Comments for Google Chrome Injects Itself Into Internet Explorer With Chrome Frame

Google Chrome Injects Itself Into Internet Explorer With Chrome Frame

2009-09-22T18:30:00Z

Google just announced the launch of Chrome Frame, a new open-source project that will allow Chrome's rendering engine to run within Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6,7, and 8. This plugin, which is available now, will give developers the option to ask users if they would prefer to switch to the Chrome rendering and JavaScript engine. Users simply continue to use Internet Explorer and the switch will be completely seamless, with no noticeable changes to the user interface.

]]> Chrome Now Runs Inside Internet Explorer

As Google's Mike Smith and Alex Russell told us when we talked to them about this project, a lot of companies have good reasons why they can't just simply switch away from Internet Explorer. After all, these enterprises often have made large investments in an infrastructure that is only compatible with IE. As Google pointed out to us, though, this shouldn't hold back developers who want to explore the possibilities that newer, faster and more modern browsers like Chrome can offer.

Google, which has lately developed a tendency to route around other vendors, developed this plugin without help from Microsoft, but Smith and Russell noted that Microsoft gives developers a lot of ways to easily extend Internet Explorer.

Focus on Developers

Thanks to this plugin, developers will now be able to give these users an option to at least switch to a faster rendering engine by just adding one single line of code to their sites ().

Indeed, this current release is mostly meant to give developers a choice for how they want to deliver their web apps to their users. At least for now, users won't be able to make the switch to the Chrome engine persistent, though they can invoke the plugin by putting 'cf:' in front of any URL.

Google is obviously interested in getting its web apps into businesses. These web apps tend to work best in a modern browser with a fast JavaScript engine and that is not something Internet Explorer is known for. As Mike Smith told us, the Web shouldn't be hobbled by this.

As for the user experience, the Google team tells us that the switch will be absolutely seamless and that the plugin will offer the same speed and reliability of Chrome inside IE.

A Trojan Horse?

Google hopes that this plugin will enable developers in enterprises to write code for a modern browser that isn't held back by some of the old paradigms. That, of course, is a noble undertaking. At the same time, though, we can't help but wonder if Google also plans to use this plugin to plant a Trojan horse inside these companies. After all, very few businesses are ready to make the switch from IE to Chrome right now, but Chrome Frame now offers companies the option to get the best of both worlds and - maybe - switch over to Chrome completely in the long run.

As for Google itself, the company plans to use Chrome Frame to make Google Wave run smoothly in Internet Explorer but hasn't announced any other plans to use Chrome Frame in other products yet.

Comment from kc on 2010-05-04

2010-05-04T15:19:51Z

Apparently NO ONE read how it works. It has to be turned on by the web page that wants to use it. SO all the old pages and apps for IE will still work the same old way, but when someone doesn't want the IE engine they tell it to use the chrome one. I for one am super excited for it! I'm SOOO sick of trying to IE 6 and 7 and sometimes even 8 to render the web page as all the other standard complaint browsers do. YAY FOR GOOGLE!

Comment from convert on 2009-09-29

2009-09-29T09:51:20Z

It's useful for IE users, but I still wish to use a quick, steady Chrome Explorer.

Comment from jrj073000 on 2009-09-24

2009-09-24T17:48:40Z

Apple (http://adwido.com/view_content?vkey=45f860d0c3dcd6dae30230b50e32a6af) is so innovative. I wish they would develop a web browser.

Comment from Joseph on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T22:47:36Z

Better if this one can be used in Opera also. Opera still needs an overhaul when it comes to rendering and access.

Comment from shabu on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T16:28:07Z

curious how this impacts a user's privacy.

While getting free messaging and office apps might seem cool to enterprise decision makers, Chrome rendering in IE probably doesn't provide enough benefit for admins to agree to supporting another feature / tool, especially not if the plug-in falls within Google's standard rules of giving you something free in return for gathering as much info about you as possible.

http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/privacy.html

Comment from James on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T15:50:26Z

I realize there are a lot of Google fans out there. I am not one of them. I use Google for one thing and one thing only, Web based search. I even refuse their cookies so they can't keep tabs on what I am doing to target ads at me. No browser plugins, no Google Apps, and I definately wouldn't install Chrome. I will stick with IE8 or my own text browser for windows, and Firefox or my text browser for Linux. I wish Google good luck, but I am sure there are a lot more like me that think Google is well on their way to trying to track every action you do on or off line.

Comment from Nathan on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T15:16:50Z

Cool!

Now I will be able to debug my Visual Studio web apps in IE with a decent rendering engine without having to stop both the browser and the web app.

I think it's a good move.

Comment from Jason on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T14:40:49Z

I'm with TC - Google is an advertising company. They are not philanthropists. It's a business...

Who has your data? You know? Have their Phone Number? Who really has the keys to it? You? Who really owns the data? Even if they claim you do... other people have it in their possession!

I think Google is slick - don't get me wrong - but - cloud computing offerings by advertisers? Free Seervices for private infomation managed in business... by Advertisers?

Chrome? A BINARY that runs on my PC from an advertiser? Nope!

Not Me, Thank you very much. I warn my clients just the same:

Use it - sure - just don't post confidential stuff and you should be ok.

--Jason

Comment from thinsoldier on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T14:26:55Z

@Tim Acheson
That's not propaganda. That's the truth about IE 5.5, IE6, and IE7 (and maybe IE8 in some case).

@Simon
It's not for ancient enterprise apps! It's for the benefit of new publicly available apps like Google Wave and the future Facebooks, and Bespins that have yet to be created.

