I am fascinated by technology with a pretty good understanding of how lots of electronic devices work. Advancing the state-of-the-art is my fun. That’s why I think it’s time to switch from Firefox to Google Chrome.
Motivation: javascript.
Javascript (lower case ‘j’) is used on websites a lot. Web servers can offer more because javascript is executed on your computer and not the webserver itself as some other languages are. Chrome came out of the box with a javascript engine much faster than anything else–noticeably faster while web surfing. It’s a significant pick-up.
The problem is the first versions of Chrome were noticeably sparse and unable to support add-ons like Firefox can (called extensions in Chrome). That’s now changed.
Today I fired up Chrome, ‘updated’ to a stable beta version, and began to download new tools. It now syncs bookmarks with my other browsers using Xmarks. Also installed are an ad-blocker and Gmail checker. I suspect new extensions will be forthcoming. These few
Browsers first appeared at a time when the web was served by ‘thinner pipes’. Multimedia playback was very limited.
New browsers will better support all sorts of media natively, without the need for players (think Flash and Quicktime for example). The separation between TVs and computers will shrink and shift. Are TV stations worried? You betcha.
A faster browser is another step toward making that all possible.
I have been using Chrome from day one and have never looked back. Being forced to use IE7 or (gasp) IE6 at work makes my head hurt.
Geoff,
I recently made the jump from PC to MAC OS (Snow Leopard) and Safari. And as happy as a clam. But I am not married to Safari, per se. Do you know 1) if Chrome can be used on a MAC, and 2) How does Chrome compare to Safari?
Just curious.
PS. Glad you made it safe and sound from CA. I can only imagine what it’s like having a daughter move out of the house. I have two (9 & 6) and I think I would miss them terribly.