September 2nd, 2008
Google Chrome bats 1-for-3 for me
Google Chrome seems like a snazzy browser but it won’t be my everyday browser until a few items fall in line.
My test for Chrome and determining whether to use it was relatively simple. I do three things on my browser every day: I watch streaming market data, listen to Sirius and consume a bunch of company conference calls. If a browser can’t do those three things it’s not even considered to be an everyday browser for me.
Granted, some of the Chrome test drive problems may be that the target companies are misfiring when they connect with Google’s browser, but these things work in Firefox.
Here were my three tests, which may not apply to you at all. You should use your own set of must have hurdles when evaluating Chrome (Techmeme, all ZDNet posts, gallery).
Test 1: Show me the market data. In Firefox I typically have at least four Level II quotes up, some charts and a few other goodies. But when I attempted my usual financial fare on Google Chrome I got this:
I tried a few different launchers and got the same deal. Maybe it’s TD Ameritrade. Maybe it’s Google. It doesn’t much matter to me as a user since I just want it to work.
Test 2: Will Chrome play Sirius? I know from some dabbling before that getting Sirius to play in anything other than IE and Firefox can be tricky. The screen came up just fine. It just wouldn’t play. And the way the page rendered didn’t leave me a lot of hints as to what the problem was.
So far Chrome is 0-2.
Test 3: Can Chrome play a few earnings conference calls and Webcasts. Chrome had no problem whatsoever on this one. I tried three conference calls and all of them worked just fine.
Add it up and Chrome is 1 for 3, which ain’t bad in baseball but won’t cut it if the browser is going to be a default. I’ll check Chrome again in a few days to see if these hurdles are cleared.
Also see: Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Chrome launch, minute by minute
- LIVE: Google Chrome Press Conference
- Google’s Chrome browser: It’s all about the ads and cookie files stupid!
- Google’s shiny new Chrome: The enterprise playbook
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Smart Planet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
Follow Larry on Twitter.
Subscribe to Between the Lines via Email alerts or RSS.
| 09/02/08
