Several months ago Google released a new browser. We have been using and testing Chrome at SmartTSG since the release and here are five of the reason we like it:
- Fast — Chrome is fast. The developers at Google built Chrome to compile JavaScript code on the fly. JavaScript is used on many website to validate forms, create dynamic content and in general create a richer experience. In all other browsers JavaScript is interpreted which is slow. Chrome compiles JavaScript into the 1’s and 0’s that a computer needs to execute so JavaScript code. Performance test show that Chrome displays and executes webpages several orders of magnitude faster than Firefox or Internet Explorer.
- Clean Interface — Chrome does away with the menu bar and most of the other “busy” elements found in most web browsers. This maximized the area available to viewing the web page.
- Combine Address & Search — Unlike IE and Firefox the address bar in Chrome is also the search box. This may seem like a minor point, but this is one of our favorite features.
- Gears Built-In — Google Gears allows you to synchronize your local computer with a Gears enabled website, which means that you can interact with the website even if your computer is not connected to the Internet. This is particularly useful for sites like Gmail and Google Apps. Gears is available for Firefox and IE, but it requires installation
- Single Application Web Pages — Chrome allows you to create single application web pages. With a simple click of the mouse you can create an application shortcut dedicated to a particular web site. Again something which is very useful for sites like Gmail. This functionality is also available via Firefox Prism, but that is in beta and requires the extra effort of installing the Prism plug-in