Browsers | Mark Evans

Chrome to Kill Firefox? Be Serious

November 21st, 2008 | 4 Comments | Posted in Browsers

Microsoft Watch’s Joe Wilcox must believe in conspiracy theories, that there was a mysterious shooter in Dallas on the grassy knoll, and that aliens landed in New Mexico.

How else to explain his contention that Google’s Chrome browser is going to kill Firefox based on the fact Google accounts for 80% of Mozilla’s revenue through a referral partnership that lasts until 2011.

Wilcox contends Google is going to shove aside Firefox because it’s still unhappy with how much market share Internet Explorer still holds. To effectively deal with the evil Microsoft/IE forces, Wilcox believes Google will aggressively push Chrome forward while shoving aside Firefox in a nice way.

It’s a nice argument even though it makes little sense. But then Wilcox blow it up at the end when he proclaims that:

“Firefox will fail, I predict for the future, unless Mozilla gets more donors or turns the browser back over to the open-source community.”

Right there, Wilcox skewers his theory and puts the focus on why Firefox has been so successful. It’s not Google’s cash, although getting $66-million in 2007 from Google certainly helps; it has more to do with the passion of the open-source community and users to improve Firefox and establish it as an alternative to IE.

Even if Google pulls the plug on Firefox, the community and users will step in to make sure Firefox doesn’t disappear. And while Google may be able to improve Chrome and lure developers with all kinds of incentives, it will never be able to match’s the community’s passion for Firefox.

Technorati Tags: firefox, google, mozilla

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Search within Search…and Flock

October 4th, 2008 | No Comments | Posted in Browsers, Search Engines, Web 2.0

I’m trying to pay attention to what’s going on at WordCamp Toronto but squeezed in a few minutes to highlight a couple of interesting things discovered on the Web this week.

In doing a search for The Guardian, this was the first result on Google. It’s search within search.

As Flock continues its battle for a foothold in the browser market, it seems to be focusing more on meeting the needs of niches. Here’s Flock’s browser for the fashion/entertainment world.

It’s a smart strategy given the competitive landscape but not sure it’s going to work. Then again, it seems to be a better route than trying to be all social media all the time.

Technorati Tags: flock, google

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Firefox 3.0.2 - Evil!

September 26th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in Browsers

It looks like the latest version of Firefox (3.0.2) may not be ready for prime time. Lots of complaints that extensions that aren’t compatible and disappearing bookmarks.

You figure Firefox would be at its best behavior now that Chrome’s on the scene and looking for any chance possible to lure Firefox users over to the dark side.

Technorati Tags: firefox

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Chrome Quickly Loses its Shine

September 23rd, 2008 | 19 Comments | Posted in Browsers, Google

It’s only been a few weeks since Google unleashed Chrome but the buzz seems to have pretty much evaporated.

There are probably happy Chrome users but given the excitement about its debut, the Web’s newest browser (the one that was going to reignite the browser wars) appears to have fallen flat. You don’t hear people raving about Chrome or blog extolling its virtues.

Is Chrome a dud?

Well, you could argue Chrome is under-whelming. Without many bells and whistles, Chrome is like being asked to drive a Chevy Cavalier as opposed to a fully-loaded BMW. Other than the novelty factor, there are few reasons to embrace Chrome right now.

Of course, it would be unwise to dismiss Chrome as another Froogle (aka Google Product Seach). With Chrome, Google has dipped its toe in the waters. Over the next little while, you can expect Google to beef up Chrome with more features/add-ons and integrated with other services such as GMail and Blogger.

Until then, the majority of Web users will probably stick with IE and Firefox. But Chrome strikes me as a fox lurking in the bushes, waiting for the right time to pounce. For now, it’s not dangerous but wait until it gets a little more hungry.

More: Ars Technica has a story asking whether Google reverse-engineered Windows with Chrome. ComputerWorld has a story that suggests Chrome’s share of the browser market has declined to 0.77% as user migrate back to Firefox and IE. The data comes from Net Applications, which tracks 40,000 sites.

Technorati Tags: browsers, chrome, firefox, google

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What Firefox Can Learn From Netscape Navigator

September 5th, 2008 | 2 Comments | Posted in Browsers

Yeah, I promised not to talk about Chrome for awhile but I’ll ask for a Chrome exemption to look at how Firefox can learn from the mistakes Netscape made in the late-1990s when it fumbled and stumbled and, eventually, lost its dominance of the fledgling browser market to Internet Explorer.

This stems from comments made yesterday by Marc Andreessen, who co-founded Netscape, about Chrome (He likes it but you wouldn’t expect him to say otherwise publicly, would you.)

