Prodded by the feature-list of the recently released Beta 2 version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) 8, Google has prematurely announced its own Web browser entry, which will appear today on Windows only. The browser, called Chrome, appears to offer functionality very similar to that of IE 8, though of course Google will integrate more tightly with its own Web services.
"Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there," a posting to the Google blog reads. "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."
It's actually a lot more self-serving than that. Google's rationale for building its own browser predispose the reader to believing that people actually "edit documents" and "send email" only through a Web browser, and not with best-selling Windows applications like Microsoft Word and Outlook, respectively. This world-view further assumes that the cloud computing trends that are just now emerging are already the standard method of computing, which they are not. (In fact, Microsoft's hybrid approach, called Software + Services, arguably is a bit more realistic for most users. Under this model, yes, we will be doing more and more online. But users also require best-of-class desktop applications for interacting with Web services in the richest possible way.)
In any event, it's equally clear that Google must have been shocked to see the list of new features Microsoft unveiled last week as part of IE 8 Beta 2. That's because virtually all of the new features in Google Chrome first debuted last week as part of IE 8 Beta 2. These features include:
Tab isolation. Google Chrome's tabs will each run in their own process, so that when one crashes, only the tab crashes and not the entire browser. This feature appeared first in IE 8 Beta 2.
Revamped JavaScript engine. Google Chrome features a new JavaScript engine called V8 that will dramatically improved Javascript performance. One of the new features in IE 8 Beta 2 is a new JavaScript engine that dramatically improves performance.
Better security. Google Chrome features "architectural changes to disadvantage malware." IE 8 comes with numerous security advances, including a SmartScreen filter, cross-site scripting (XSS) filter, enhanced Delete Browser History, domain name highlighting, Data Execution Prevention (DEP) support, easy browser toolbar removal, a new Safety menu, and more.
Incognito. Google Chrome features a privacy mode called Incognito that hides everything you do in the current browser window. IE 8 Beta 2 debuted this feature last week, calling it InPrivate.
Omnibox. The Google Chrome address bar handles more than just URLs: "It also offers suggestions for searches, top pages you've visited before, pages you haven't visited but are popular, and more" Google says. That's how the Smart Address Bar in IE 8 Beta 2 works as well.
To be fair to Google, they also stole some ideas from Mozilla Firefox (like chrome-less Web application windows) and Apple Safari (the WebKit rendering engine), though claims of theft in such cases are, of course, less relevant in the open source world. And Google Chrome will offer some unique new features of its own, including an interesting looking home page (albeit one that appears to ape the Quick Tabs features from IE 7) and simple a tabs-based UI that allows you to do such thing as rip a tab off one browser window and drag it to another.
So what are we to make of Google Chrome? We won't know much until the beta appears later today, but my early take on this is that Google has the market power to make WebKit a top-tier Web platform, alongside IE and Firefox. For more information about Google's Chrome browser, and of course the surprisingly similar feature set of IE 8, please refer to the SuperSite for Windows. I've written about both in the past week.
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/google_chrome_preview.asp
http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/ie8_beta2.asp
End of Article
Ok I'm sorry but this is one of the most biased stories you've put out so far. If you want the real story read the COMIC BOOK (that's right, I said comic book) that Google created about Chrome. They explicitly say that they're using WebKit, it will be open source, and that they use features that are found in other browsers. Chrome is not about one-upping Firefox or the almighty IE8 Beta 2 that Paul keeps trumpeting. It's about raising the web-browser bar. This is completely evident by them announcing that Chrome is open source. Chrome has no major features that would cause a diehard Firefox user to switch, but it instead provides for a new method of how a web page should be rendered and opens this model for everyone to copy. Please don't just rehash a comic book to make Google out to be some copycat company out to make a quick buck. They have some ideas to share, even if MS-biased journalists don't want to hear it.
freakyfelt : you failed to read what paul is saying. He is simply pointing (and correctly so) that nearly all the features in chrome are already in IE8. And that this is not a move of "good will" from google. They have a lot riding on this.
Also your statement that :
"it [chrome] instead provides for a new method of how a web page should be rendered and opens this model for everyone to copy"
is completely incorrect. Please refrain from making uninformed statements that further confuse people. Chrome is not about changing the way pages render. It is more about google pushing their GEARS and V8 VM technology. This is about google wanting to be a force in the web platform development world so that they can be in a position to help their online apps.
google itself admits it. their apps suck due to current browsers. It is a good move but the true impact is on steering the development of open source browsers in the direction they want.
In the end it comes down to how good they can make ther GEARS and V8 engine and how good of an IDE and SDK they can put out.
