Google has now released its stable version of Google Chrome with the much awaited features: extensions and bookmarking. There are a whole lot of extensions added to the extension gallery. Google, with this release has made sure that some of the most adequate and top requested features are added up to this browser.
Bookmark Sync on Google Chrome is different than the regular bookmark feature we find on IE or Firefox.. Google Chrome bookmark sync helps you synchronize all your bookmarks on all of your computers so that when you create a Chrome bookmark on one computer, it’s automatically added across all the computers you sign in and browse. This helps you from manually recreate the bookmark on each system each time you switch computers.
There are over 1500 extensions lined up in the gallery most of them being contributed by developers all over the world. Some of the most popular include ebay and digg extensions and info plugins for time.com and NPR.
Google’s biggest hype of year 2008 Google Chrome would be available for Mac users by the end of this year. Yes, as some intellectuals would have guessed with the ever green “BETA” tag.
In one of the Google groups for Chromium extensions, Nick Baum, product manager at Mountain View, California mentions that this release would be early December. There has been lot of developments going on around the extensions. Below is a screenshot of how the Google Chrome on Mac would look like.
Has it been a long time you felt creative? Forgotten the creative part of you with your hectic everyday work schedules? Then this might draw your interest.
Google has invited Google Chrome fans to come up with creative videos which depict Google Chrome in a creative and unusual way. Up for the challenge?
Jason Toff of Google Chrome team mentions that, “We know from past experience that users are the ones who come up with the coolest stuff. So with that, we now turn the challenge to YOU to make a video showing the formation of the Google Chrome icon in a big, unusual or creative way.”
This idea happened when Google team planned to experiment with creating the Google Chrome icon using different very day objects like umbrellas, spoons, balloons and even a cake. Here is a video of Google team creativity.
Google wants to get a larger pie on the browser market too with its Google Chrome or to say Google is getting greedier day by day. Remember once Google stated that it would not do anything to bring down Mozilla? Remember how it copied and used most of the successful open source components and codes that Mozilla used? Remember how Google promoted Chrome as an affiliate program until quite recently? Now its just doing the opposite. It just wants to move ahead in position with Mozilla and take up its market share.
Speaking to The Times, Google’s Vice President for Product Management, Sundar Pichai mentioned that Google Chrome would come out of its Beta cloud early next year. And not just that, he has plans to promote Google Chrome as a preinstalled product on computers as how Microsoft is promoting its Internet Explorer and its Live Search on HP systems worldwide.
Speaking to Murad Ahmed, he further mentioned, “We will probably do distribution deals,” he said, adding, “we could work with an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) and have them ship computers with Chrome pre-installed.”
On questions to how Google is planning to market it, he mentioned, “We will throw our weight behind it. We’ve been conservative because it’s still in beta, but once we get it out of beta we will work hard at getting the word out, promoting to users, and marketing will be a part of that.”
After Google betraying Firefox with its Google Chrome, there is some good news for Firefox community. Firefox user base has increase during October having 20% of the browser market share. This would mean out of every 10 internet users, two use Firefox. This is a great achievement and a remarkable milestone.
A recent report by hitslink states that, Firefox usage share has topped 20% on two different weeks during October.
With Google Chromes market share still at 0.74% and Microsoft Internet Explorer ruling at 71.27%, Firefox has emerged as the second closest competitor.
The new Firefox is impressive, fast, simple and user friendly. You just get addicted to it. You just love it and then Internet Explorer just becomes a thing to avoid. The new Mozilla Firefox 3 has:
1. One-click bookmarking to search and organize your websites quickly
2. Instant Web ID to prevent online scams, unsafe net transactions and different kinds of forgeries
3. Full zooming feature
4. Smart location bar to find your favorite sties by just entering a term
However, there are serious threats to its growing popularity as Google is coming up with high marketing plans for its own browser Google Chrome. Google once which promoted Mozilla Firefox is now a serious competitor and wishes to replace Firefox with Chrome in the current popularity rankings.
Google has prevented download of its applications like GTalk, Gmail Notifier and Google Chrome in countries like Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba and Sudan. The reason being United States has export control and economic sanctions for these Middle Eastern and North African countries.
Though Syrians and Iranians have been blocked from using these applications, Google still seems to be serving them advertisements and make money from such countries. This is strange as the same laws and restrictions should apply to publishing also. Google cannot prevent a user from accessing some free applications and also make some revenue out of the same user.
The two possible causes for the blocking of Google Chrome, GTalk and Gmail notifier are said to be:
The Export Administration Regulations
2003 OFAC Ruling
The export administration regulations restrict the dissemination of any software that could help build a weapon. Similarly, the OFAC states that any U.S. software if it originated in U.S or not in U.S. cannot be directly or indirectly exported to Iran by any U.S citizen.
These restrictions will help Google Chrome competitors like Firefox become more popular and reduce Google’s popularity or the good samaritan image it had with Syrians or Iranians.
With the launch of the much hyped Google Chrome, there is yet another competitor in the tough browser market. Google though it repeatedly states it would not hurt Firefox is on the other hand actually marketing the browser in full throttle swallowing most of Firefox users.
Google Chrome is light, fast, easy, simple and powerful. The appearance is impressive and provides no unnecessary options that cover your window view. It is also smaller in size and simple to install. From a technical perspective, it is one of the best open source browsers. The rendering engine WebKit was well chosen as it was an already proven success with features like “speed”.
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But then, Internet Explorer which holds monopoly among browsers does not seem to be threatened due to Google Chrome. Google Chrome is yet to overtake Firefox. Well, I might be expecting too much as its not even a month Chrome was released. Will Google Chrome ever be able to overtake Internet Explorer in popularity and usage?
Many internet users do not even know that there are other browsers existing in this planet apart from Internet Explorer. Some feel, till the day Windows operating systems rule, Internet Explorer will also rule.
Let me know your views through this poll and comments.
The new Google Chrome is light and fast and does not have all unnecessary options that the other browsers provide giving a larger view area.
However, Yahoo ads on Google Chrome seem to have an underline in all the ads which are not pleasing and can even turn out giving low click through rates[CTR].
Though Google Chrome is still in its beta version, it would be an area of concern if the stable version of Google Chrome would be delayed or if it would take more time to get released.
As seen above, the Yahoo Publisher Network [YPN] ads are displayed with underlines on all texts. However, it is interesting to see that Google Ads are being displayed properly.
Google Chrome is an open source development and Google itself has informed that most of the components were taken from Mozilla Firefox and other open source browsers.
The same issue persists also in Safari as both the browsers uses the same WebKit engine for its browser.
Hope the issue gets resolved in Google’s stable Chrome release or Yahoo tries to take care of this issue from its end.
The new Google Chrome logo is cool. The logo representing the globe has blue in its center with green, red and yellow surrounding it. This logo carrying typical Google colors has a glossy finish.
Lets wait and watch how its user interface would be! Too much expectations huh!
Google’s biggest hype of year 2008 Google Chrome would be available for Mac users by the end of this year. Yes, as some intellectuals would have guessed with the ever green “BETA” tag.
