Chrome 16 Out Now

Today sees Chrome 16 released as part of the Google rapid release cycle.  With it comes the ability to sync your life, for example when you upgrade to version 16 your home machine with Chrome and your work machine with Chrome will share everything like your extensions, settings, history, bookmarks and other things between each other.

Obviously, in able to do this you will need to pair your Chrome with your Google account which also has other benefits including being automatically logged in to any Google based sites.  Is this potentially dangerous though especially with Google + (Plus)?  The jury is out on that one for now I think.

Personally for me, this is where Mozilla is going wrong with Firefox.  These features simply don't exist and once upon a time it would have been Firefox with all of the new bells and whistles so for me this deserves a pat on the back.  Well done Google!  Now that Mozilla are following Google with their rapid release cycle, I think it will be even harder for Mozilla to keep up.

Chrome 16 is available to download now, or if you already have Chrome installed then just sit back and wait patiently for Chrome to update the next time you load up your browser.

Google Page Speed for Chrome and Online

Another of my favourite performance tools for reducing every millisecond from loading times is Google Page Speed.  Although it's a little fiddly to install (fiddly in the sense that it takes more than 30 seconds), it's still a brilliant extension to have for Chrome.

If you already have Chrome, take a look over at the Page Speed site for what it brings to the table.  The install notes and download links are available here.

Again, I recommend using this in addition to certain other tools so that absolutely everything is covered.  Other tools that you really should use are: -

• Smush.it;
• Yslow (Firefox, Chrome and Opera extensions available);
• JCompress;
• HTML Validator Firefox extension;
• Firebug Firefox extension;

Don't take everything that these tools say as gospel though.  There are some things that you might absolutely need to load first, i.e. your JQuery JavaScript for example.  And while I'm about JQuery, Page Speed also picked up errors in the code that aren't your fault and aren't easily correctable so you will get marked down for those.  Other things in there are quite easy to correct, such as where you've specified an image but missed out the image dimensions for example.  I managed to get my site up to 98/100 which I'm quite happy with.
Some of the recommendations that it will ask you to make include: -

• Minify HTML and JavaScript;
• Combine images into CSS sprites and avoid CSS @import;
• Optimise images and specify dimensions;
• Specify a character set;
• Put CSS in your document head;

I found that it made a small difference, but if that difference is your user sticking with you and the user going elsewhere, it could well be worth a small amount of your time.  Oh and lastly, there is an online version of this available as well.  Head over to Page Speed Online and give your site a test.  It should also be noted that there is a version available for Firefox versions 4 and above.

Chrome 14 Beta Brings Native Code

In not so new news this week, Google has released Chrome 14 to the beta testing channel which brings with it Google's Native Client technology.  The download is available on their beta downloads pages.

So what does all this mean?  Well in short, quite a lot.  To read more about it, head over to Google's Native Client SDK pages which explains everything in much more detail.  To summarise quickly, it allows compiled C and C++ code to run within the browser which in theory means that anything you write will be able to run on any of the major platforms giving almost true application portability.  It also in theory could reduce security threats because Native Client utilises what Google calls a 'double sandbox' so that system security will be difficult to penetrate.  Performance should also be enhanced, as desktop applications will be able to run within the browser.

If Google get this right, it should allow for a much better browsing experience, and it ties directly in with their Chrome OS strategy with the browser being a key application to do most things on the OS.  And if they do get this right, it would allow web developers to utilise code libraries from multiple platforms.  Sounds great!

If you get a chance, download Chrome 14 and take a look at their Native Client demo here.

Google Chrome Jumps to Second in the UK

Oh dear, it really hasn't been a good month or so for Mozilla.  Not only do they not have any niche anymore as I discussed recently, but now they have slipped into third place behind Chrome in the UK.

According to Statcounter, Google Chrome has now jumped to second place in the so called 'browser wars' in the UK (still second worldwide).  Google Chrome has only been with us now for a short while, 3 years in fact but already it has made good inroads into the market.  The statistics that Statcounter has shows the following in the UK:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer (45%)
• Google Chrome (22%)
• Mozilla Firefox (just under 22%)
• Apple Safari (9%)

Both the market share for IE and Firefox has been on the decline as of late, whilst Chrome and Safari have taken advantage of the enlightened user awareness of alternative browsers.  Google certainly have made the most of this with their recent dip into television advertising which highlights the benefits of Google and Chrome together.  A couple of things that Google has been shouting about is speed and security.  The other browsers historically have had problems with both of these areas, so it's all about taking advantage.  And to be fair to Google, Chrome is very, very fast.  When Apple ported Safari across to Windows, they made big statements about the browsing experience, with speed being one of these areas although they have been very quiet as of late, almost standing still watching the others slug it out.

Google really won't be giving up on this one.  Logically, Google has more to gain from any of the other three companies listed as Chrome is essentially a base product for all of their other products.  Firstly there is the new Chromebook which in my opinion really is a mile away from being a full consumer product.  I'll do a Google here and call the Chromebook a beta product, because essentially that is what it is.  It's not a spot on either a Windows 7 or an OSX laptop but that's another story for another day.  Next, it links in with Android, which again has made massive inroads in the smartphone market.  Then there is the biggest product, search.  This is where Google makes its money and it comes from advertising, sponsored links and affiliate links.

So really, it's all about the money, and Google are good at making money.

I'm still thinking though that Internet Explorer will be king for a while to come yet.  Not only have they released a good browser as of late, there are plans for Internet Explorer 10 which take on more of the HTML5 and CSS3 specifications. With this, I expect that they will stay static with their market share, or even gain some back.

So back to Firefox.  They really are taking a kicking at the moment.  Yes they are still second globally, but for how long?  They won't be losing third place to Apple, and they won't be getting first place either.  They need to do some work I think!

Google Abandons Google Toolbar for Firefox

In what can only be said is a predictable event, Google this week has announced that it is halting development of its Firefox Toolbar.  With Mozilla releasing Firefox 5, there is no in-place upgrade for those who want to continue to use the toolbar.  Has Google shot itself in the foot though with this one?  After reading many Twitter comments over the past few days, this is a sincere possibility.

Let me get one thing clear, I hate the Google Toolbar.  In fact, I hate all search toolbars.  They clutter your screen, they spy on what you are viewing, they slow your browser down and also they take up valuable screen space.  Ok, so you've lost the translate features.  Oh wait, no you haven't.  Google still have that little 'translate' link on each of their search results so really it is still there, but you will have to go the long way around to get to where you want to be.

The problem how I see it though, is that we are in this stupid IE6 situation again, where people will be reluctant to upgrade to Firefox 5 and they will want to stay with their 'working' Firefox 4.  Oh dear.  Step back though, as the real reasons are more transparent than you might believe.  Chrome is making leaps and bounds at the moment.  Google are even pushing it though billboard and TV advertising at the moment which means that they are playing hardball.  Why would they want to support other browsers when they have their own product?  Development costs are another factor.  Google Labs has also this week been shut down, so some innovation and development has been lost there, but all that really is is cost cutting and putting all of their chips into more profitable products.

Clearly Google sees its future at the moment with products such as the lovely new Google +, which I think is a refreshing change to Facebook.  And why wouldn't they?  Take a look at Facebook right now and you can see why Google wants to get to the party.  I don't really blame Google to be honest, but you have to admit that it is definitely more of a discrete way of dictating browsing habits and testing loyalties.  Time will tell to see if this was actually a masterstroke or actually, they will reverse this decision and carry on with the toolbar or not.  Given enough pressure and demand, I don't see why they wouldn't carry on with it.