Google first released its Chrome browser 10 years ago today. Marketed as a “fresh take on the browser”, Chrome debuted with a web comic from Google to mark the company’s first web browser. It was originally launched as a Windows-only beta app before making its way to Linux and macOS more than a year later in 2009. Chrome debuted at a time when developers and internet users were growing frustrated with Internet Explorer, and Firefox had been steadily building momentum.
When it was first released as beta, Chrome was a revelation. It was faster than Firefox, and sported a cleaner, simpler UI. I used Chrome from the very first few beta releases, but in recent years the browser has started sucking up more and more resources, and it feels – emphasis on feels – slower than ever before. On Windows, I switched to Edge, which feels a lot faster for me than any other Windows browser, and on my iOS devices I obviously use Safari.
With the new UI redesign coming to Chrome coming Tuesday – I see very little reason to go back.
Ack, commented in the wrong article. Too bad users can’t delete posts here
Edited 2018-09-03 01:33 UTC
And with the new UI they have planned, I see every reason to move away from Chrome.
Chrome also replaced IE as the browser that many short sighted developers care to support.
Edited 2018-09-03 06:05 UTC
Unfortunately, many of the corporate web-based applications such as expense accounts, time sheets, and training are developed for IE (and Edge) and work well only for with these browsers.
When I found out that Chrome was by default secretly scanning files on my computer with the “cover story” of pretending to be not just a browser but also anti-virus, I immediately removed it from all my computers. It was appalling, I was speechless.
Think about it: a browser silently (and secretly) acting as an anti-virus… Submitting info about your private files on your private computer to the “mothership”… We used to call programs like that malware, and real antiviruses would remove them with no second thought.
It is spyware. Ćollecting data on you is the whole reason it exists, what did you expect? Google is no charity.
I expected them to spy on my online behavior, websites I visit, my browsing habits, my online content, etc. etc. But spying my local computer? Without even telling me? That’s waaay to far even for a software like this.
Though, I don’t know of any antivirus code in Chromium beyond the code scanning downloaded files, but I don’t doubt they scan the entire download folder, they have had problems recently with their terrible security policy of “do first, ask permission later”, which meant they would download viruses to your computer that could then infect other applications scanning them.
I think you misread his post. He talked about CHROME, not Chromium. Google could’ve added some of that spyware stuff to Chrome (just like they added telemetry and whatnot).
Edited 2018-09-03 11:11 UTC
Yep. And it was a minor scandal in tech news world when it was discovered.
It still exists, by the way. Google didn’t bother to remove it “just” because there was a scandal…
Edited 2018-09-03 11:14 UTC
EDGE works great. The UI is nice and clean, and it feels more lightweight than Chrome. Maybe the lightness is an illusion, or maybe not, because I think that Edge is just a thin wrapper over EdgeHTML and Chakra, which are probably running from the moment you start windows, whether you use Edge or Chrome or whatnot.
However, for some reasons, I keep using Chrome.
* I like the way you can give a web app its own window, without tabs, navigation or other browser aids. This works particularly well with Google apps like Gmail, Photos or Youtube. Edge fo far does not let you dispose of its UI.
* I dislike the way Edge tries to force Bing on me. Sure, Chrome also pushes Google’s search engine, but I like that one much better.
And the real deal breaker, I can configure Chrome to not autoplay videos; this cannot be done in Edge, and I think it is absolutely necessary, not only to save yourself much aggravation at home, but more importantly much embarrassment in the office.
There’s a new version of Edge coming soon — we’ll see if does autoplay blocking and it does PWAs better.
Huh? Edge is all setup with DDG for me. Never see anything Bing at all.
I’ve read the article some time ago where it is explained why DuckDuckGo is currently becoming no better than Google in regards to privacy and other moral issues.
Please share this article, since I’m using DDG and wouldn’t want it to be as bad as Google.