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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 |
Google |
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:
