With so many Google goodies I feel like I need to continue my posts into the weekend. Up this round, Chrome, Google’s browser.
Google released Chrome for Windows over a year ago. Since then, those of us with computers that work have been waiting anxiously. Finally, earlier this week I was able to download a beta version of Chrome for Mac, just a day before it was publicly announced.
The Good:
First impressions are stunning. I don’t know the technical reasons why, but it is fast. I’ve heard speed used as a reason to switch to Firefox from Safari, but never noticed much of a difference. That is certainly not the case with Chrome, it’s almost been like experiencing broadband for the first time again. Other benefits include stability, if one tab crashes it doesn’t affect the others.I was able to easily import bookmarks from Firefox. Also, it just looks good. Very clean interface. Tabs at th top give a slightly larger viewing area. All around a very well designed browser. Firefox better watch out.
The bad:
The only drawbacks I’ve experienced are no doubt due to the fact that I’m using a beta version that has not even been released for a week. It does not display RSS feeds properly. GoogleGears is not supported, so I must still use Firefox for syncing and using the offline versions of Gmail, Calendar, and Docs. These, however, should be fixed in time. There also is currently no support for extensions [plugins], but seeing as the Windows Chrome just got extensions the day Mac Chrome was released, I’d say they are sure to follow for Mac as well.
Bottom line:
Beautiful, blazing fast browser. It’s also going to be the basic interface for the coming Chrome OS, a cloud computing OS that is supposed to hit the market next year. I’m considering getting a netbook when it comes out, and consider Chrome browser to be good practice to familiarize myself with it. I challenge all of my readers to try Chrome for at least one week. If you don’t like it, switch back and tell me why you didn’t like it. If you have used it already, I’d like to hear your thoughts!
Chances are, if you’ve written a paper, made a spreadsheet, or a presentation on a computer ever you’ve used Microsoft Office. Even on my Mac I have a copy of Microsoft Office. I’ve used it for years with few problems.
Once again, however, Google has stepped up the game. Google Docs gives the ability to produce text, spreadsheet, and presentation documents [Word, Excel, Power Point]. I’ve been using it sporadically for the last year, but I now plan to completely replace my use of Office with GoogleDocs.
The Good:
I feel like a broken record but being web based protects me from any danger of losing my documents and allows me to access documents from any computer. Google Gears plugin once again allows me to use GoogleDocs offline, eliminating the problem of no internet connection. Another cool feature is sharing. I can allow anyone I want to view and even edit documents. This allows for collaboration on documents, which admittedly was cooler PW (pre-Wave).
The Bad:
GoogleDocs replaces Office for my uses, but it’s not the fully robust package the Microsoft offers. For some people that utilize Office to the fullest may be let down by the bare bones features of Docs. It lacks the ability to print straight from web. I have to export it as a .txt or PDF in order to print. I also had to use this method to submit a paper online for a class.
Botton Line:
Once again, however I’m willing to use the Google alternative despite a few drawbacks. I didn’t even mention the fact that it’s free. I paid $99 for my copy of Office and that was 4 years ago with a student discount. If you’re just using Office for simple text or spreadsheet applications I would definitely recommend switching to Google Docs.
