Tag Archives: download

According to a chrome (Google’s new ewb browser) team member,” Browsers are not developing as fast as the web is. Google has decided to change it. Lot of web applications use Java Script which runs very slow on current browsers. Chrome team has done a wonderful job to change the scenario.”

So here comes Google taking Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (market share ~ 73%) and Mozilla’s open source browser firefox (Market share ~ 19% and gaining) head on. Google has been strong supporter of firefox yet has decided to come up with its own ‘open source’ browser ! Reason are yet to be ascertained.

Now a quick look at what chrome has to offer:

(1) Chrome uses process architecture to alleviate a very common problems with browsers- all tabs crash if even one misbehaves. You can even right click on the title bar, click Task Manager and see how much resources are actually being used by individual tabs to handle them efficiently.

(2) Gives you one place to search and browse. While you type something in the bar, it displays suggested sites and search terms. You can change your search engine from default Google (remember Microsoft was sued for not allowing that).

(3) provides one ‘InCognito’ mode which ensures nothing(browsing history, searches, cookies) is stored when you browse the web. (Similar to ‘InPrivate’ mode offered by IE8 beta)

(4) Most simplistic GUI makes you happy if you are sick of those toolbars ! Yet allows you to use them as efficiently as ever with a single button just next to the address bar.

(5) This button also allows you to create application shortcuts on your desktop which can be opened using Google chrome.

(6) Another bit which I liked about the control button is the ‘Developer’ option which allows to see Javascript in a cool console and also provides a Javascript debugger.

(7) Tabs can be popped out and again pushed back in if you want. Swank and simple !

(8) It warns you if you are about to go to a phishing or malicious site.

To see above features in action, see the video:

 

 

I am yet to test it to see how much faster it is than FF3 (forget IE) and how better does it handle bad scripts which are the prime reason why Goggle came out with this piece of software. But I am game for the first feature, it was long due, at least for me :) !

Read the chrome philosophy and architecture (a comic released by Google)  here.

Download Google Chrome here and file bugs :) .

UPDATE: On the other side, funniest part about chrome is the pop up blocker. It does not actually block the pop-ups. It drags them down to bottom of your screen such that only the ‘title bar’ is visible just above your task-bar. Now that’s a weird way of ‘blocking’ pop ups.

Planning to dive into *nix world ! There are so many options available…unix, fedora linux, red hat linux, freebsd, suse, solaris and countless others ! Confused ? I would suggest you to start with Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a free debian-derived linux based operating system. It is good for beginners because it has sophisticated GUI tools to handles most of our needs.

First big thing, Ubuntu fits in a single CD. Basic kernel needs only ~700 MB of space on CDs. Everything else can be installed manually after the OS has been installed.

It gives you an option of partitioning the disk while installing. Even if you are opting for a dual-boot system, you don’t have a separate logical disk to install another operating system (ubuntu in our case), you can easily resize your physical hard disk using ubuntu and install it without loosing your windows or any other operating system for that matter.

The installation CD is also available as a live CD. You can start working even before you install the operating system.

One of the biggest problem newbies face with *nix environment is installing software packages. The biggest pain is resolving dependencies and installing them before you can install the actual package. Ubuntu has got a nice GUI based package manager called ‘Synaptic’ which can handle dependencies pretty well too.

The next problem arises when you want to listen or watch songs/movies (what else you expect newbies to do). You will die solving the audio/video related problems. Ubuntu has got nice inbuilt audio player and it’s very easy to install amarok and vlc players using synaptic or even command line.

Updating packages is quick and automatic.

You can enable fancy visual effects.

Windows migration tool – The new migration tool recognises Internet Explorer favorites, Firefox bookmarks, desktop wallpaper, AOL IM contacts, Yahoo IM contacts and imports them in Ubuntu. This offers easier and faster migration for new users of Ubuntu and individuals wanting to run a dual partition. In addition to single accounts, you can migrate several users’ settings in Ubuntu automatically.

It has got good support for networking services including wi-fi networks.  Development tools are very well supported.

Installation of third party softwares and plug-ins like Flash, java etc has been made very easy by synaptic.

Sudoku is in-built as a game :)

So here is your copy to starting out in *nix world….