1. Mozilla must not get complacent. For whatever reason, Netscape thought its first-mover advantage and status as an investor darling would be enough to maintain and increase consumer loyalty. But Netscape got lazy and, sadly, Navigator got worse at a time when it needed to get much better to compete with Internet Explorer.

2. Mozilla needs to relish and nurture its role as the scrappy underdog. People liked Netscape because it was a new player with a valuable product willing to get head-to-head with Microsoft. At the same time, however, Netscape surrendered its scrappy startup status. \

The beginning of the end may have been the IPO, which turned many of its employees into millionaires. Then, Netscape went corporate. I remember going to a media event to meet Andreessen, and was shocked to see him wearing a ultra-corporate dark suit and tie. Now, you could tell he was uncomfortable but he was playing the role he thought he needed to play because Netscape was becoming a big company.

3. Firefox needs to keep getting better and better. Firefox 2.0 was good but Firefox 3.0 is even better, and there are encouraging signs that Mozilla has some interesting projects (e.g. Ubiquity) happening that will push the browser envelope.

4. Mozilla must stay focused. Netscape suffered because it got away from its browser roots into other products. Part of it was economic necessity because the online advertising market had yet to really emerge so Netscape needed a way to generate revenue when it became apparent it wouldn’t be able to sell Navigator, even to corporations.

With a highly-lucrative business (nearly $50-million in profits in 2006), Mozilla has enough financial muscle to do pretty much whatever it wants - along with an enthusiastic developer community to support its projects.

While Mozilla has shown it’s willing to explore new directions, it would be a mistake if it ventured off into areas that didn’t align with its browser (Firefox) and e-mail (Thunderbird) roots. In fact, you could make an argument that Thunderbird could be a distraction, although Thunderbird doesn’t appear to be getting much love from Mozilla.

Update: Speaking of Firefox making improvements, it has released version 3.1 alpha 2, which includes support for HTML 5.

Technorati Tags: browsers, Firefox

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What Took Google So Long?

September 4th, 2008 | 4 Comments | Posted in Browsers

I promise this will be my last post about Chrome for awhile, but one thing that has struck me since the world’s newest browser was unveiled on earlier this week is what took Google so long to do it.

In Wired’s “Inside Chrome” story, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is seen as being anti-browser when the idea was raised by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 2001. “I did not believe that the company was strong enough to withstand a browser war,” he said. “It was important that our strategic aspirations be relatively under the radar.”

Schmidt’s reluctance can be somewhat understood given Google was still relatively small in 2001 but it is strange that it took until 2006 until the browser project was finally given the green light.

So what changed?

Was it the realization cloud computing made it a strategic necessity for Google to have its own browser? And why build a browser when Firefox was, in many respects, acting as Google’s browser proxy in the battle against Microsoft - a battle that Google was financially supporting through its search referral deal with Mozilla.

The other interesting thing about Chrome’s debut is how the critics have started to emerge after the initial burst of frenzied excitement. This includes a focus on Chrome’s end-user licensing terms, privacy issues related to the Omnibox, and whether Chrome is actually faster than Firefox.

Critics are part of any ecosystem, and often they yell a lot louder than proponents. But the push back against Chrome is strikingly similar in tone to what Microsoft usually receives, which says something about Chrome and, more important, something about how people now perceive Google.

Technorati Tags: chrome, Firefox, Google

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Chrome May Be Shiny & New But….

September 3rd, 2008 | 8 Comments | Posted in Browsers, Google

Chrome is definitely new and worth checking out but I’ve decided not to get too excited about it.

How come?

First, I’m having trouble installing it on the two Windows laptops in my house, which is a long story that has nothing to do with my broadband connection or willingness to install it.
Second, the one lesson I’ve learned from being a beta whore over the past few years is if you’re happy with the application you’re currently using, then think twice about trying out something else simply because it’s new. The same approach could be embraced when it comes to upgrades that promise more features but, quite often, headaches as well.

Bottom line: I really like Firefox. I like how it performs, including the new features in Firefox 3.0; I like how I can have 20 tabs open at the same time; and I like that Firefox is an open-source player with a thriving developer and extension community.

It’s not to suggest that Chrome isn’t appealing. The notion of a super-fast browser sounds really good, and I think Chrome will resonate with many people who want a user-friendly, no-frills browser.

But Chrome doesn’t have add-ons yet, it doesn’t offer a version for Mac, and it’s bad enough that I’m using multiple Google services already.

That isn’t to say Chrome won’t get more interesting in the future because you know Google is going to learn and improve it. For one, I expect Google to start to integrate more of its other services (e.g. GMail, Blogger, YouTube, Picasa) into Chrome.

But, for now, Firefox and I are tight.

For what Chrome got right, check out a guest post on Louis Grey by Phil Glockner.

