@guthwulf: i just read your second part...substance? What the fuck do you want out of a browser? Are you the sort of person that loads their toolbar with search engines and dumb add-ons?
@Khann: Go into the options and turn it back on or alternatively you can learn the keyboard shortcut. CMD+ Shift + H on Mac and Alt+Home on Windows.
Chrome is fast, simple and the best part is that it has flash built in and everything updates silently in the background so you don't have to worry about it.
It's faster than other browsers. I just wish I wasn't so hopelessly dependent on my Firefox Addons, so I could make the switch. Chrome is getting there with addons though, hopefully I'll be able to drop FF at some point in the near future.
OK. Fast and simple seems to be the general consensus. Then I seem to have gotten the gist of it. There's not much in terms of customization then - plug-ins, add-ons and the like, right?
I like it when I start typing what I want in the address bar and it knows what I want, sometimes with just one letter. It loads youtube videos slower than my other browsers though which is weird because it's all google, and that is all thank you.
" I hate not having the little 'Home' button on the address bar. That's about the only thing I dislike about it. Oh and it crashed all the time for me. "
There's a home button on Chrome. Check your settings and see if it's checked or not. I'm using version 8.0.552.215, which says is the current version.
It's very fast and clean. Plus, Google only released the fully fledged Web Store for it, meaning that addons and extensions for it will be produced at a higher rate. The new Web Store means that companies can earn money from producing their extensions, and also that part-time developers and hobbyists can also create extensions to expand on an excellent browser, all on the same platform. Chrome also has a minimalistic interface, meaning that you will see more of the web-page than you would in a browser such as Firefox. It's a sweet browser, but it doesn't work perfectly with the wiki. I believe that is an issue which plagues all WebKit based internet browsers though, as Camino (the browser I'm typing this on) uses Gecko (like Firefox), and yet runs perfectly despite having a very low market share in comparison.
Chrome's speed is the main appeal for most Chrome users, but there are also other reasons. It runs in multiple processes, meaning that one tab cannot crash the entire browser or anything like that, and it commands less of your machine's RAM than Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is a superb browser as well, but it has its flaws in that it demands a large amount of memory - particularly if you install a large number of add-ons to truly make the browser your own. In addition, Chrome adds a feature that Firefox is only really trying in beta at the moment: being able to install and use an add-on without restarting the browser. It makes Chrome an excellent choice for those who constantly want to expand on the one base browser with different addons and different versions of the same concept.
In addition, some services are beginning to adapt for Chrome. On the Web Store, for example, I found one called 'Salon for Chrome'. Alright, I don't have a clue what Salon is, but it says a lot when a company is prepared to create an addon to give Chrome users an entirely different experience to those who use other popular browsers. If you don't like Chrome at the moment, install the essential addons, such as AdBlock Plus (make sure to whitelist Giant Bomb though - embrace the Bomb!), and see if the browser appeals to you then. You can also find more themes to expand the visual appeal of Chrome.
I used firefox for a long time, but google chrome is faster, and also I figured I may as well use it because I use gmail, so it's nice to have a browser that connects to my google account and email, and easily syncs bookmarks between computers.
I'm with @MattyFTM on this, I'm still too reliant on my firefox addons. That said, the last few days I've been using chrome more and more, who knows maybe I'm about to switch? I still need my noscript for chrome though.
Chrome also has a minimalistic interface, meaning that you will see more of the web-page than you would in a browser such as Firefox. Chrome's speed is the main appeal for most Chrome users, but there are also other reasons. It runs in multiple processes, meaning that one tab cannot crash the entire browser or anything like that, and it commands less of your machine's RAM than Mozilla Firefox. Firefox is a superb browser as well, but it has its flaws in that it demands a large amount of memory - particularly if you install a large number of add-ons to truly make the browser your own. In addition, Chrome adds a feature that Firefox is only really trying in beta at the moment: being able to install and use an add-on without restarting the browser. It makes Chrome an excellent choice for those who constantly want to expand on the one base browser with different addons and different versions of the same concept.
That sounds really interesting to me. I have mainly started considering changing the browser because Firefox has become a real memory hog. I really like how you can customize it exactly the way you like, but performance is obviously critical. My first impression with Chrome was that it is indeed pretty fast, but it seemed (at a quick first glance, mind you) like it lacked the versatility of FF (or it's addons at least).
Definitely seems like there are some really interesting features in Chrome, but I don't know whether I am ready to make the switch yet.
The boot speed is the most important thing to me, and Chrome starts really fast. Only problems I have with Chrome are: Sometimes websites are just broken, for example right now I can't login to Xbox.com, it gets caught in a loop. Secondly, the adblock add-on doesn't block video ads like it does in FireFox, but that's a fault of the developers of that specific add-on.
