Elements of Chrome - Great Elements - Great Product
In September 2008 Google, Inc released the beta version of Chrome, a fast, reliable and secure web browser. Google’s hope was that this new browser would compete with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox. As of December, 2010 it has taken over as the third most widely used web browser at just over 15% of worldwide share. Chrome is a C++, Assembly and JavaScript browser that is powered by Java’s V8 engine which allows the browser to be faster and more stable than other browser. Think of it in terms of car engines, V8’s bigger and better. Plus, with the open source code, meaning it’s more diverse, Chrome is always expanding with browsers being supported by Windows, Apple and Linux. Since the official release of Chrome 1.0 in December of 2008 Google has released 9 versions of the browser with 5.0 being the start of the Google Chrome browser take over. But why is this browser so good? And what makes it the browser of the future?
Chrome is not just your typical browser; yes it can take you to the web and browse websites, it can also do all of that in an extremely safe way. Chrome has a built in security feature called “Google Safe Browsing API” which automatically retrieves data from blacklists including phishing and malware. This built in security allows for an extremely secure web browsing experience. Now another great feature of this browser is how fast it is. Like we said Chrome is powered by the V8 JavaScript engine allows Chrome to be the fastest browser, testing at speeds of 2-3 times faster than Firefox and IE and to make the browser even quicker Chrome has built in “speed up” that shortens the look up time of websites.
All of these features make Chrome one heck of a browser; fast and secure what more can you ask for? How about customization and Apps? Since the introduction of the app for smartphones apps have been all the rage and Chrome has introduced hundreds of them for the browser. Everything from built in Gmail (Google’s email service) and Google Chat (Google’s instant messaging service) to a quick and easy built in Facebook Photo Uploadr and even a Madden NFL game. Google Chrome apps have about anything you could want built in to it. And if there is an app you want but cannot find you can create your own with open source code, it is easy with some basic computer code skills.
So now you are asking yourself, why would I get this browser? Yes it may be fast, stable, secure, customizable and all that fun stuff but what makes it better then IE or Firefox? Well the answer is the in the question. Chrome is a great browser that is from one of the largest and fastest growing technology companies out there: Google (Currently one of the leaders in the NASDAQ.) Also, in just over two years Chrome has taken over as the third most used internet browser and is ever expanding with a beta release and developer release all ready in the works.
Many of the Help Desk staff have Chrome on many different operating systems such as; Windows 7 and XP, Linux 10.10, Windows XP , and Apple iMac OS X. Chrome has everything you need and more. Now that the University of Wyoming web pages are supported by Chrome there is no need for IE or Firefox. You’ll be happy to know that WyoWeb and eCompanion have no issues in Chrome, now there is a big selling point for all of us Pokes.
By –
Branden Hayes Senior at UW - Energy Resource Science. From Pueblo, CO
The It Blog 