Thread: google Chrome

google Chrome is now available as a beta download for MS Windows XP and Vista only. Install it and you are ready to begin your journey into the latest offering from Google. Chrome has incorporated a lot of user interface changes compared to other browsers. The first impression is that it has a minimalist user interface like many of its Google stable mates. You will not, for example, see the menu bar or the tool bar.
Let's now embark upon a brief look at some of the compelling usability features of Chrome.

What's in it

Although details on all the features of Google Chrome are listed at www.google. com/chrome/intl/en/jeatures. html, let me introduce you to some of the most promising ones.

Omnibox:
Chrome combines the address bar and search box into an 'omnibox'. As you type in the box, Chrome uses your browsing history and Google Suggest [labs.google. com/suggestj'aq. htmlj to incrementally display suggestions on what the intended destination is likely to be. If you type a domain name, Chrome takes you there. If you type a phrase of text, Chrome uses the default search engine to look up the phrase.

Application shortcuts:

You can create an application shortcut by clicking on the first button on the tab of the opened Web application.Using this feature you can place a desktop/start menu shortcut to a Web application of your choice. Whenever you launch the Web app using the shortcut, you will not see any browser features like the Back/Forward/Reload buttons. All you see is the Web application.



In a sense the website starts behaving like a true Web application on the desktop and does not give the impression of running on a browser. I like this feature since I often have applications like GMail running throughout the day and all I need is the Web application and not the browser with all its features. Chrome uses Google Gears [gears.google.com) to enable this functionality.

Crash control:

If one out of the 10 open tabs crashes, it won't take down the Web browser as a whole-that is, the other nine tabs are usable and safe.

Dynamic tabs:

Google Chrome has truly dynamic tabs enabling a seamless tab-based browsing experience.

Incognito mode:

This is stealth mode browsing.
What you do in this mode is not recorded in the browsing history.

No tie-ups to Google services:

Google Chrome is not tightly tied in to any of the other Google services, such as Google Search. You can easily change or add a new default search engine from the Google Chrome Options under the Basics tab. Figure 3 shows the Search Engines selection window.

Task manager:

Multiple tabs can often place high demands on your system. The task manager (Control the Current Page~Developer~Task Manager) shows details about the currently open Google Chrome tabs and plug-ins.

New tab window:

When you open a new tab, it is because you want to go somewhere-maybe a page you visited earlier. Google Chrome understands this and presents you with a boxed view of your 'most visited' history and recent bookmarks.

No Auto Feed Discovery:

This feature is not present. We don't know why, especially given that Google has feed services like Google Reader and FeedBurner.