Google has announced that tomorrow (or later today if you’re reading this in Asia or Australia) they will be launching a new web browser named Chrome. Google says that the browser is going to be completely different from those on the market now because Chrome is designed for people using the Internet as a productivity tool. In other words it’s designed with people like me in mind. People that use Google Docs or Zoho Writer instead instead of Microsoft Word, Open Office, or Apple Works. In looking at the promotional materials for Chrome a couple of features really shine in my eye.
Google says that the browser will operate in a multi-threaded, non asynchronous system. What that means is that instead of each part of webpage loading sequentially, they will load in a tabbed style. Why does this matter? Loading pages in this manner should prevent slower processes like loading Java scripts from slowing or paralyzing the browser. For example the grade book and student management system where I work runs Java script while my grade book is loading I cannot do anything else with my web browser. Using Google’s Chrome web browser that problem should be resolved.
The second feature that I like is a task manager for Chrome. Just like a task manager for your operating system that shows you which processes are slowing your computer, the Chrome task manager will show you the websites that are slowing your browser. This doesn’t impress me as much as structure of the web browser itself, but it will be a useful tool for diagnosing the cause of browser slow down.
Google Chrome will only be available for Windows when it is released, but they say that a version for Mac and Linux is on the way. Chrome is an open source project so I’m hopeful that there will be many people building extensions and improvements as Chrome gains users. I’m going to install Chrome on my Gateway laptop as soon as I can, just to try it out, but I’m very much looking forward to trying it on my MacBook. Will you try Chrome? Do you think the concepts of Chrome will make a difference in your Internet experience?
