6 Areas of Concern in Chrome

My Google chrome Beta has been updated to Version 0.4.154.29 and i didn't know until i visited this link.

Unlike Firefox, there is no update intimation of any sort in Chrome. If you can't wait for Chrome to get updated automatically, you have to click on the ' About Google Chrome' option in the wrench menu, to check for updates. Well that is not why i am saying Chrome isn't the best, there are a lot more issues which are yet to be addressed.


1 . Inadequate Privacy Settings:
When was the last time, you went incognito to secure your privacy ? Though the incognito feature gives you a history free browsing experience, people invariably forget to go incognito. Also when it comes to clearing browsing data, it has to been done manually each time. There is no such option as ' Clear Browsing data on Exit'. Leave alone the above mentioned FF feature, Chrome could have atleast incorporated the IE feature of Clearing History beyond 'n' number of days. Such options could have complemented the Incognito mode very well.

2. No Add ons or Themes:
If Chrome could support Add-ons, i definitely would not have been writing this review. I would have been downloading my favorite video streams from Video Portals, using the Realplayer 11 Video recorder Add-on. Also disappointing is the absence of support for plugins and Themes.
How long can we be looking at Chrome's plain design ? In the absence of the title bar, even a change in your OS theme doesn't affect Chrome.

3.Autocomplete option cannot be disabled:
I would call this the most irksome factor in Chrome. It combines the Search and Address Bar Functions into one bar, named the ' Omnibox'. And whenever you attempt to go to a url or try to search, lot of suggestions are thrown at you. These suggestions are both from your history and the web. Many would shrug at this option, because a combined autocomplete doesn't fit the bill.

4.Download blues:
The download tab is intergrated with the main browser window and is closed without intimation when the browser is closed. In FF the separate window for downloads, remains intact even when the browser is closed, so the need for an intimation doesn't arise. This is a major drawback in Chrome.

5.Forget Feed Preview:
In the first place there is nothing like 'Live Bookmarks', which is disappointing. Next is Feed previews. XML Site feeds are ridiculously displayed this way.


6.'Find in page' Flaws:
The 'Find in Page' option has serious flaws to it. It doesn't take text-boxes into account, while scouting for data. This will be a very big setback for bloggers in blogspot platform. They can never imagine editing their template with Google Chrome.

If all the above issues could be resolved, Chrome could be the best.

Our Earlier Takes: Google Chrome Review

iPhone or the Android G1

We all know and have heard about the Apple iPhone. But how good is the T-Mobile G1 against the iPhone. Lets have a look.

Google has forayed into the mobile phone industry with its Open Source Android Mobile device Operating System. . The Android is based on Open Linux Kernel and was developed by Google and later the Open Handset Alliance. G1 previously known as G-Phone is officially manufactured by HTC (HTC Dream) for T-Mobile.

The phone is touted to be a competitor for the iPhone, which we think is mostly because of its touch functionality and the market power due to its immense popularity. But when looked upon closely, both phones have serious issues which cannot be overlooked for daily use. Of course, Hardware specs are directly dependent on your wallets weight.

The phone specs are pretty standard. It is a Quad band 3G phone weighing 158g. It runs on a Qualcomm MSM7201A 528Mhz processor (ARM11/ARM9) with 192MB RAM, 256MB ROM. It also has 3.2” TFT-LCD Touch sensitive display, 3.2MP Auto Focus Camera, Assisted-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR. The display is 320x240 capable, a MicroSD slot and uses trackball with enter function for navigation. These features are little more advanced and feasible than the iPhone at 20$ less.

But speaking of competition, iPhone has better interface with slightly larger display, more internal storage and way better looks. But both are Network locked, cannot record videos and are much hyped phones. But G1 can prove this wrong as it can have a number of applications written for it. Thanks to the detailed specifications, we know the phone’s hardware is capable of video recording/playback. And Beta versions of video players are available for free in the Android Market. Whereas the iPhone cannot do this, until and unless Apple releases an update. But what G1 really misses is a standard 3.5mm Headphone jack like the iPhone and integrated memory. Speaking about dimensions, the QWERTY keypad does justice than the iPhone screen taps.

The Android software package has all the standard Google applications – Maps, Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, and Instant Messenger. Standard Text/IM/Email is available. It features a Music player with the Amazon Music store. Full rich content web browsing is possible with the WebKit based browser. The Androids flashy interface is handled by OpenGL ES 1.0. The Android Market will be a boon for G1 Users.When it comes to iPhone or G1, I would choose iPhone for its looks, trademark interface and music capabilities. I would choose G1 for being Open Source (means millions of free apps), better specs at lower price and a Large Display coupled with a QWERTY Keyboard. Looks wise G1 does not look bad; it is just not that slick. While G1 has several features to run over the iPhone, iPhone has only very few to match the G1. My preferred choice will be the G1.

Google Chrome Review

I thought I should post a review of the latest product from Google, Chrome. And here it goes..

To start with, Chrome is a Web 2.0 Browser. Web 2.0 is more like application oriented which makes browsing secure, fast and friendly. Meaning,Web 2.0 in Chrome will be secure, fast and friendly. While Firefox and other browsers are Web 2.0 Compatible, Chrome is naturally so. Chrome is backward compatible with Web 1.0 and fully compatible with Web 2.0. This is the first real feature that Chrome delivers.

Real Time Features:

Incognito Mode: This is the private browsing mode where data(History,Cookies..) that keeps your trace in your PC is not saved. Chrome does not retain any information from sites browsed in the Incognito Mode.

Dynamic Tabs: Guess what, these tabs are real deal. You can fool around with your tab any way you want. Drag your Tab to the display area and you can have a new window. Move tabs across windows. The real indigenous thing is that, when you open a new tab, the new tab is placed just next to that tab instead of the end. When you download something from a site, the download is marked in the tab and download status is shown only at that tab. Chrome always tries to maximise the browsing area.

Stability: Google says each tab is separately threaded. For Beginners, your CPU processes Firefox as Firefox but with chrome each tab is separately processed, If one crashes the rest will continue to work. But in others when one tab crashes the whole browser crashes. It is better to lose one than all. Multi-threaded Plugins allow each tab to process data independent of the other tab. From my test, it works neat.

Memory Handling: Chrome is not as heavy as Firefox; Chrome idles at half the memory required for Firefox or Safari. Google also says, when a Tab is closed Chrome frees all the memory that the tab took unlike other browsers which could leave a trail and eats the computer’s resources. These things make Chrome Ultra Lite. The Task Manager is good for handling Network bandwidth and Memory Utilization.

Looks: Plain Jane looks. No real Fuzz, just blue and white. All you see are the Address bar, tabs area, Browsing area, Bookmarks toolbar and the on-off appearing status bar, Now thats not a lot. No Full screen browsing option. No Menu bar or title bar. Chrome lacks polish.

One Bar for all: The Omnibox serves multiple purposes. Enter your URL, search with Google, View Autocomplete suggestions and History too. And Autocomplete can’t be switched off.

Small things that matter a lot: Same shortcuts as Firefox (Safari was irritating), Open-Source, Java Script(named V8) Debugger and DOM Inspector, Option to Clear Browsing data, I cannot live without Plugins and Chrome does not support Plugins(or toolbars)!

Though at first Chrome looked like a lighter version of Firefox, It is more than that. It is based on both Apple's WebKit and Mozilla's Firefox. Chrome has excelled well for a Beta Version.

Chrome is ridiculously fast, mature in design, bland in looks and maintains Google’s Minimalism Concept. The Browser war has a new candidate and we have another crash.

Yeah Right!!!