expertSEM

Over the weekend, Google announced the release of their long-anticipated web browser, Chrome. In typical lighthearted fashion, the news came by way of a (prematurely released, whoops!) comic book. The comic book uses caricatures of Google’s software engineering team to explain the features and benefits, and what exactly makes Chrome so different.

In the ongoing battle against Microsoft, Chrome is just one more weapon in Google’s growing arsenal. Chrome takes on Internet Explorer, which is preferred by approximately 75% of internet users. Much like Google’s search engine layout, Chrome will be simple and uncluttered. The features most touted are (1) open source software, allowing anyone to view and take from their code, and (2) multiple process management, which gives each tab its own memory and Javascript threads. This means that individual tabs runs separately—if one web page is not working, it won’t bog down all tabs, resulting in faster load times and reduced freezing. And unlike other browsers, memory is completely reclaimed each time you close a tab—you start with a clean slate with each new tab. Individuals tabs are also placed at the top of each page, above the address and tool bars. This allows each tab to be detached and moved easily.

The announcement of Chrome comes shortly after talk of Microsoft’s browser update—Internet Explorer 8. It’s being said that IE8 will allow users to hide preferences, making it harder for Google to glean user behavior and thus deliver targeted ads.

For the time being, Chrome is only compatible with Microsoft Windows, a somewhat humorous fact considering the bad blood between the companies. However, the Official Google Blog states that they are hard at work on versions for Macs and Linux.

While no one has been able to try out the new Google browser to determine it’s superiority—a beta version is supposed to launch today in 100 countries, but who knows at what time—I have high hopes. Most of Google’s tools and applications are extremely practical and user-friendly. But that does not necessarily mean it will beat out IE as the most popular browser. If 75% of people are truly using IE (a stat that is hard for me to swallow; besides our developers that must use every browser to test the web pages we create, I don’t know anyone that uses IE on a regular basis), only a small portion of the market is left to potentially become Chrome users. We are all creatures of habit, and winning over a long-time IE user will take a lot. Shiny rims and flashy trinkets just won’t suffice in this battle of the browsers. Chrome must truly have something more under the hood.

I’m curious to learn people’s thoughts on and expectations of Chrome. If you area dedicated IE user, what would it take to make you switch? Do you think Google is really trying to gain market share, or simply attempting to inspire growth and improvement? What, if anything will this mean for businesses advertising on Google?