The Big 3.0

By: JP Smith | Published: September 16, 2009

Categories: Software, Internet, Google

I won't lie -- I wanted to hate Chrome.  Not because I dislike Google.  I just feel that it would jeopardize the momentum of Firefox.  However, giving it a try, I have to admit that it's light, fast and doesn't get in the way of itself.  That's a great thing for browsers these days.

Google has now upped the stakes with the 3.0 version of its brower, released this past Tuesday.  Believe it or not, they've actually made it faster.  Now, honestly, Chrome was already lightning fast to begin with so, this is all relative.  Nonetheless, Google is boasting a 25% boost in JavaScript performance.  What really impresses me, though, is the focus on getting it right.  Google says that, in the last year, over 3500 bugs have be fixed.  That a lot of bugs to have in a browser but, I commend them for actually taking this product seriously enough to focus on its stablity.

Like I stated previously, Google seems to be serious about this browser.  They are partnering with Sony to have it preinstalled on select PC's.  This is part of their plan to be at least at 5% market share a year from now and at 10% the year after.  This would position them nicely as they plan to roll out their own web-based OS to compete with Microsoft.

Here comes the big 3.0.  Let's see if the browser market reponds favorably.