Comment from Jake on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T14:26:31Z

Nice idea, but from our perspective as a web development shop that loves Chrome and has to support IE6, we're a bit skeptical about whether this will help much.

We wrote up an analysis here:

http://www.cmurrayconsulting.com/strategy/google-chrome-frame-why/

Comment from Prez on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T13:49:03Z

... but it doesn't solve the problem when someone is using IE6 at work and doesn't have admin rights to upgrade it or install something else... That's real problem....

... Anyway - good move, well done G!

Comment from Simon on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T13:08:00Z

Those claiming that this will affect enterprises with a lot of IE6 apps are not thinking clearly.

An app is wedded to IE6 because the SOURCE is IE6 specific. It will no more work in a Chrome plugin than it will work in Chrome.

IE6 targetted intranet apps are likely to find the upgrade to IE8 much smoother.

Comment from Doug Avery on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T13:05:59Z

@dude: Big question for you is, are you ABLE to install the Chrome frame? Is whatever's blocking you from installing a new browser also able to block you from downloading and adding plugins to IE6/IE7?

Comment from dude on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T11:40:37Z

Comments such as 'why would someone want to keep ie6 yet install plugin'
and
'Anyone wanting a better browsing experience will use Chrome or Firefox'

You are totally missing the point. We don't WANT IE, the companies we work for give us NO CHOICE.

Put it in a boat and float it!

Comment from Tim Acheson on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T11:06:33Z

This is an interesting development, and a nice objective blog post.

Sadly, the Google's Wave dev blog reported this in a very different style:-

http :// googlewavedev . blogspot . com/2009/09/google-wave-in-internet-explorer.html

[remove spaces to use the above URL]

"Unfortunately, Internet Explorer, still used by the majority of the Web's users, has not kept up with such fairly recent developments in Web technology. Compared with other browsers, the JavaScript performance is many times slower and HTML5 support is still far behind. Likewise, the many different versions of IE still in use -- each with its own set of CSS quirks and layout limitations -- further complicates building rich Web applications."

It's a shame to see a blog post about an interesting project ending up being used as a soap box for, and dominated by, anti-IE/anti-MS propaganda. This can't be seen as independent or objective -- Google has a product competing with IE.

The anti-IE rhetoric is really unnecessary here. That blog post will be widely circulated online. It's like viral propaganda. Let's remember that HTML 5 is not ready yet, it's not even a specification yet -- as the W3C is trying to make clear:

http://www.w3.org/QA/2009/05/_watching_the_google_io.html

Comment from tc on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T10:14:23Z

I'm kind of scared of Google, more and more. Especially of the fact that their business model is based on advertising.
It feels OK now since we are getting a lot of free services, but I'm wondering how it will feel in 10-20 years when competition becomes more aggressive.

Comment from tripods on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T09:51:11Z

Finally google chrome get its way and it reached.Its good to hear and use I am so excited for this and really want to check it out.
Thanks for posting it.

Comment from Andy Eastham on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T08:41:55Z

Fantastic! Finally a way to get the Google Toolbar with Chrome!

Comment from Milivoj on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T08:39:14Z

Well, if chrome was that good. I use Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer 8, and must say that IE8 is good enough and fast enough.

So basically, this looks more like another step in Google vs Microsoft war. I'll skip, thank you very much.

Comment from Anna on 2009-09-23

2009-09-23T08:05:07Z

the same that they do to iphone :)

Comment from Rolf-G on 2009-09-22

2009-09-23T06:57:55Z

What are they waiting for? Let's have the Chrome Plugin for Firefox!!!
That's the real target anyway.
Rolf

Comment from Mr-Yellow on 2009-09-22

2009-09-23T06:53:16Z

Yay a new attack vector!

Comment from jason bates on 2009-09-22

2009-09-23T05:10:30Z

I'm glad there getting married I like her she is really cool..

Comment from altrenda on 2009-09-22

2009-09-23T00:59:34Z

Clever idea, but hopefully Google knows better than having this install automatically, without the users permission.

If google wants to refuse their search and apps service to IE6 users, great. Keep the pressure on to upgrade.

But to install without letting the user know, like Microsoft did with their Firefox plugin, would cause them a lot of problems with IT admins and users.

Comment from Divorce Attorney on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T23:43:36Z

Anyone wanting a better browsing experience will use Chrome or Firefox

Comment from Mia D on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T21:43:49Z

Interesting move by Google. Enterprise users are wedded to IE so it seems clever that Google decided to go in through the back door and offer them a plugin to use Chrome via IE.

But there are 2 big assumptions here, first being that there are enough users to justify the enterprise developers offering that option and second being that the users will switch over to Chrome eventually. Even if I buy the first, second seems overly optimistic.

I guess from Google's POV, given how badly it wants to get into the enterprise space, it's worth a try.

Comment from Affordable website designers on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T21:25:58Z

Got to agree with John on that one. If detection was automatic that would be excellent. Never the less, this is a great application and it will only get better.

Brilliant!

Comment from John on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T20:13:24Z

This plugin would be much cooler if it detected the webpage was using advanced features and enabled itself automatically.

Comment from Eric D. Fields on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T19:50:29Z

I propose the following changes to google.com for

"Google Search" "I'm Feeling Lucky" "Make My Internets Better for FREE"

Or google just cuts off those IE users until they install the plugin.

Comment from dan barker on 2009-09-22

2009-09-22T19:49:37Z

very nice idea. would be interested to hear how many downloads it gets. slightly strange to think someone would want to keep ie6, but be willing to install a plugin to avoid having to use ie6!