Browsers, Part 1: Google Chrome: Why the hype?
Friday, September 5, 2008 4:52 am- This post is part of a series I am writing for a class on New Media. Some technical explanations may seem unneeded or lengthy, but I am writing for the benefit of a very intelligent but less technical audience.
This will be the first post in a series about web browsers, and will dabble in history and include some usage tips and fun stuff. First up is the new kid on the block, Chrome.
For anyone who regularly follows tech news on the web, it’s been impossible to miss the madness over the (premature) announcement of Google’s Chrome web browser. I’m not going to repeat any of the facts here (for those, see any of the links at the end of this post).
What I want to discuss, in compact form, is why this browser is so significant, and where it fits into the plethora of browser options that already exist. Firstly, here is a list of the major browsers for the majority who is unfamiliar with most of these beyond Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari:
| Release Date | Name | Price | Maker | HTML Rendering Engine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Internet Explorer | Bundled with Windows | Microsoft | Proprietary | Web developers hate it because it’s generally non-standards compatible (a topic for another post) |
| 1996 | Opera | Ad-supported/Ad-free version can be purchased | Opera Software | Proprietary | Opera has tons of features but has never taken off in popularity |
| 1996 | Konqueror | Free/Open-source | KDE Project | Webkit | Default browser of the KDE windowing environment. Apple based its browser off of the core of Konqueror |
| 2003 | Safari | Bundled with Mac OSX | Apple Computer | Webkit | Until Apple made its own browser, they bundled Internet Explorer for Mac |
| 2004 (Its father Netscape was 1994) | Firefox | Free/Open-source | Mozilla Foundation | Gecko | Modern-day descendant of Netscape. Major threat to the dominance of Internet Explorer |
| First Beta in mid-2008 | Chrome | Free/Partially open-source | Webkit | A totally new browser written from the ground up in the modern day (unlike all of the browsers that have deep roots in the late ‘90s |
Basically, Chrome is a web browser designed for the newest generation of web technologies and the newest websites. It is designed to be speedy and to ensure that the browser itself does not interfere with the user’s browsing.
Simply interesting is how the other features announced for Chrome so far are ideas pioneered by other browsers. From the Opera Browser, comes the “radical” tab and address bar locations and the home tab “speed-dial feature.” From Firefox comes the “awesome bar.” Also, on the more technical side, both the Chrome and Firefox teams have put huge amounts of work into writing revolutionary Javascript engines for their products (V8 and Spidermonkey). This work is what brings you increased performance when using most modern websites such as Gmail and Facebook. The Google Team does admit that their aim is to take the best of the browsing world and combine into one über-product.
There is much more to be said, but for now, here are a few good articles on Chrome:
- The comic book used to introduce Chrome
- On Wired
- Chrome can be downloaded here
- On the averted legal crisis
- Mozilla’s view on Chrome (via slashdot)
- Opera’s take on Chrome
- Chrome Pros and Cons
myeroshalmi says:
September 5th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
WOOOT I downloaded chrome within hours of it coming out. Although I have not had any time to really crank the use of it I do like some of its new features. For those of you that read this and are wondering “wow, their are so many browsers, which one should I use?” Their are actually websites that test everything and give you statistics on each feature of each browser. I will give links to two of them for those of you who are interested.
http://lifehacker.com/5044668/beta-browser-speed-tests-which-is-fastest
http://lifehacker.com/396048/speed-testing-the-latest-web-browsers
hnodler says:
September 5th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Adam, this is an excellent blog post in many respects. First, you draw our attention to a new technology, one which we likely would not have heard about in casual conversation yet.
Second, you give us some idea of how the media have covered this new technology thus far.
Third, you give us your opinion on the significance of the new technology, citing some specific features.
Finally, you offer us historical context in an easily-read format (table) and provide us with links for further reading.
Great job! I can’t wait to try out Chrome myself.
hnodler says:
September 5th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Thanks for the links, Michael!
adamfeldman says:
September 5th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Thanks yall!
aaronatzil says:
September 10th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Wow. I’m impressed. It’s very interesting to see the trends of the world flattening apparent in the chart. Like how internet explorer started out as a web browser that came with a windows computer and was hated by web developers, and almost a decade later, Firefox was made, which is a free, open source browser.