Google tries too hard with new Web browser

Although Google had humble beginnings, starting out in a garage, it soon took over the world of search engines. After that, Gmail, GoogleEarth and various other Google endeavors spread Google's range. Now Google has taken over the Internet. On Sept. 3, Google released its latest creation: the Web browser Google Chrome.

Although Google Chrome does fix many typical Internet-related problems, it doesn't go above and beyond to create anything special. Google emphasizes tabs, but all in all it's not the creative effort one would expect from Google.

I myself have gone through my fair share of Web browsers. In middle school, all school computers were equipped with good ol' Netscape Navigator. When my family finally got a computer, we went the traditional AOL route. I have such fond memories of sitting for five minutes, listening to the dial tone, waiting patiently for the Internet to start up. Later, during my high school years, we ditched dial-up. With high speed came Internet Explorer. Favoring the easy click-tab buttons (I usually have about 11 going at once), I have stuck with Internet Explorer. However, when I came to college, I began to be looked down upon by people who actually knew what they were doing with computers. To avoid the constant "Oh, you're using Explorer?" comment, I am currently in the process of assimilating to Mozilla Firefox.

However, when my favorite search engine came out with a new browser, I immediately downloaded it and sat through the 10-minute installation process. The process was easy, although I was forced to close other browsers during the process.

Google Chrome boasts a clean, simple design, much like the original idea behind the search engine page. Like Microsoft 2007, Google Chrome does away with the traditional file, edit, history, bookmarks, etc. toolbar. Instead it relies on four buttons surrounding the URL box. In Google Chrome, each tab has its own URL address box and control systems. The URL search is very similar to Firefox in that when users start typing the browser pops up recently viewed sites and suggestions.

Google Chrome has several new amenities that are displayed on the main page when users open up Chrome for the first time.

The main difference is the emphasis on tabs. In Google Chrome users can reorder the tabs and make tabs of their own windows. Every tab also is independent of the browser, so if one tab crashes it does not affect the rest of the tabs.

In my opinion, one of the best parts of Google Chrome is the home page. When opening up a new tab, Google Chrome displays a user's most visited sites in textual and visual form.

Another new and interesting aspect is the incognito bar. Unlike other tab actions, if users choose the incognito bar, no history on that tab is stored. It's perfect for those who want their porn and "Dragonball Z" memorabilia history kept private. Other new things include a download bar at the bottom of the screen to keep users updated on their downloads. A task manager allows users to see how much memory each tab is using and gives them the ability to close a tab.

Along with Google Chrome, a comic book was released explaining the technicalities of the new browser in a simplified form. Although the comic book is supposed to simplify the new additions of Google Chrome, I was left grasping at straws to get the true meaning behind the multiple processes and Javascript threads. Those more computer literate than I might be able to get the whole picture. What I gathered from the 39-page comic book was that each tab gets its own memory and the loading processes are not tied to each other and will not slow down or affect one another. One feature that many tab-hungry people will enjoy is that one tab crashing will not affect the others. Later in the comic they describe the new alternative to Javascript,V8. Both of these sound like beverages to me, but it seems like it just works better. I will commend the comic on its use of funny visuals, including people literally hammering together a Web browser.

Although there are a lot of coding and engineering changes that will impress the computer science majors, to typical users, the overt changes are minimal.

With people's natural aversion to change, and the fact that Truman students still are reeling from the sudden change to new Facebook, I do not see Google Chrome becoming the new "it" browser any time soon.