Tag Archives: chrome

Two things I really want sorted in Chrome

I love Chrome, it’s a fantastic browser that’s super-quick and very reliable. However, there are two things I really want Google to fix.

1. RSS: Why doesn’t Google Chrome support RSS? It seems a little dim, but can prove really annoying after a little while. Firefox shows an icon when an RSS feed is available on a website (see below) and even has a built in feed subscriber (see below), but Chrome has neither. Google need to sort this in my opinion. 

windowclippings_1c6f2f5f2b6442b6afb74ed86e013abd1Above: Firefox

ChromeAbove: Chrome

2. Downloads: I have a real issue with Chrome when you download something. When I download a file, I often ask it to download and then get into the habit of closing the web browser and forgetting something was downloading. In Firefox, this is no problem as a ‘Downloads’ window appears when you download a file and if you close the browser window by mistake, the file continues to download. However, in Chrome downloads run more internally and it doesn’t have a separate window for downloads. So if you close the browser, Chrome cancels the download! No problem if the file is 1MB or something as small as that, but if you’re in the middle of a 100MB file this is a pain. Even Internet Explorer (dare I say it) handles downloads better than Chrome. 

Those are my two rants with Chrome. Google, fix the RSS and the downloads. The problems aren’t big enough to put me off (Chrome is still my default browser) but they do get really annoying after a while. If Google would fix this in a later version, it would definately be to my benefit, and to many others.

Web browsers… is there still one leader and one leader only?

The web browser “war” still rages on.

It’s been going on for years. What is the best web browser? I don’t think there will ever be a final decision, although I would think most people would agree that Firefox has to be the safest and easiest way to browse the web.

The dreaded Internet Explorer is still used by millions. The reason for this is that many people just don’t know about Firefox or other web browsers. They just stick to whatever comes on their Windows PC. I suppose, if you were a computer novice, you’d just do the easiest thing and stick to Internet Explorer. Such a shame… if you use IE, you don’t know what you are missing.

Firefox is still extremely popular. It’s got just what everybody wants. A reliable, safe, fast browser that can be customized beyond belief. It is an extremely good browser – I’m using it to write this post now. It does exactly what it claims it does. It is very easy to use, I can trust it for any online payments, and I can use a huge range of plugins to make it do whatever I want it to.

With new web browser, Google Chrome, has Firefox got a challenger? Well, it has got a range of clever features. For example the tab management is very good. Instead of using just one process to manage all of your tabs, it splits each tab into a different process. This means that if one tab crashes, you don’t have to close the whole browser. And it does this without becoming a RAM-hog. Add to that it’s lightning speed launch times and Glass design (in Vista Aero), it does add up to be a relatively good browser. Google does have work to do to it, I mean it does have problems. My biggest problem is that it just doesn’t render some pages properly, and it claims that some pages are unavailable when they aren’t really.

What about Apple Safari? Well that’s good too. It has its ups and downs. I would only use it on a Mac, since I’m not a fan of the Windows version. It just seems rather pointless in Windows when you could just use Firefox, which is much more reliable and usable.

Opera? No way. I’ve never liked Opera. Again, it comes down to the same thing – why have it when you can have Firefox which is much safer and reliable. I don’t like Opera’s interface, and overall I just think it’s a no-go.

So, if you want an answer. It still remains – there is only one leader – Firefox. It just can’t be beaten for its safety, reliability, speed, and customizability. And those, I think, are the four keys to a web browser. Maybe, one day, a browser may become as good or even better than Firefox, but I think you be safely assured that it’s not going to be anytime soon.