" I'm with @MattyFTM on this, I'm still too reliant on my firefox addons. That said, the last few days I've been using chrome more and more, who knows maybe I'm about to switch? I still need my noscript for chrome though. "
chrome has noscript built in but it is a little tough to maintain a white/black list, thought a whitelist is easier as a button saying scripts are blocked appears in the address bar which you can use to add the site to the white list
I also love the chrome address bar with its tab complete site searching and being able to search just in the address bar I also use the "paste and goto" or "paste and search" options on the address bar context menu, the tab ripping(turning a tab into a new window) also works a lot better than firefox, the only thing I miss is double click on the tab bar to open a new tab and using / to start a page search
" I'm with @MattyFTM on this, I'm still too reliant on my firefox addons. That said, the last few days I've been using chrome more and more, who knows maybe I'm about to switch? I still need my noscript for chrome though. "
chrome has noscript built in but it is a little tough to maintain a white/black list "
Speed, stability, synched bookmarks and clean interface are the main reasons I use it. The downloads section could use some work on it, also compatibility may be an issue on some sites and I really hate that it opens .pdf´s by default within itself, but none of those things prevent me from using Chrome and Chrome only (no need to have another backup browser installed or anything like that).
The "octobar" is the best thing to happen to web browsing in a long time. The URL bar doubles as a google search bar, complete with auto-suggestions and instant results without even having to press enter, and you can search from specific websites by typing the name of the website and hitting tab. For example, if I type "you" and hit tab, then type "piano cat", it'll search for Piano Cat on youtube.
Also, I love being able to move tabs from window to window.
" Speed, stability, synched bookmarks and clean interface are the main reasons I use it. The downloads section could use some work on it, also compatibility may be an issue on some sites and I really hate that it opens .pdf´s by default within itself, but none of those things prevent me from using Chrome and Chrome only (no need to have another backup browser installed or anything like that). "
if you disable the pdf plugin it should download the pdf so you can open it rather than open it in the browser
" It's faster than other browsers. I just wish I wasn't so hopelessly dependent on my Firefox Addons, so I could make the switch. Chrome is getting there with addons though, hopefully I'll be able to drop FF at some point in the near future. "
Many Firefox add-ons can work with Chrome...and if it doesn't, there is probably an equivalent out there for it.
Personally, I like Google Chrome because there is no clutter, everything is super simplistic, the page loads are quicker, and it allows for open development just like most other Google products.
Minimalistic, simple and fast. It's the arch nemesis to everything clunky. The design direction has "won" since both IE 9 and Firefox 4 are faithful emulations of the Chrome interface, so the difference isn't as big now that the whole market has been made Chrome-like.
I still tried out the newest Firefox but despite mimicking Chrome so diligently, even down to the home icon, there is still an andress bar and a separate search bar which is insane. New tab doesn't automatically show most visited sites or recently closed tabs, just a white page. All these things are probably fixable if you want to but since I started using Chrome I've lost patience in optimizing the browser manually. Google Chrome updates frequently, quietly and implements small and simple improvements all the time. The first thing I noticed when I started typing in the adressbar in Firefox that it was unresponsive, Chrome now implements Google instant into the browser itself so it shows you your result starting with the first letter. Even the new Firefox does nothing, nor does it intuit what you are searching for like omnibox and when you have typed or selected something and press enter it isn't as snappy. These things makes it really hard to go back to another browser after you've used Chrome for a while.
i use Firefox still for a lot of things but i noticed video hada lot of dropped frames and it seemed to get worse and worse over time. I switched to Chrome for video related content, video plays much smoother in Chrome for me.
only thing i really miss in Firefox; it had a better spell checker. quick searches ( but i've adapted to typing out my searches in the address bar.)
1. Fast 2. Has most of the useful addons for Firefox, along with a few useful exclusives of its own 3. Updating is automatically done in the background, users never have to do anything (you don't even need to be notified) 4. Built in PDF viewer 5. Minimalist interface gives pretty much the greatest possible screen space.
I've said it pretty much since Chrome came out, Chrome looks like to Firefox what Firefox looks like to IE. People laughed at me then, well now look what everyone is raving about >.>
I use Firefox mostly, but when i watch livestreams like TNT or long videos i always use chrome. It's the separate processes for each tab, and its habit to not crash the whole browser if a certain tab crashes that i like.
I prefer Firefox for normal websurfing though, mainly for all the great addons.
@guthwulf: It's like a billion times quicker than the other browsers. They took the best technology of Firefox and Safari (webkit), and then made it better.
The best thing about Chrome other than the speed is the smart way the tabs are arranged + move when you open and close them. They are always in the right spot.
Firefox is good, but it is way slower (for me), and the interface is too big (that will soon change). Some of Mozilla's plans for Firefox are pretty interesting.
Fast and doesn't start chugging if you keep it open for days like FF. Also streaming videos work flawlessly and you don't have to bother with crash-prone plug-ins.
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