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Google to Launch Webkit Based Web Browser Called 'Chrome'

xix said:
Sounds more like an application runtime than a full fledged browser.
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It's both. So are other browsers.

Windows-only? FAIL.
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Didn't read the bit that says otherwise? FAIL.


I wonder how many people have actually read Google's comic, which does a great job of explaining Chrome and why they are releasing it. I look forward to trying this.


Edit: They said they chose WebKit because it's simpler for developers to use. It's been stated elsewhere that Gecko is hideously complicated.
 
I'm quite excited that there'll be a Google Browser. Google are probably the only company capable to challenging the dominance of Internet Explorer (sorry Mozilla).

I think it'll take a little time to get up to speed, but if it's good then I hope Google will put their money where their mouth is and ensure it's shipped as the default browser on as many new Windows PC's as possible. I'm sorry, but there's no way Microsoft should control so much of the OS market AND the browser market. It's just not on, not when the market is massive enough to support many smaller players.
 
Having read the entire comic I can say I can't wait to give this a go. This has some really interesting ideas behind it and has taken quite a lot from my favourite browser (opera) so it should be a good one to try out.
 
Anything that can destroy IE's dominance is good for everyone (including web developers)
I'm sure if they advertised it on google.com with a link saying "try the new google browser" they will get many people on board.
 
sushi said:
Isn't this good news standards wise?
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  • Chaszmyr said:
    Yes; and moreover, it's ultimately good for Mac users. Apple presumably wanted WebKit to be open source in the first place to promote standards, thereby making as many webpages as possible Mac-compatible (in the old days, browsing on a Mac kind of.. well... sucked).
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I would tend to think that this is good, as Chaszmyr states. But I also see where Analog Kid is coming from.

IE has some definite issues with compliance and rendering pages. It seems to me, that the more standards are followed the more the Internet will grow in a positive way.

As a consumer, I would like to be able to visit any web site with my browser of choice and have it work correctly. Is that too much to ask?

edesignuk said:
Judgement reserved until I have it installed and working. It's Google though, so it's promising.

Very interesting move, especially after they *just* renewed their commitment to supporting/sponsoring Mozilla.
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:)

xUKHCx said:
Having read the entire comic I can say I can't wait to give this a go. This has some really interesting ideas behind it and has taken quite a lot from my favourite browser (opera) so it should be a good one to try out.
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Likewise.

ro2nie said:
Anything that can destroy IE's dominance is good for everyone (including web developers)
I'm sure if they advertised it on google.com with a link saying "try the new google browser" they will get many people on board.
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Agree. With Googles clout, I think that it would be accepted more easily.

We shall see.
 
After reading through the the comic book Google have published, I'm actually very excited and impressed.

I just hope that there is some sort of ad-blocking extension. For me this is critical, hard to believe Google would allow it given their business model though. If they do, kudos to them, and I'll be on board, after having been a die hard Firefox fan since (Firebird) 0.8.
 
Hope Chrome makes the fonts looks better though

Fonts in Safari, at least on Windows ... really are HORRIBLE.

Normal font looks allmost bold.
Bold fonts are bolder than bold.
All fonts looks unsharp if you compare them with how the same fonts looks on Firefox or e.g. IE.

Exept for that Safari is fast.
For some tasks such as rendering lots of form-fields on a page, Safari can be as 4 to 5 times faster than Firefox (yes that is latest version of Firefox)...

Initially I was not to happy when reading that another browser is in the works.
But if it using WebKit it might not be so bad after all.
Bottom line, competition is good for most products....

When will IE catch up! Their browser sucks big time when it comes to how it looks and how horribly difficult it is to use their tools or whatever to customize it.
But the worst thing about IE ever is ... WHERE THE HECK do you report things that do not work. Come on Microsoft look at Firefox and Safari and how their feedback system works. No wonder why IE browser lacks behind... the developers are sitting behind closed walls without any connection to the end-users. Opera browser feedback system are allmost as bad as IE. For Opera you can actually file a bug or feature request... but then it is lost somewhere and you will never know if anything was done.... are beeing done... if they understood what was said... bla bla..

