Google Chrome

[Robbie]

http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/google-chrome/9
This to me is amazing. Thats really thinking ahead...Pretty sharp.

[Redrobes]

http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/google-chrome/9
This to me is amazing. That's really thinking ahead...Pretty sharp.

But that's just basic regression testing. Everyone has access to thousands of web pages. I would have expected all of the devs for all of the browsers to be doing this. I have worked in several companies which built rendering engines and my GTS is another one too and in all cases there is a set of scripts or standard inputs with known output to reference and check that changes are not destroying previous work. What google have is some automated testing which is backed onto their build system. Every large company software does it this way.

For example there is a Direct3D reference engine written in software so that all changes to DX9 and DX10 etc can be compared against the reference to check that its correct.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...25(VS.85).aspx

OpenGL has a set of conformance tests with known results - see 2.160 here
http://www.opengl.org/resources/faq/...ingstarted.htm

The cartoon read to me like this one after another page. Nothing they say is untrue but all the inferences were misleading or not true at all. Because google is using regression testing against reference renders of pages does not mean that MS, Apple or Mozilla is not.

[Badger]

lol... RR They really got under your skin, huh? ....

[Redrobes]

lol... RR They really got under your skin, huh? ....

yeah !

Don't get me wrong, I like google and they are very good at what they do but I don't like adverts in general especially these weasel type ones.

I suppose fundamentally I don't see why they need to write a new browser. Nothing that they have said has made me think - ok well it is about time that was fixed. There's something going on that they are not saying and its obvious because of all the things that they have said to push it are irrelevant. Given what you could do with a browser, I don't trust them this time. In the past I have because you got given what you asked for or what you did not block. With control of the browser you aint gonna know any more what your asking for. And I don't like the idea of the same company doing the asking and the providing.

Edit -- tell you what, ill be a lot less skeptical when I see 'Adblock' for Chrome that effectively blocks google ads.

[Valarian]

I suppose fundamentally I don't see why they need to write a new browser.

The cynic in me says that the release of the new browser is so that Google can continue to read our web trail and hence keep its advertising revenues. Microsoft have announced that IE8 will have a feature that will remove your web trail as you go (or at least make it readable only to Microsoft ). I suppose Google want their own browser so that they can do the same thing .

[Badger]

ad block.. lol that is a good one... i'd like to see that too...

Maybe they are pushing because they know they don't have anything better to offer than FF, but want to make it seem like it offers more.

I'm pretty loyal when it comes to browsers, hell, I just converted to FF a few months ago and got it tweaked to the way I like it... I don't see me converting to GC anytime in the near future.. regardless of their hype

[RPMiller]

yeah !

Don't get me wrong, I like google and they are very good at what they do but I don't like adverts in general especially these weasel type ones.

I suppose fundamentally I don't see why they need to write a new browser. Nothing that they have said has made me think - ok well it is about time that was fixed. There's something going on that they are not saying and its obvious because of all the things that they have said to push it are irrelevant. Given what you could do with a browser, I don't trust them this time. In the past I have because you got given what you asked for or what you did not block. With control of the browser you aint gonna know any more what your asking for. And I don't like the idea of the same company doing the asking and the providing.

Edit -- tell you what, ill be a lot less skeptical when I see 'Adblock' for Chrome that effectively blocks google ads.

Regarding the separate memory space you may have missed the point of Chrome. Note that the idea here is to run applications through chrome such as OpenOffice, GIMP, etc.

In other words, Chrome is taking the place of the OS essentially and becoming the desktop. I mentioned it on a different forum, but will mention it here as it is pertinent. About 15 years ago I attended an "exclusive" seminar that M$ put on for certain people in the industry. They went through the progression of Windows and where it was headed. Essentially the final result was a Browser based OS. We have been seeing that happen slowly over the years with additions such as Active Desktop and now Gadgets as well as the integration of IE into Windows Explorer (or is that visa versa? ). I believe that that is exactly what Google is attempting to do with Chrome. I belive you are already on to it based on your comments, but may have not fully read between the lines. Your assessments are definitely spot on, but reevaluate them with the thinking that Chrome is actually an OS instead of a browser and I think you'll see exactly what is going on and where Google is heading with this.

If you really step back and look at it, it makes a whole heck of a lot of sense from the computer illiterate perspective. Remove all the knowledge we have of computers and put yourselves in grandma and grandpas shoes. These new fangled 'puters are good for only two things, well four but three is technically part of one and four is silly, and those two things are clicking through the interwebs and that electronic mailing thing the kids all rave about.

So if you are going to go after serious market share and still provide what the savvy folks need wouldn't building an OS that addresses the needs of the majority without losing the techno savvy make sense? I think it does, and I think that this is what Google and M$ are going after but The Big G has just made a major breakthrough in the creation of Chrome. In addition, they'll be able to continue an advertising stream indefinitely and giving away a browser but reaping piles of advertising revenue because of it offsets the cost of development.

Now if we all got really smart and wanted to stop the madness we would not only throw in AdBlock and such, but we would actually teach everyone we know to stop clicking online ads, spam messages, and any other form of online advertising to show advertisers there is no return on their investment. Unfortunately their investment is mere pennys so even that is likely to not serve as a deterant thus we are stuck with advertising.

This entire post above is entirely based on conjecture, a little inside knowledge, and my personal opinions so don't assume there are any real facts there and treat it simply as food for thought.

[Redrobes]

Well putting it like that, it certainly shines some light on it a bit. Naturally opening a full on process for each launch of application is the right thing to do. That finally makes some sense. All the talk of process for a web page tab is pure diversion.

I can see that one day each of us will have to decide whether to go down the tech / nerd route with Linux + open source + Creative Commons etc or go the dumbed down route of google / MS and probably Apple. Right now you can run MS and Apple and keep some semblance of control - the gap is not all that wide but widening. Even Vista was too far and XP will be the last MS OS for me.

The internet and all hobby computing is being pushed in the same way that music, film and TV have gone. Its pretty grim but I think that there's some strong resistance to it. I think its fair to say that the nerds are winning this one. Historically tho, it would seem that Chrome would be very popular amongst many people in the same way that box office sales are still high enough in absolute terms.

Thanks RPM I think that bit of insight is the bit I was missing in all of this.

[RPMiller]

I'm glad I could actually provide some insight for you for once considering all the insights you've given me.

I agree with your assessment as well about the tech gap, but I think there is a decent grass roots movement now within the school systems here in the US to really and truly start shortening it. My kids have learned a fair amount in school and they have taken actual computer classes in elementary so even without having an IT dad they've learned far more than I did at their age.

I think in this case the "no child left behind" strategy is working, but unfortunately it is also quickly becoming the "forget about seniors and adults though" strategy. Based solely on what I see both at work and among relatives. In fact, I've begun a slow moving side project to build a website for teaching the basics of computer technology and use with an emphasis on office applications and the internet without getting all techno babble on people in the hope that I can educate more folks out there.