As if we didn’t have enough to juggle, Google adds their own browser to the mix. Google Chrome was released a few hours ago for Windows XP & Vista. A Mac version is promised at some point. Even though I’m a Mac user, it was worth a launch of VMWare Fusion to take the new kid on the block for a spin. Initial impression? Nice start. I’m certainly not going to shout from the rooftops because Google puts its tabs above the address bar. Yes, it’s different. But in some areas of the browser it feels different for different’s sake which does nothing for productivity. What sets Chrome apart, clearly, is how it manages resources. The browser is the operating system, and like with any modern OS each application is handled separately. I think of all us who live in Firefox know what it’s like to have 30 tabs open and be stuck because one is being ornery.
There have been persistent – and reasonably credible – rumors that Google was going to release its own browser. Now, thanks to Google Blogoscoped, we have some additional evidence: a 38-page comic book sent out by Google to announce the Google Chrome project. The comic runs through a bunch of interesting features: process-isolated tabs, a new Javascript engine tuned for large, complex applications (like, oh, GMail), UI innovations, an “Omnibox” that resembles Firefox’s “Awesome bar”, and more. The new browser is supposedly built on top of the Webkit rendering engine. Although this could be a (very elaborate) hoax, I’m inclined to believe it’s for real: the URL for Google Chrome is returning a custom 404 page, rather than the one Google uses for random words. I’m sure I won’t be the only web worker hoping to see a release here sooner rather than later.
Google is to release its own internet browser in what amounts to its most direct attack yet on Microsoft’s dominance of PC software. The launch of the browser, known as Google Chrome, will pit the internet company against Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer browser, which is used by an estimated three-quarters of all internet users. Google said a test version of the browser would be released in 100 countries on Tuesday. EDITOR’S CHOICE Mediaset sues Google over web TV clips – Jul-30 Lex: Cuil v Google – Jul-28 Newcomer lines up to take on Google – Jul-28 Google poaches Newsnight editor – Jul-28 Sun Valley shindig that deals in more than small potatoes – Jul-11 Google launch to alter virtual worlds – Jul-10 The direct challenge echoes the so-called Browser Wars of the late-1990s, when Microsoft used its Windows operating system monopoly to win users for its own software and defeat the internet pioneer Netscape. That battle triggered a US anti-trust case against the software company.
Google announced on Monday that it has been working on an open-source browser known as Chrome and that it is going to release a beta version today in 100 countries. News about the launch of Google Chrome (originally planned for announcement after the holiday weekend) was accidentally emailed to outside sources according to reports. The new browser features include "isolated" tabs designed to prevent browser crashes and a more powerful JavaScript engine. Chrome is based on the open-source software Webkit which is also used to build Google's mobile software Android.
Everyone knows that some people get more spam than others, but new research shows that it may have something to do with the first letter of your email address. Richard Clayton, a security researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., says he found evidence that the more common the first letter in your email address is, the more spam you get: in other words, alice@company.com typically gets a higher volume of spam than quincy@company.com, or zach@company.com. He says that's simply because there are more combinations of names that begin with "A" than with "Q" or "Z."
Philipp Lenssen writes "Google announced their very own browser project called Google Chrome — an announcement in the form of a comic book drawn by Scott McCloud, no less. Google says Google Chrome will be open source, include a new JavaScript virtual machine, include the Google Gears add-on by default, and put the tabs above the address bar (not below), among other things. I've also uploaded Google's comic book with all the details (details given from Google's perspective, anyway… let's see how this holds up). While Google provided the URL www.google.com/chrome there's nothing up there yet."
Word surfaced Monday of a Web "comic book" introducing Google Chrome, the search giant's long-rumored open-source browser project. While the illustrations, created by cartoonist Scott McCloud, were not announced by Google, they do contain the quotes and likenesses of 19 Google developers.
By the Google Chrome team, comics adaptation by Scott McCloud
While in many parts of the world the new business quarter may be all about inflation and expensive oil and collapsing housing markets, the online world remains a hotbed of innovation and opportunity. So this month, let’s look at some new ways the offline world is making the most of the online steamroller.
Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.
Today there was a comic book in my mail, sent by Google and drawn by no less than Scott McCloud, creator of the classic Understanding Comics. Within the 38 pages, which I’ve scanned and put up, in very readable format Google gives the technical details into a project of theirs: an open source browser called Google Chrome. The book points to www.google.com/chrome, but I can’t see anything live there yet. In a nut-shell, here’s what the comic announces Google Chrome to be:
Google Chrome – Behind the Open Source Browser Project
At Google, we have a saying: “launch early and iterate.” While this approach is usually limited to our engineers, it apparently applies to our mailroom as well! As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit "send" a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome. As we believe in access to information for everyone, we've now made the comic publicly available — you can find it here. We will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome tomorrow in more than 100 countries. So why are we launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.