Herewith, 10 initial thoughts on Google’s new Chrome browser, based on its cartoon introduction:
1. Why a cartoon? What happened to the YouTube explanatory video? Are online cartoons the next big thing and is Google Chrome the red herring?
2. It’s a major rethink of the browser and a much more fully formed product than the usual Google beta.
3. Why couldn’t they work with Mozilla on this? Answer: they need more control over the user experience and their ability to serve ads – Microsoft and Mozilla have been taking some of that away with their latest releases.
4. Google makes a lot of solving the problem of browsers crashing when too many tabs are open and a javascript fails to execute- but who, other than superusers, really considers this a problem?
5. This is very OS-like – even down to imitating the Windows operating system Task Manager.
6. There is a fuller integration of Google Gears, making it easier for Google applications and the browser to replace the Windows desktop.
7. The address bar innovation seems aimed at combating Firefox’s similar “awesome” bar, which must have taken some search queries and advertising dollars away from Google.
8. Privacy innovations seem to match Microsoft’s “porn mode” in IE8.
9. Google says it is making the browser open source so others can take advantage of its innovations, but it needs to do so to make other browsers more compliant with its business.
10. Could this comic book be the cue for a geek superhero movie?
