We knew it was coming. And from previous experience we can guess it is going to be a big deal. It is just that when an announcement of this magnitude is around, there is usually a lot of rumors going around. Even Apple, famed (notorious ?) for its secrecy could not stop the iPhone rumors. But, here we are.. with a simple comic book description of Chrome, released as a blog entry. So, what does it really mean to us ?
Expect some paradigms to go out of the window
Ever used google spreadsheets? The small chat window inside GMail right in the browser? They are great examples of truly dynamic web applications. You no longer need to press the submit button every time you want a single line of text. The server connectivity is done behind the scene, as you type away. I mean, this what Google does best. They take a simple idea, throw all existing precedents away and build something completely new, in the process changing the way the industry works.
Ever used google spreadsheets? The small chat window inside GMail right in the browser? They are great examples of truly dynamic web applications. You no longer need to press the submit button every time you want a single line of text. The server connectivity is done behind the scene, as you type away. I mean, this what Google does best. They take a simple idea, throw all existing precedents away and build something completely new, in the process changing the way the industry works.
It is here to stay
You might as well download it now, as sooner or later you will. If there is any company that has the developer support to pull this off, it is Google. It might start slow, but it is in for a long run.
You might as well download it now, as sooner or later you will. If there is any company that has the developer support to pull this off, it is Google. It might start slow, but it is in for a long run.
What we see is just the tip
The blog entry that introduces Chrome says it elegantly - launch early and iterate. Iterate they will. This is one of the greatest advantages of building new technology from scratch. You can build the technology that suits your vision instead of building a vision that the technology can accommodate. There is a whole barrage of innovation waiting to happen and Chrome might just be the launch pad.
The Landscape is set to change
I had never seen in-browser chat windows before GMail. Few months since it appeared though, nearly all major e-mail providers have them. The competition is getting fiercer and that means a browser needs to be better in more ways in order to hold a user. IE might still hold the advantage of being the default browser in the most popular operating system. With number of firefox downloads increasing, it looks like the advantage is only going to get weaker.
I had never seen in-browser chat windows before GMail. Few months since it appeared though, nearly all major e-mail providers have them. The competition is getting fiercer and that means a browser needs to be better in more ways in order to hold a user. IE might still hold the advantage of being the default browser in the most popular operating system. With number of firefox downloads increasing, it looks like the advantage is only going to get weaker.
8 Responses to "Google Chrome - What it means to us"
I think you have hit the nail on the head. These guys have started of with a mean sleek surfing machine and only time will tell to see how far it goes. They will definitely wait for user opinions and go on from there.
So far, and it is definitely early days yet, I think it's going to be a winner for Google. I just wonder what little hidden things they will build into it that will somehow line their pockets. BTW, I think you forgot to vote in my poll ;)
September 4, 2008 at 5:04 AM
I am sorry, but I have seen this before.
Did you know their browser uses Google Accelerator? No different than AOL's TopSpeed. Did you know that when you uninstall Chrome that Google Updater doesn't uninstall with it? It remains on your system doing whatever it does, besides looking for updates to software you don't have any more.
Except for the dialup ISP part, Google is slowly turning into AOL, rolling out every little thing they acquired in that deal, where they injected a lot of cash into AOL, to keep Microsoft from taking them over.
They made a hefty investment in AOL and it had it's perks, like access to whatever AOL code that Google wanted.
The first thing they took, and has yet to appear on their search page, was all the goodies that AOL rolled out on their own spiffy search page, only a few months before the injection of Google's cash (it's all gone now, Google made them take it down and make their search look bland & featureless, like theirs). But people have seen some of it appearing in selected areas, so it is only a matter of time till we all get it on Google's search page.
And I couldn't help but notice that all of Google's desktop applications look like they were built with AOL's Boxley GUI kit.
I guess it makes good business sense...invest only enough cash to get what you want from AOL and prevent them from being taken over by someone else, and use it to roll out your own, rather than paying even more cash to take it over the whole thing yourself.
And that Google name makes it all cool...people will love whatever they do. (Google must have cut a secret deal for the Pied Piper's flute when we were not paying attention.)
If they had bought out AOL completely and slapped their name on the company's site & software, overnight it would have become cool to use AOL's browser and services, even if nothing else changed about it except the company name.
