Comments for Browser Wars: A Disturbance in The Force

Browser Wars: A Disturbance in The Force

2008-09-07T09:18:27Z

So Google has released Chrome, its entry in the browser wars (bonus points, Google, for promoting it with a Scott McCloud comic).

I know, I know, it uses the same rendering engine as Safari... but even still, Murphy's Law of Browsers dictates that weird little quirks and idiosyncrasies will somehow find their way in. And in a world where we have to test web pages against Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Konqueror, old versions of Netscape, various mobile browsers and that web-enabled toaster oven in your client's office kitchen, well... oy.

]]> That said, am I itching to install it the moment the first suicidally-alpha version is available for the Mac? You betcha.

Comment from Creditos on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T09:51:55Z

Google does something that microsoft can do, Google make the search faster because you dont have to visit google to make a search, when you use chrome you are on google, but what happen in microsoft integrates a kind of websearch on their windows?

Now you only needs to open Chrome, what happen if you only have to type without open any program...

Comment from kanders on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T10:27:31Z

who cares, everyone like you make it a big deal to have a browser, i find this article useless as it doesnt tell really any details or details that have been listed 20times already, right something thats useful. Chrome, there jsut trying to make money just like you trying to make money at your job, thats how economy is ran, so if no one would compete we would have a big monopoly and microsoft would win? plz, i like the browser a lot, its very easy and not so many stupid gadgets on it. All i can say is stop complaining like little babies.

Comment from stracken on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T10:38:09Z

yep, use it if you want....or not...it's not installed in your winzlows....I like it because it's simplicity but can't use it atm in linux, I think...

stop complaining and actually do something usefull :)

Comment from jack z on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T10:46:17Z

safari browser, that should be enough said. it was only february that an airbook running leopard was eviscerated through it's safari browser at the cansecwest challenge. do you think that egotistical dope stevie or his troop of beta dog hackers made the effort to change anything? osx and it's components are a problem. those guys would never sell any of their over priced bling boxes if microsoft hadn't screwed up with os titanic... i mean vista. there are better places to look for usable code. build your own, run linux, browse fox. and if you have any extra cash invest in companies building security software for pcs and macs.

Comment from anduin on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T10:57:23Z

this is totally wrong..

Comment from Jadedog on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T11:19:06Z

But, But, But - does it butter ones toast?

Comment from Cooday on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T11:48:23Z

I've switched to Google Chrome. In a age of multitasking, this browser hasn't let me down since I started using it. Its very easy to use and doesn't crash as much as the other browsers. As an artist the bookmarks are great for research as well as organizing. My favorite songs and images are easier to access now. As more people discover Google Chrome they will do well.

I'm also a basketball fan – my first two book marks I can easily access because of Google Chrome.
For everyone to enjoy ...

Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich MIX
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y5KAaercTI

Michael Jordan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFxXSXGd4hs

Comment from spare on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T11:49:54Z

beta version crashes easily with media player
makes the disc read all the time even when chrome is not on...
this can be stopped by deleting chrome exe in task master but then starts again when you use chrome again.
no home tab...why not? If you have eight tabs open you have to scrabble for your home page.
seems not to be managed by spywareblaster so who knows what it is picking up.
Opera would have been nice with a google tweak!
Can't get rid of those annoying adds like I can with firefox.

But it is only the beta version and we should wait n see what the experts do to it.

Comment from Todd on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T11:57:49Z

I ask you all to step outside yourselves for a moment and consider that by releasing Chrome, Google is just testing the waters for its true purpose - being Android's default browser. Maybe Google could care less if [ desktop ] Chrome ever gets any traction at all. By installing it and using it now, we are all involuntary beta testers for the Android version?

Comment from Felix Pleşoianu on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T13:15:51Z

I'm sick and tired to hear people complaining about browser incompatibilites. I build websites for a living, and 99% of the time testing with Firefox/Opera/Safari/Konqueror is a formality. There's only one browser out there with real compatibility issues, and that's Microsoft's monster IE. Just stick to the standards and you'll be surprised.