More: Google has been getting an awful lot of flack about its end-user licensing agreement, which essentially says that anything you upload using Chrome gives Google the right to use it.

Technorati Tags: chrome, Firefox, Google

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How Badly Will Chrome Hurt Firefox?

September 3rd, 2008 | 10 Comments | Posted in Browsers, Google, Uncategorized

If you listen to the fine folks at Google, they universally love Firefox. In fact, many of them agonized over Google’s decision to create its own browser because they didn’t want to damage the scrappy open-source rival that has given IE fits. (Wired has the inside story of Chrome’s creation.)

Nevertheless, Google decided it had no choice but to develop Chrome. Now the question is how badly will Chrome damage Firefox. Will Firefox users abandon ship because Chrome is simply shiny and new? Or will Chrome be a novelty for Firefox users who love the ability to personalize Firefox more than Chrome’s no-frills look and feel.

The other consideration is financial given referral revenue from Google accounted for more than 80% of Mozilla’s $66.8-million revenue in 2006. While the deal was recently extended to 2011, Firefox could get less revenue if a lot of Firefox users moved to Chrome.

My sense is Chrome will hurt Firefox but it will likely be more of a flesh wound than a major injury. This means you may see Firefox’s share of the browser market retreat to 15% from 20%.

Internet Explorer could be more vulnerable even though IE8 Beta 2 has been getting good reviews. Many IE users, who would never consider using Firefox, may be more enthusiastic about Chrome because, after all, it’s made from Google, the world’s leading search engine. By giving Chrome a no-frills, user-friendly interface, it may attract more attention.

For the sake of argument, let’s say Firefox retreats to 15% and Microsoft falls back to 55%. That could leave Chrome with about 20% of the browser market.

Does that seem reasonable or am I being too bullish on Chrome’s appeal?

More: There’s no lack of people who have tried Chrome, including Walter Mossberg, who liked it but not that much; and Alec Saunders, who suggests that Chrome “in the hard light of day I’d say the emperor has no clothes”.

Technorati Tags: chrome, Firefox, Google

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What Are Web Surfers Hiding?

September 2nd, 2008 | 5 Comments | Posted in Browsers

By now, Google Chrome’s features are being closely dissected but one thing that struck me about the press conference earlier today was the focus on a feature called InCognito, which lets computer users have private surfing sessions that leave no tracks of where they’ve been and what they’ve done.

InCognito comes hot on the heels of a feature within IE8 Beta called InPrivate that lets you do the exact same thing. It’s anonymous surfing.

What I want to know is what people are doing that has compelled Google and Microsoft to roll out InCognito, which features a private detective icon, and inPrivate.

Are far more people than we think enjoying online porn? Are people trying to protect their eBay activity? Is Ashley Madison becoming all the rage within our increasingly short attention-span society?

There’s got to be a reason that private surfing has suddenly become so important. I mean, we’re all worried about browsing but most computers don’t have more than one user. And if you are on a computer with more than one user, you would think people would be aware of that, and resist the urge to surf porn.

And now back to your regular Chrome programming….., including tech maven, Walt Mossberg’s so-so review of Chrome.

More: For Firefox users, there’s a plug-in called Stealther that provides private surfing.

Technorati Tags: chrome, Google

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Google Browser or Slow News Day Rumor?

September 1st, 2008 | 3 Comments | Posted in Browsers

One of the big online mysteries has been Google’s lack of its own Web browser.

You figure with the never number of online services coming out of the GoogleSphere, that a browser would be a no-brainer. Yet, Google has sat on the sidelines while supporting/financing Firefox as its browser proxy.

Now, there are reports (and I stress “reports”) Google is finally getting into the browser game with a project called Chrome. I’ll leave the nitty-gritty details to Google Blogoscoped but strategically this is a logical and smart move by Google.

If cloud computing is going to be how applications are offered, then the browser is the next OS. By having a browser, Google moves right into the core of cloud computing, along with Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, etc.

Mathew Ingram asks “Do We Need a Google browser? The answer is that we may not need a Google browser but I would argue Google needs a browser.

The bigger question is whether a Google browser will resonate with computers users. Many people are using an increasing number of Google services (search, GMail, Blogger, etc.) but are they ready to surrender to Google completely by dumping Firefox and IE?

BoomTown suggests Google is igniting a new browser war. Frankly, that’s an over-the-top statement because who knows whether the GBrowser will be the next GMail or the next Froogle.

If anything, Google is going to compel Mozilla, Microsoft, Apple and Opera to make better browsers. In that sense, Chrome is a good thing if, in fact, Chrome is legit as opposed to just another rumor being embraced by bloggers on a slow news holiday.

Update: So, Chrome is for real. As for why launch a browser now, here’s the word from Google: