December 2nd, 2008
Google Chrome and the extension conundrum
Google appears to be on the extension bandwagon for its Chrome browser, but that also opens a Pandora’s box.
In an extensions document (via Stephen Shankland and Aaron Boodman) Google outlines its plan to build extensions for Chrome. Extensions are the most requested feature for Chrome.
Enter the conundrum. Extensions are nice, but they often bog down the browser. Try Firefox with and without add-ins and extensions and you’ll often see the difference. As a general rule, I want as few extensions as possible. It’s just cleaner. Will Google’s Chrome browser (all resources, special report)–part of an open source project dubbed Chromium–be as fast with a bunch of extensions riding shotgun?
Google gets the tug-of-war and writes:
Chromium can’t be everything to all people. People use web browsers in a variety of environments and for a wide variety of jobs. Personal tastes and needs vary widely from one user to the next. The feature needs of one person often conflict directly with those of another. Further, one of the design goals of Chromium is to have a minimal light-weight user interface, which itself conflicts with adding lots of features.
Garett Rogers notes Google’s balancing act:
Often though, in my experience anyway, the addition of add-ons can quickly pile up, and seriously impact the speed and security of a browser — this is a common problem with both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Google is aiming to do it right from the beginning by making security and performance their primary objective.
Despite concerns, Google is going to do extensions, but try to do them better. It notes that developing and using extensions should be similar to creating a Web page. These extensions should be polished with shared autoupdate, packaging and security features. And extensions should be stable and secure.
Also see: 10 things to love (and hate) about Google Chrome
Google Chrome: The five best new features
Google also outlines a bunch of extensions to support including bookmarking and navigation tools, add-ins for things like Skype, RealPlayer, Adblock and other tools. In other words, Google’s Chrome will have extensions for all the things Firefox offers.
Choice is great, but just remember to be picky about these extensions when they land. Your browser can get bogged down if you go too extension happy and I doubt Chrome will be any different. Part of Chrome’s appeal is simplicity. Extensions can take away from that appeal.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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