E-Musings On Web Stuff

Is Google Chrome shiny gold or cheap tinplate?

Posted September 29th, 2008 by Administrator

The hottest, or rather shinest, web app today seems to be Google’s Chrome Web browser. But all that glitters ins’t gold. For starters a very strange EULA states that any data you exchange with a site when using Chrome is the property of Google!!! This post isn’t being processed using Chrome; that’s for sure.

Also Chrome is a teeny-weeny bit unstable on Vista. So I took the coward’s way out. And run it from my Microsoft Virtual PC Windows XP SP3 with IE8 Beta trial machine. And even there I don’t run the Chrome installed version; but the Google Chrome Portable.

I like

• the speedy rendering engine that’s way faster than speed king Opera
• super-cool download system that appears in a slide-up footer window
• homage to MAD Magazine by using a Spy vs. Spy character like icon for private mode browsing

But hate

• the lack of a multi-thread download manager as I don’t want to spend hours grabbing a file. Not all of us have super-dooper hi-speed broadband
• no quick complete beyond Ctrl+Enter for .com unlike Firefox that can do .net & .org
• big memory leak that doesn’t release system resources even when you kill a tab process
• despite its Mozilla Gecko & Webkit origins doesn’t support Firefox or Safari extensions
• no easy book mark system as viewing a site and adding it to the Bookmark Bar are 2 separate functions

Besides which Chrome is quite same-old same-old. On first run it imports your ‘other browser’ bookmarks, settings and site passwords. For me it only managed IE because my Firefox runs as a Portable Edition. And Chrome and Opera still don’t talk.

The interface is minimalistic in the extereme. Just a row of tabs running across the top of the browser window. With the browser address bar for the tab just below. Plus two icons for page/tab management and Chrome Control and customization.

PS: Did I hear you wanted more? Perhaps my blog re-launch post fell off your radar. I’ll give you more shorter, pithier posts

PPS: Cackhanded compliment #2: eMusings uses a Google Chrome-like theme while I sort out my options.

Is your Windows got the Terminal Slows?

Posted September 15th, 2008 by Administrator

Ok, so I’m a bit slow and stupid (it ain’t my genes; I seemed to spend most my childhood out cold Evel Knievel style doing what is in hindsight silly stunts). But late discovery or not, virtualization has come as a boon to me. It lets me begin testing software and services for this column without causing my computer to suffer a bad case of the terminal slows.

On Windows XP (or Vista), use Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 SP1. This really neat PC emulator can run just about every released consumer flavor of 16-, 32- and 64-bit Windows beginning with Windows95 (do you really have an installer for that one?). If you want to run vitrual servers you’ll need the Virtual Server 2005 SP1 edition.

Download Virtual PC then install it (because having a copy sitting around uninstalled doesn’t do you any good). Next follow the application wizards to setup each virtual machine. Make sure to set the Machines in a different drive from your computers Windows boot drive. This helps keep the two processes separate.

For each new virtual machine added you’ll need to install a separate copy of Windows. or you can a pre-defined Virtual Machine. Before you download check the download notes to make sure the copy hasn’t timed out.

Why dont you begin you Virtual PC experience by Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Beta for a test drive?

What Powers Your Web Browser

Posted September 8th, 2008 by Administrator

I encountered a really interesting article Under the hood, a quick look at the Trident, Gecko, Webkit and Presto/Electra browser engines at Neowin.

Before you read this article do try and guess which engines are used in which browser. Then check out this under the hood unbiased, brief overview of each engine, plus a historical background and the browsers they power.