So please Chrome (Google), do not do the same mistakes as IE and Opera... community related that is....
And Google please, make sure the fonts are rendered as sharp and clean as they are in Firefox, IE, Opera etc.... AND NOT HOW THEY LOOK IN SAFARI.

Best luck...

*** UPDATE ***

WOHAAA
Have now tried this beast and what a wicked fast browser, supersimple layout giving most space to content (IE wake up).
Tested on a heavy duty page, with many many form fields.... the page was rendered in approx one second,
Firefox used 9 seconds or more to render it!

And guess what, it actually render the fonts as it should, no longer those ugly looking blurry overfat fonts that Safari (win) produces (wake up Safari)

What a nice newcomer. Firefox watch up you have gotten some serious competition.

Only downside so far is that I cannot see one place to report bugs, and feature requests.... but that might come.

Good work google...

** END UPDATE **
 
i will post a review as soon as I get my hand on it... :D

wheezy said:
Webkit is much more future proof than Gecko, as has been pointed out in other threads, it's in more 'products' than Gecko is, and to me, renders pages much cleaner. There are standards that Safari 3 is the only one that has them working right, several CSS3 features (yes, it's still not the current standard) that only Safari handles. I like that Webkit is taking the time to not only develop these upcoming standards, but building them into current systems.

PS - This is post 500 for me... 6502a here I come! I can finally add an avatar! EDIT - Nope... it's 499. Dang!
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Congratulations for #500 ! :D

no, i don't see being used by more app as the proof of future proof. Gecko is used by even more apps that are actually far exceed "browsers", such as webtv app (miro), music, video manager (songbird), social browser (flock), mail client (thunderbird) etc. Its more and more into a platform, future proof? I dont know. I think the claim you made might be too bold.

about CSS3, check out wiki comparison http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_layout_engines_(CSS) , there are standards that only gecko handles too, that doesn't mean anything! :)

Not to mention the so called "more important javascript", gecko is much more closer to ECMAscript 4, current at 1.8 (different numbering system), while webkit is still at 1.5/1.6 which is 4 years old.
 
I'm soooo excited for this! I now have a reason to use my Windows Vista partition on my Macbook. Well... at least until a beta is released for OS X.
 
tuffluffjimmy said:
Some would say the same about OS X coming with Safari and especially iTunes (why do so many people hate iTunes?!)
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i think its because there is viable alternative to safari on OSX, but there is really no good alternative to iTunes

raythemoneyman said:
It will be a beautiful day when the PC crowd will buy a new computer with no Internet Explorer, Media player, etc. installed on the machine. Hopefully we are one step closer.
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Its very difficult to say, a new computer without a browser, and without a media player for end users?

Its a difficult question I don't know how to answer.
 
Google is seriously trying to compete with everything, arnt they? They have a Wikipedia (Knol), an office program (Google Documents), they own YouTube, a e-mail service (Google Mail), a blogging site (Blogger), a phone OS (Android)... It could go on forever!

I'm not complaining, though, I like Google's stuff! :)
 
Given that Google's primary business is advertising, I'd be a little wary of this browser. I already block cookies from Google and use adblock, so the paranoid part of me would be hard pressed to trust that this browser won't collect info.
 
Wonderful. I've always wanted a browser that can mine my surfing habits and provide me ads and link suggestions in real time.

That its introduction is presented to me in comic-book form, gives me the impression that I'll stop using Firefox any day now. Right.
 
iVoid said:
Given that Google's primary business is advertising, I'd be a little wary of this browser. I already block cookies from Google and use adblock, so the paranoid part of me would be hard pressed to trust that this browser won't collect info.
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Well, as its open source, you can easily check it.
 
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