Gadget Advisor » Chrome

Google Chrome Extension Support

Gadget Advisor — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:38:57 +0000

Alternate browsers are becoming increasingly popular, even though Internet Explorer still has a stronghold when it comes to market share. Some of the most popular alternate web browsers available include Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Google’s new Chrome web browser.

Still in beta, Google’s "Chrome" has attracted less than 2% of the Internet browser market at its peak, but Google engineers are working to enhance the software to make it more appealing and useful to its users. One very popular idea for improving Chrome is the addition of an extension system, which will enable third-party developers to produce plugins for any number of add-on features, ranging from browser enhancements to RSS readers, calendar/reminder extensions, etc.Chrome users can then install the plugins to complete tasks that Google did not integrate into the web browser.

Mozilla Firefox, a browser that holds the record for the most downloads in a single day, has the ability to integrate third-party plugins, which has been perhaps the greatest factor in achieving its 20% web browser market share.

One of Google’s developers made the announcement that Google is looking into integrating third-party browser plugins for Chrome. They also released a design document that provided an outline for what needed to be done in order to add plugin support. This functionality is certainly at the top of the wishlist for most Chrome users, and Google seems to be working on providing the support as quickly as possible. The first plugins planned for integration include Flash and an ad blocker (ironic), which are some of the more popular plugins for Mozilla Firefox.

Unfortunately, Google has yet to announce when this implementation will be complete, but at least we know that they plan on offering extension support in the near future.

Google Chrome Tops Opera in Web Browser Market Share

Gadget Advisor — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:55:24 +0000

According to NetApplications, the new Google Chrome web browser release has already overtaken Opera in web browser market share. NetApplications has been monitoring Chrome usage hourly since its release, and reported that it reached a 1.57% market share on 9/4 at 2:00 AM EDT. The usage has dropped some since then, but never below the 0.74% market share held by Opera. At present, Google Chrome is holding at 1.09%. It’s disappointing for Opera since the Opera web browser is considered by most to be a better web browser in the current state. However, it’s not surprising considering Google’s dominance, branding, and coverage. As mentioned here before, Google Chrome is definitely a browser to watch in the coming year. Its usage is likely to skyrocket as the browser matures.

Google Chrome Web Browser (Chromium)

Gadget Advisor — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:38:24 +0000

Google Chrome is a surprise release by Google into the web browser market. Although many had speculated about a GBrowser, the immediate availability without much pre-release buzz was indeed unexpected. The first word came yesterday from the official Google blog, with a link to a trailer-style comic book presenting the product. The beta version has since been released as open source. The web browser market is not saturated, but is highly competitive, with Internet Explorer from Microsoft, Firefox from Mozilla, Safari from Apple, and Opera from Opera Software being the established solutions.

Although the new browser is not yet as feature-rich as other browsers on the market, it does offer superior speed and a few unique touches. Google Chrome will definitely be a browser to watch going forward as it matures. Unfortunately for Google, shortly after the release, it was reported that the browser has security vulnerabilities. It’s not entirely unexpected with a new product since both Internet Explorer and Firefox have ongoing vulnerability issues, but I’m sure that’s not what Google was hoping to hear about on the same day the browser launched.

Google Chrome can be downloaded here for those interested in checking it out.