Google's Chrome browser, Google Desktop and what it means for some of us, and random crap about security

It's out, all 475kb of it.

With Firefox 3 out, it seemed this was it. The coolest browser this year,and maybe for a few more months to come. Firefox 3 oozes goodness from all corners. Firefox 3 is my choice simply because it's open source, it's secure, and it's extensions make it even more secure. As far as I know, no other browser comes even close to providing that level of anonymity and security, especially after a couple of small changes. The bad side of it is that its size and memory usage makes it the mammoth of browsers.

Those who prefered lightweight, went with opera. Those who wanted to look like retards, went with Safari. Internet Explorer is hard to judge. IE7 is quite good, and if you've tried the IE8 beta, you would notice it's pretty cool as well, if you don't mind lack of web standards compliancy.

And all of a sudden, web giant Google throws something totally fresh out of their labs and onto the table.

Google chrome. The smallest graphical browser I've seen yet.
I'm not too concerned about the bluish looks of this browser, but really, 475kb is pretty small. Those who have fond memories of the old 1.44 diskettes will love these sort of programs.

How secure is it? Wikipedia says there's a bug. I say it's still in beta, so it is still excusable. I'll run my own little test drive once an official release client for linux is out.

How fast is it? Reviews say program startup is fast, surfing speed is about the same as opera or firefox.

So that is pretty much it for the world's latest addition to web browser options.

Chrome does mean something else though. If Chrome can become popular enough, the whole idea of the desktop and a homepage being the same thing that everyone seems to be raving about will become more commonplace.

I am not sure if that is such a good thing.

And the problem isn't about it being a web browser. This is where talking about Chrome ends, and Google Desktop comes in.

Google chrome becoming popular could mean google desktop becoming popular, not to mention anything else google introduces along the way to replace the current applications sitting on your hard disk and augment its place in your daily computing, much the same way using Microsoft Windows somehow managed to mind control everyone into using Internet Explorer.

I've never been a fan of web based apps. Never have. Never will be.

Keeping a layer between the net and your machine is very very good security-wise. If we start depending on webapps and online storage, every security concept based on that layer goes out the window. The emphasis shifts from just blocking people from getting into the machine to blocking people from tapping into your connection to the server. And if either side becomes compromised to a well placed trojan, it can become somebody's worst nightmare.

And no, things don't get better with encryption. That's just makes it harder, not impossible. As much as I wish ssh-ing across continents into a home server was secure, the fact is, it isn't bullet-proof (though it is the equivalent of kevlar in spirit.).

A fine difference between a false sense of security, and the knowledge of the absence of security. One makes people commit more mistakes.

This of course doesn't matter for all the dumb terminals and internet cafes in existence. Heck, it's probably a blessing. A client even lighter than Opera?! A dream come true. I myself am going to recommend it to anyone with laptops older than 5 years.

Chrome's presence does have another effect though. It's like the difference between telling a person to run, and telling the person to run after releasing a wild bear on him.

Competition.

Firefox has been having it easy. Left alone right now, it's growth is almost guaranteed. I don't foresee Internet Explorer displacing it in any way. Its association with and birth from Microsoft does not do it any favours. Opera has carved its niche. So have all the other browsers. Chrome can change that if support for extensions and ultra-beefed up security gets somehow built in. And that is going to make Mozilla run harder. Which works for the users because that is really what they are going to be interested in. What is the latest? What is the coolest? What is the prettiest? And especially for me, what is the most secure?

Yes, I'm all about security. Take a look at my part-time jobs in my profile and go figure.

I'm still waiting though. For the perfect browser, the kind with no security holes. Standards compliant. No memory issues. And the closest one right now is still Mozilla's Firefox 3.