Just look at DoubleClick, a company that was the prime example of what was wrong with tracking cookies. DoubleClick was considered evil spyware. Google bought them, they suddenly become respectable? Nothing has changed at DoubleClick...the tracking cookies are still there and being used for the same purposes as before. The only thing that has changed is who owns the company.
Watch out. Be careful. Don't trust anyone with all your data, especially when their goal is to become Big Brother and acquire control of all the world's data, including all of yours.
And yes, that is Google's goal. They publicly stated this before, or have you forgotten that? Think back to when they started scanning all the copyrighted books and explained why they were doing it.
September 4, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Thanks for your comment Sire!
Either way, I think it will be interesting to see how this turns out. And being a technology person, I am all for a new approach towards a problem. In this regard, I am quite excited about Chrome..
Did your poll !
I'm with you on this prasana, but having said that I will still keep one eye open so I can monitor the Google watchdog. ;)
September 4, 2008 at 3:41 PM
As a programmer, I guess you could say I am a technology person too. And I am all for new approaches to solving problems, but what problem exactly was Google trying to solve with this minimalistic browser?
When Windows users have the choices of using IE, Firefox, Seamonkey, Opera, K-Meleon, Safari, Maxthon, and a bunch of others, why do we need Chrome?
Is Google trying to say that ALL of those browsers are no good? If that is the case, why does Google throw so much money at Mozilla towards developing Firefox, and will continue to do so?
Or why use the same browser engine in Chrome, as one of the ones in that list?
I doubt they are doing this so they can create content that will only run in Google's browser. That would be plain stupid, and the same thing Microsoft did with IE that gained so much criticism over the years. Do you remember MSJVM, ActiveX, VBScript, JScript? (JScript and Javascript are not the same thing)
Or was the problem Google was trying to solve, the one about there being a whole lot of people out there that have a serious need for a fast, safe, minimalistic browser?
If that is the problem they were trying to solve, they already failed when they made it for XP/Vista, only.
The people that really need a fast, safe, minimalistic browser the most (those running Win2k & older, especially 9x users), will never be able to use this browser.
There aren't many choices for those users...as a matter of fact, there is only 1 for 9x users: K-Meleon, which is the only browser that the developers have made a commitment to not abandoning the people that need it the most. People that have not much choice in the hardware they own and the OS that can run on it.
Even though there is such thing as OLPC, there still isn't a PC fairy giving free computers away to people that are elderly, disabled, low income, etc. Those people have to make due with what they have, and for many, it can't run Chrome.
September 4, 2008 at 7:11 PM
App!
Thanks for visiting and the comments. Appreciate the effort you have put in.
Very true! Google might very well be trying to take over all of world's data. Far fetched, but possible. But, isn't this is a kind of issue we should all be worried about not just about Google, but with every organization out there? Web is relatively a new medium, and what is right and wrong here is being pondered upon everyday. Meanwhile, it is the responsibility of the individual who chooses to use these services to decide if he/she wants to trust these companies with their data or not.
When I first used Google, I was looking for reasonably good search results. It exceeded my expectations with much more accurate results than any other search engine available then, rendered considerably faster. As a happy customer, I was very excited to try out their Gmail when it first came out, and again I was pleasanty surprised to find a fresh approach to mail services. Do you think I tried out Chrome? You bet. I don't care if there are a zillion other browsers, I want to find out what they have to offer. I give them a chance to prove themselves because they have done some good stuff before. A customer is worried about the usability and usage of the product first. There might be other things to be considered that are very important, but they are secondary. I do not see why I, a end user should be worried if Google decides to invest a chunk of money in AOL?
What does Google has to offer with this browser? I don't know for sure yet. But, here are some things that come to mind. As Sire says in his blog, the browser is simple (minimalist?), and that is a great thing. It is built from scratch keeping the latest technologies and the challenges in mind.
I am happy not to have a few features now to have a architecturally robust browser than have a bloated one with a lot of features. It might not have so much more features than others now, but its a good start and a great launch pad for a lot more.
Hey Prasanna,
Thanks for your visit of my blog and appreciate your comment.
This is my courtesy visit as part of my appreciation. I'll be back and so will you.
Yan
WP Beginners
chrome is the fastest!
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