Comment from Khürt Williams on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T13:36:20Z

Come to support the Chrome, you will.

Comment from pinbalwyz on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T14:08:49Z

Dunno about CHROME, but IE8beta has annoying bugs such as failing to handle menu lists in my Yahoo.com mail.

The behavior consists of returning the scroll of menu items to the head of the list, thereby refusing to allow you to scroll down the list to click on one of the items on the menu list--I'm talking about the menu list of mail categories a user can create on mail.yahoo.com.

Chrome's licensing agreement, IMO, is obnoxious.

Comment from spare on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T14:22:03Z

Does anyone know if the ''shopping'' tab actually wipes what you shop for on chrome, or does it just leave all those pretty pictures on the disc so that someone can use a 'getback' disc restore program and find pictures that may not surprise and delight for a birthday!

Comment from ITrush on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T14:29:45Z

FF3 really works best for me, but I'm planning to test GChrome one of this days...

Comment from briguy on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T16:13:41Z

spare:

Go to "Customize and Control," select "Options." In the "basics" tab, select "Open this Page" and enter your "Home" URL. Select "Show home button on toolbar." You're all set, with a traditional "Home" button...

Comment from spare on 2008-09-07

2008-09-07T22:22:41Z

Big Guy

thanks for that...I was more put out by that than the bugs!

Comment from Rob Cottingham on 2008-09-07

2008-09-08T01:20:55Z

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Just a general point: the fact it uses WebKit is lovely, and goes a long way to making me less nervous about compatibility issues. But only less nervous: I'd want to have a good, hard look at how it handles an Ajax-heavy web app, for instance, before I decided I could wave stuff through just because it works in Safari.

@kanders, RWW has had lots of great coverage of the browser's features, and if you're interested in that side of things, I'd recommend clicking on the first link in the accompanying text. This is just the weekend cartoon, and makes no claims of journalistic value or dietary fiber.

@Felix, good for you - and I won't disagree that IE remains the 600-pound rabid gorilla when it comes to incompatibility. (Microsoft deserves some credit; it was formerly a 1,000-pound gorilla.) But I'm still coming across the need for little workarounds, hacks and exceptions to accommodate the others as well; apparently either your mileage or your tolerance for this stuff varies.

My personal browser compatibility nightmare story: I had a client who used one, and only one, browser - IE 5.1 for the Mac - and he would brook no inconsistencies between the way it rendered on his browser and the way it looked on other machines. It drove our web designer to tears at one point.

Comment from evano on 2008-09-08

2008-09-08T15:38:32Z

@Rob C: I know it's often easier to say than it is to do, but did you consider trying to "fire" that client? Supporting an outdated, discontinued, unsupported, insecure technology for a client with obviously unrealistic expectations sounds like it wouldn't be profitable for you nor would it be helpful to him.

If you had refused or passed on that kind of work, would he have been able to find a development shop willing to take on that work for a new client?

The company my friend worked for had a client like that and panicked that they'd lose the client when the web development department advised management that their recently-purchased Intel-based Macs couldn't run the PPC-only IE 5.x. The client walked away then came back a couple of weeks later after having found no one who would bid reasonably on the work. Turned out, the only people left in the client's company still using that platform were the Marketing group who were in charge of the external website! They upgraded their machines and the developers went with web-standards and lived happily ever after. :)

Comment from Rob Cottingham on 2008-09-08

2008-09-09T05:37:22Z

@evano Not an option, unfortunately - the web was part of a much, much larger project (which actually turned out rather well). In retrospect, we'd probably have been much further ahead buying him a brand-new Mac.

Comment from Ari Herzog on 2008-09-11

2008-09-11T17:01:24Z

A funny thing happened on the way to writing this comment: a neuron in my brain flickered on and I wondered why I haven't installed Chrome yet.

Survey says?