With so many Internet browsers to choose from, who needs another one?
Search engine giant Google Inc., that's who. The company's Chrome browser, released yesterday in a beta test version, is designed to make the world a better place for Google's suite of Internet-based software applications. Yet consumers could stand to gain, as well, thanks to Chrome's new features
"This is about more than just the browser itself," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst with Directions on
Google's archival, Microsoft Corp., earns billions each year from the sale of office software, including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and e-mail programs. But Google has begun peeling away Microsoft customers by providing free access to similar software. In the process, Google attracts more users to its immensely popular search service, which brings in billions in advertising revenue.
But Microsoft's software, which runs on each user's machine, offers advanced features Google's online programs can't match, partly because of the limitations of today's browsers. By building a better browser, Google can build more sophisticated applications that can measure up to Microsoft's best.
"That's probably Microsoft's biggest threat in the consumer space," Rosoff said.
The word chrome is software jargon for the toolbars and task bars that cling like barnacles to most computer programs. Ironically, Google Chrome has eliminated nearly all these ornaments. Instead, the new software relies on a tab-based interface that hosts multiple Web pages in a single browser. There's also a single window where users can type both Web addresses and Internet search requests. Google is the default search service, of course, but it's easy to select an alternative.
Chrome boasts some slick new interface features. Each tab in the browser can be dragged onto the desktop, where it instantly forms a new browser window. File downloads no longer generate an annoying pop-up window. Instead, they're simply dumped into a standard download folder, and a small window at the base of the browser keeps track of them. At a click, you can drag your downloads onto your desktop, or pretty much anyplace else.
Browsers normally keep a record of the sites a user has visited. But a user who shares a machine with others might not want them to know about his surfing habits. For them, Chrome contains an "incognito" setting. When the user turns it on, surfing activity won't be recorded.