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Google Chrome: how does it stack up to the competition?

by Parm Mann on 3 September 2008, 12:17

Tags: Chrome, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)

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Dig a little deeper, and you'll discover that Chrome offers an "Incognito" mode - a privacy option becoming all the more familiar with many new browsers. When browsing in an incognito window, Chrome won't record your history or keep cookies - it'll leave no trace of your private activities.

Chrome, then, isn't just packed with features synonymous with old browsers, it has plenty of new goodies too. As with Firefox 3's awesome bar and Internet Explorer 8's smart address bar, Chrome's address bar utilises Google Suggest to provide a list of related queries and popular websites based on your input.

One of Google's key areas of focus appears to be stability, and Google Chrome has its own crash-control mechanism. Unlike most other browsers, Chrome's tabs run as an independent process - if one tab hangs, crashes or dies a horrible death, it won't kill your entire browsing session.

Should one process fail, ending it via task manager will only close that particular tab. If you're interesting in knowing how much memory this technique is using, Chrome offers a built-in task manager (accessed by pressing Shift+Esc) that'll allow you to view basic stats at a glance, and in-depth stats at the click of a button.

There's clearly plenty of features under Chrome's hood, but it's the obvious simplicity that makes it stand out.