This is all about the framework and not about the actual browser. It is a smart move but it comes down to developers. It will take more than the anti-ms crowd to change the direction of web apps. And they have the formidable silverlight to contend with.
if anything things just got interesting.
guruguru September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: )
Thats all we need in the corp world another browser. I need another browser as mucjh as I need to unistall the "Bonjour" Service and Safari on our machines thanks to ITUNES.
I think I will just use the Kindle from now on.
bbacoyiannis September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: )
"Ok I'm sorry but this is one of the most biased stories you've put out so far"
IMHO, Paul had even more biased stories in the past than this one. But ACK that this is one of his classic 'I'm a Microsoft shill' opinion pieces (seems that Paul is getting nervous that beloved Windows is getting irrelevant - IE is already stinking like a dead fish..)*
The difference between Google and MS is, that Google does not need to lie about where they got their ideas. Simple as that ..
--- * Concerning this opinion piece, Paul is trying to tell his faithful readers (hi, sharky, XP, --taime and the rest of the fangirls!) who haven't seen anything else than Windows so far, that new IE 8 features where somehow invented by Microsoft (mostly copied from FF, Opera and Safari) or that IE is somehow better than others when in fact, IE is so bad that it doesn't even matter which other browser you choose.
* BTW: IE's JavaScript Engine is by fare the slowest and will be the slowest despite the new implementation in IE8. Both in Mozilla and WebKit betas, the faster JS-Engines were replaced by even faster ones.
MysterMask September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: )
Oh great, another crappy B00ble app to block...
Enterprise admins weeping...
sx4sport@hotmail.com September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: )
As far as I can tell, Chrome is just a re-badged Safari 3.1 (which in turn is using the Konqueror engine). It identifies itself exactly the same way via User Agent (minor difference), the "revolutionary" JavaScript engine appears to be the same as Safari (which arguably is quite fast). We've done some compatibility testing on our apps and found the browser behaves the same as Safari, including precisely following our quirks code-path for that engine. Mind you this is a preliminary examination, but given the behavior of the browser, I'd call this a Google skin. Perhaps there are differences in regards to threading, but it would require a comparison of both Safari and Chrome source code.
The bigger question... Firefox is free. The product is the result of efforts at a foundation. That foundation receives a significant portion (majority perhaps?) of its funding from Google. Presuming Google has their own browser, what is going to stop them from ceasing funding of Firefox? I think they have a multi-year agreement in place, but they're going to need other corporate sponsors once that lapses, lest Firefox turns into the next Netscape Navigator.
In terms of my experience, Opera is most standards compliant for initial rendering, followed by Safari, Firefox, and IE in that order. However IE has the most flexible JavaScript engine, followed by Firefox, Safari, then Opera. Opera and Safari seem to have several quirks in regards to dynamic page manipulation (they look great to begin with, but you can't do certain things like dynamically change a list-box to a drop-down, and other nice dynamic UI issues, which work fine in IE/FF). Love it or hate it, the two biggest browsers really are the most polished.
Truth be told, I'm not really certain why Apple got into the browser game... FF seemed like a natural replacement once their contract with MS had lapsed. They could have stepped up the corporate funding of FF and used it on the iPhone too.
Christopher September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: )
To add to that: Or Apple could have extended FF to suit their platform in the same method that Netscape used Gecko as its core. (Or Google is doing with Safari)
I'd really like to have conversations with the associated product managers and get their take on why certain decisions were made.
Christopher September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: )
Thanks to Paul for an interesting article and to Christopher for the supplement. I hope you'll be keeping us informed.
stalar September 03, 2008 (Article Rating: )
Great Article but its PT! If you want a positive review from PT search for an article from him about a succesful MS app. The guy knows MS...
As for the Google browser; cool bring it on. Lets see what they have come up with and how they will tie it to thier current list of services. I am sure there is some kind of biz risk but they are heading towards what they have been building for the last 5 or 7 years. Cloud computing. No more cd's, dvd's, less paper (I hope) etc... and much easier info sharing. If you have a small biz you can use google as your prod suite for practically nothing. If this browser improves that experience and ties it together via a browser GUI it will be a viable prod suite that probably could be customized and implemented in a variety of ways to suit the specific needs of the user/customer. Just thinking out loud here.
pete.gay September 03, 2008 (Article Rating: )
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Chrome is not about one-upping Firefox or the almighty IE8 Beta 2 that Paul keeps trumpeting. It's about raising the web-browser bar. This is completely evident by them announcing that Chrome is open source.
Chrome has no major features that would cause a diehard Firefox user to switch, but it instead provides for a new method of how a web page should be rendered and opens this model for everyone to copy.
Please don't just rehash a comic book to make Google out to be some copycat company out to make a quick buck. They have some ideas to share, even if MS-biased journalists don't want to hear it.
http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/index.html
freakyfelt September 02, 2008 (Article Rating: