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Chrome
Downloads Count: 20,321
License Type: Free
Price: Free
Date Added: Oct 11, 2009
Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista
Author: Google
- Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 (SP1) 314,476
- Adobe Reader 248,070
- Firefox 240,565
- Netscape 223,522
- Crazy Browser 181,749
Editorial Review of Chrome
Even though it isn't jam-packed with features, Google's Chrome lives up to its hype by rethinking the Web browser in clever and convenient ways that make using the Web a more organic experience than you'd get with either Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 or Mozilla's Firefox 3.
Chrome automatically detects your current Web browser and prompts you through installation. When you first run the application, Chrome imports your bookmarks, passwords, and settings from Firefox or Internet Explorer.
Chrome's layout is simple: a row of tabs running along the top, a Web address bar, and a bookmarks bar that runs beneath the address bar. A separate recent-bookmarks box appears at the right of the screen. All controls are stacked beneath two icons to the right of the Omnibar address bar.
At the touch of a button, Chrome lets you make a desktop, Start menu, or QuickLaunch shortcut to any Web page or Web application, blurring the line between what's online and what's inside your PC. When you create a shortcut for a Web app, Chrome strips away window's toolbars and tabs, leaving you with something that feels much more like a desktop app.
Google adds clever features to make searching easier. Chrome goes beyond the competition, searching your browser history's page titles as well as page content. The history results show the page title, as well as (for most sites) a thumbnail image, but it doesn't show the actual Web page address. To find our slideshow Technology for the Obscenely Wealthy in my browser history, I typed 'obscenely wealthy' in the Omnibar. The resulting list showed every page I had visited that contained the phrase.
The default search engine is, of course, Google. However, you can choose from a list of other search engines, or you can manually add your own. Type 'google fish sticks' to search for fish sticks on Google. The same syntax works for other search engines.
Chrome includes a private browsing mode (Incognito), source code tools for Web developers, and the ability to restore all tabs from a previous session. Chrome also features tab isolation: If a Web page leads to a crash, the crash will affect only the tab displaying the page--not the whole program. Internet Explorer 8 offers a similar feature, but Chrome takes the idea a step further by adding a task manager that gives the user an idea of how much memory and CPU use a page is using, allowing you to kill any problem pages. You have to configure this tool manually, but it's worth the fuss: By default, Chrome will not restore your session. If Chrome crashes, it takes everything with it unless you manually configure the browser to act otherwise.
The nonbeta release of Chrome introduces an actual bookmarks manager. The bookmarks manager lives in a separate window, and uses a two-pane layout: The left-hand pane displays folders of bookmarks, and the right-hand pane shows the contents of bookmark folders. A search field is in the upper-right corner of the bookmarks manager window, and results appear as you type.
The sites I visited that rely on JavaScript and Ajax seemed to work fine, but Microsoft's Silverlight does not support Chrome at this time.
Google has produced an excellent browser that is friendly enough to handle average browsing activities without complicating the tasks, but at the same time powerful enough to meet the needs of more-advanced users. The search functionality of the Omnibar is one of the many useful innovations. There has been some speculation that Google would develop its own OS, but I think Chrome makes one thing clear: The Web browser is Google's operating system.
Note: The Download link takes you to the vendor's site.
--Nick Mediati
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