Another Shiny Object from Google - Chrome
RSSJen Maney -- School Library Journal, 11/04/2009
A long time ago, I gave up on Google Chrome after using it for two days. Why? I missed my Firefox add-ons and extensions too much. But recently, I decided to give Chrome a second chance. I’m always open to new tools that might have different features, and Chrome has been out for a while now, which means it’s had some time to mature a bit. And because it’s made by Google, and I like a lot of Google’s other stuff (I have a G1 T-Mobile cell phone, so you can probably say I’m a little biased), I gave Chrome another look.
I’ve been reading that everyone thinks Chrome is faster than Firefox. Firefox’s slowness is something I have observed myself, especially after adding the Morning Coffee add-on, which opens my favorite tabs on start up. Start up is not so quick now, and sometimes I end up clicking the icon more than once in my impatience, causing start up to be even slower (argh!) and unnecessarily opening more than one browser window(which I then have to close). So you can imagine my glee at finding out that Chrome can open up as many tabs as I want on start up—and it doesn’t slow things down. Chrome opens noticeably faster than than Firefox, which makes me a happy camper.
I also like some of Chrome’s features. For example, you can drag tabs around and change the order. While that may not sound like a big deal, it actually is. I’m one of those people who have about eight tabs open at all times. I like to have everything I might possibly use sitting there waiting for me, plus I might just need to rearrange the tabs to make them easier to find. I also like that the address bar is a search box, because that means I don’t have to have a separate search box taking up space in the browser window. I also like being able to search sites within the address bar using the tab key . I also like the new tab page, which lets me view recent and frequently-visited sites. The fact that Chrome maximizes your 
screen space by minimizing the size of the toolbars is also a boon. I no longer have to go to full-screen mode by toggling F11 to see more of the page I’m viewing. And if you’re like me and you like themes, Chrome has ’em, and they’re cool.
Some of my initial frustration when giving Chrome a dry run was about things that are unnecessarily hidden. For instance, it wasn’t obvious to me how to make a bookmark. In fact, I thought it was ridiculous that I had to go into the bookmark manager to make one. I mean, really, why all the extra steps? But when I looked up how to create a bookmark in the help files, I discovered you just have to click the little star next to the address bar. Doh! How easy is that? And for some reason, I couldn’t figure out how to go back several pages, rather than just back one. Turns out, you simply have to hold down the back arrow to see your history.
Still, I sometimes miss Firefox. I miss its ability to find add-ons and extensions easily. And I miss its Xmarks add-on, which lets me synch bookmarks from all of my computers. Apparently Xmarks is waiting on Google in order to be able to make a version for the likes of you and me (i.e., nondevelopers).
Overall I like Chrome, and it might just be my permanent browser. That is, until something cooler and shinier comes along.
