GOOGLE To Unveil Its Own Web Browser .. Really?
perreigh
"Google Ignites a New Browser War With Microsoft by Unveiling One of
Its Own This Week"
Published on September 1, 2008
by Kara Swisher
In its most frontal and aggressive attack on Microsoft yet, sources
with knowledge of the project said Google is preparing to unveil a new
browser–ready for download to users as early as tomorrow–to try to
loosen Microsoft’s iron grip on the most important piece of software
for navigating the Internet.
In addition, Google Blogoscoped has published a comic book that Google
is apparently using to explain the technical aspects of its open-
source browser, which is called Chrome.
[UPDATE: Here is a post on Google's official confirmation of the
browser launch in 100 countries tomorrow, which was released on its
blog this afternoon. The beta version will be initially available only
for Windows, but Google said Mac and Linux versions were coming soon.]
Until now, the Google-Microsoft battles felt more like a Cold War,
mostly limited to Google (GOOG) poking at Microsoft (MSFT) via the
development of small-scale Web-based software to compete with
Microsoft’s dominant Word, PowerPoint and other such products, and
Microsoft’s thus-far unsuccessful attempts to break Google’s lock on
the search market.
But with this move, which has been rumored since 2004, the war most
definitely has gone red-hot, as Google aims to grab a chunk of
Microsoft’s huge browser market share, which various surveys put at
about three-quarters of the market.
The efforts to do this have been well known within the company for a
long time, although the timing of its launch has not.
But Google FedExed the comic too early to Blogoscoped–who is based in
Germany–and possibly others, which makes BoomTown really appreciate
express mail more than ever.
(I also obtained a copy and have posted the comic book here, and
Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski has written a quick executive summary
of it.)
Sources said Google has made the move to create and distribute a
browser due to worry about what new features in IE8 could do to its
search business.
These features include privacy changes that could prevent Google from
collecting information related to the effectiveness of its ads, quick-
linking to Microsoft mapping and other offerings, and a more robust
search bar that is also more Microsoft-centric.
To combat Microsoft’s IE dominance in recent years, Google has been
backing Mozilla’s Firefox browser, which grew out of the ashes of the
once-powerful, now-irrelevant Netscape browser like a phoenix to claim
an astonishing 18 percent of the market.
That market share has climbed from 11 percent just two years ago–even
against Microsoft’s IE juggernaut with 74 percent and Apple’s Safari
browser with six percent.
Mozilla’s recent launch of Firefox 3 had a record-setting debut day in
mid-June, with 8.3 million downloads in 24 hours.
Google recently renewed a deal with Mozilla making its search engine
the homepage and search bar default until 2011. In return, Google pays
Mozilla royalties for Google ad clicks that come from searches
originating in the Firefox browser.
(Here’s a recent post I did about a visit I made to Mozilla’s HQ,
right around the corner from Google, as well as a video interview I
did with its CEO John Lilly.)
But obviously, Mozilla’s efforts were not enough for Google, which
clearly has decided it must own and distribute a browser, especially
since the browser has become the most significant piece of software
related to the Internet, and the fulcrum on which most of Google’s
business lies.
In other words, Google is declaring the browser critical to its future
and, in this regard, it is entirely right.
Secular Human
it's called Chrome and it is fast. You can get it at download.com.
Dave
> and, in this regard, it is entirely right.
>
> http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080901/google-ignites-a-new-browser-war-...
>it's called Chrome and it is fast. You can get it at download.com.
But why would you want to, when firefox is available? What does chrome
offer that firefox doesn't? Firefox is significantly faster than IE, so
Chrome would have to be screaming fast and stable and reliable with no
spyware (from google? yeah, right...) before it would be even worth
considering. Even then, firefox has had more time out in the wild, so to
speak, so it's probably still a better browser. -Dave
Shawn Hirn
"Dave" <no...@nohow.not> wrote:
Try it yourself and find out.
Dave
"Shawn Hirn" <sr...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:srhi-551C81.2...@comcast.dca.giganews.com...
I might, if someone can confirm there's no spyware in it. And if someone
can post that it won't "interfere" with firefox. If it DESTROYS Internet
Explorer, that's fine. :) -Dave
SMS
Frequently I need to use IE when Firefox doesn't work at a particular
site. In fact his just happened tonight when my son was trying to work
on a school assignment. There was a Java script that didn't work in
Firefox, worked fine in IE. Maybe I'll try it on Chrome.