we hunger for visual explanations. ..and since we're on this topic, you should all go to VizThink - that's a gimme. So the question then is why do we continue to bias text over images?" (p.s. Mark please get rid of those SnapShots previews - they bog down the page load and make it a paid to view... just sayin'...) Mark Oehlert, e-Clippings, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google Chrome] [Comment]

A Bug in Google Chrome
Pretty picky... but... "Google Chrome wrongly displays alternate styles as if active, thus "breaking" websites that use them." Well, ok, but that's for browser-specific code,m isn't it? But "To compete with Microsoft, the new browser must offer what other browsers do not." Well, is this so? Will we see Chrome-only features? Jeffrey Zeldman, Weblog, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google, Microsoft, Google Chrome] [Comment]

The Story Behind Google Chrome
Video from Google explaining why they developed Chrome. The Official Google Channel, YouTube, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Video, Google, Google Chrome] [Comment]

Screencast Tour Of Google Chrome
Screencast outlining major features of Google Chrome. Because screenshots are not enough, and people who have Apple and Linux want to be able to see too. You can also view a big version of the screencast. Via econtent. DemoGirl, Weblog, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Apple Inc., Google, Google Chrome] [Comment]

First Impressions of Google Chrome
Interesting comment: "The future for Chrome is difficult to predict. Some have said it is a potential Windows killer, and if you look at the comments for any of the coverage on Google Chrome there will be people saying that it is unlikely that Internet Explorer users will switch, as one comment stated: 'It's Firefox that will suffer, not IE. Many IE users wouldn't know how to change browser, nor why they might want to'." Liam Green-Hughes, Weblog, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google, Microsoft, Google Chrome] [Comment]

The Triwizard Tournament of Browsers
Post that compares how asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX) runs in Chrome. Though I should point out that AJAX works very differently depending on the operating system that is used as well - AJAX in Firefox on Windows works better than AJAX in Firefox on Ubuntu. Tamas Biro, Sense/Net Portal Engine Devblog, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Operating Systems, Microsoft, Google Chrome, XML, Metadata] [Comment]

Google, Chrome, and Copyright Email This Entry
One of many posts to complain about Chrome's end user license agreement (EULA): "Google has applied the same EULA that it uses for Gmail to everything you put into the Chrome browser. What, you never read the gmail EULA? You do realize it gives Google copyrights in your email, right? Yeah, it does." He has a very good point - even more so when one considers that Chrome is being released as open source and shouldn't have any encumbrances on it at all! Alan Wexelblat, Copyfight, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google, Open Source, Copyrights, Google Chrome, Patents] [Comment]

Where Is the Aldus Pagemaker for the Cloud?
I remember Aldus Pagemaker. It really did revolutionize publishing. It came out just as I was in my graphic design period (I was doing a lot of posters and things for people), so I learned a lot about it. Now Steve Borsch is right - there is no PageMaker for Chrome. Yet. But one of the things I tried to do yesterday (it didn't work) was to drag a tab right into a Blogger input field. You see, what should happen is that the entire tab - with all its functionality - should embed into my page. Now this I think will be enabled by Chrome, eventually. This will be a game-changer. Steve Borsch, Connecting the Dots, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Blogger, Books, Google, Paradigm Shift, Google Chrome] [Comment]

The Killer Feature of Google's New Chrome Web Browser - Combined Search and Address Bar - Will Conquer IE.
Well, I'm not so sure about that. I really found the combine search and address bar annoying - especially when thge browser did a search instead of giving me the URL (I don't always type 'http' - I shouldn't have to!). This author disagrees - see the comments for more opinions. Unattributed, Fast Company, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google, Google Chrome] [Comment]

10 Scariest and Most Annoying Facts About Google Chrome
You have to wonder about some of the things Chrome is doing. Such as: registry updates on Windows, automatic imports, suspicious end user license agreement, poor privacy agreement, automatic updates, and more. Yes, this needs to be examined carefully. By the same author: 7 Reasons Why Google Chrome, the New Google Browser is a Bad Idea. Unattributed, SEO Blog, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Privacy Issues, Google, Microsoft, Google Chrome] [Comment]

Serious Potential in Google's Browser
Overview of the new browser. "Chrome is, nonetheless, full of really smart features that seem to have been inspired by other browsers - or ripped off from them, depending on your level of cynicism... If you believe Google, though, the best stuff is all under the hood." Here is another review from CNN. David Pogue, New York Times, September 3, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google] [Comment]

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