It’s been just days since Microsoft released the second preview version of its flagship web browser that shocked me in disbelief, turning my negative expectations on Internet Explorer down. Now, we heard that Google just released its own browser dubbed as Chrome. For Google and its followers, it sounds like an exciting, business tool; for other browser developers, it’s less than a threat; for web developers like me, while it performs good, it’s also another piece of crap.

Why Release A New Browser?

Google’s engineers have succeeded to deliver their own web browser developed for two years, but why did Google choose to develop its own browser, considering that the current browsers are already excellent in many ways? Trust me if you set aside your beliefs, you would find that today’s current browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera) are already more than enough.

So why develop Chrome? Well, Google could say they mind us for this — but actually, it’s for their business. Google wants more so it needs ways to expand…and to have its own web browser is the best way. With it, Google can effortlessly tap more audience and infuse its web services to expand its market.

Google Chrome Is A “Virgin”

What are Microsoft and Mozilla have to say about Google Chrome? Well, neither of them find Chrome as a great threat for the time being. Both have expressed that Google is new to the browser market and it can’t shook their user base (yet) just like that. While Google Chrome in perception is aimed to flirt users using Internet Explorer, I definitely feel that Mozilla Firefox will suffer the greatest consequence should Google decide to halt support to Mozilla’s browser. Google Search has been the default search engine on Mozilla Firefox browser and because of that it makes Google one of their biggest source of funds. But that is not about to happen yet, Google Chrome is still like a virgin — people may find its speed hot, still it is undeniably tight-featured and inexperienced. By features alone, Google Chrome cannot stand against Firefox’s rich extensions library.

Google Wants Dominance, Empire Expansion

Like any other business, Google wants market dominance and with this goal in mind it already facing tough and tested industry giants such as Microsoft, Yahoo, among others. I particularly noticed Google battling Microsoft products even more in all possible, ethical ways. It seems to me that Google is becoming more and more like Microsoft except that it has the advantage of having the Web, which all technologies are shifting to, as its domain. Last year, we saw Google booming and acquiring heaps of other IT companies for its growing power. I have made a prediction that Google will fall this year, but with the advent of Google’s new browser that could change depending on how the people would be compelled to use it. Google could use its popular search engine as its weapon. However, it is good to note that Google Talk, Google’s own Internet messaging client, have failed to snatch the user base of Yahoo Messenger and other IMs. Google can’t have it all.

Should You Use Chrome?

Chrome by functionality and usability is pretty excellent, despite its freshness to the browser market and the fact that it’s just a preview version. Although I was awed by a faster Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 just released few weeks ago, I was even more enthralled to know that Chrome surpassed any available browsers on this planet in terms of JavaScript execution speed — and that means Chrome got muscles with it, considering that the trends of today’s web applications are shifting towards Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX). Chrome has been built above several opensource code engines that have blessed Firefox and Safari’s superb browsing performance. 

Personally, I liked the simplicity and minimalistic of Chrome’s interface. Its tabs look intuitive and futuristic. However, since it’s just beta (note: it’s version 0.2) and even if Google could still boost it a lot, the current one is still half-baked. It doesn’t have most features of today’s popular browsers have — and that sucks.

Another thing is that as a web developer, Google Chrome is again another browser platform. It’s another piece of crap where all my web pages will have to be tested to ensure compatibility. If Google plans to create its own web standards in web development and other browsers will not support it, that would definitely a pain in the butt for me and all other web developers.’

Try Google Chrome now then come back and let me know how you find it.

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