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Chrome was an excellent browser when it launched... It might not be able to compete with such a wide gap against all the Chromium based clones out there now, bu

Chrome was an excellent browser when it launched... It might not be able to compete with such a wide gap against all the Chromium based clones out there now, but it was rightfully an amazing experience. Initially its only competition felt like Firefox

agumonkey 5y ago
a list of shockers - streamed install process (download a shim of 300kB which will stream the rest) - obviously the chromeless ui - the dynamic status bar (ok that was the point above) - downloads shown below (as cute as the status bar, actually I miss that thing) - something about tab closing that was more regular (no need to move your mouse) - option / printing lean and fast
- DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
  Counter-points: 1. At the time, Firefox’ total installer size was ~4-5MB. 2. Much lighter than the contemporaneous IE8 and default Firefox skin, but it just came down to removing the menu-bar and status bar. Chrome’s lack of a traditional menu-bar put me off for a while, I’ll admit. I also disagreed with Chrome having its own visual-style on Windows instead of using the system theme. I know Chrome integrated with Aero Glass on Vista-and-later, but I was an XP hold-out until 2013 when I jumped to Windows 8.1. 3. “Dynamic” is overselling it. Internet Explorer had an auto-hiding status bar since version 4, albeit only in full-screen mode. 4. How is that a good thing? It wastes a thick line of screen space if you downloaded a single file. I preferred Firefox’s separate download manager window. 5. IIRC, Chrome’s “close-everything-without-moving-the-mouse” feature wasn’t in its earlier releases - and I had that functionality in Firefox (back when Firefox had a single close-current-tab button on the far-right instead of close buttons on each tab) 6. Who prints web-pages? Even in 2008. - But yeah, Chrome’s attempt at cutting down unnecessary UI was bold - and prompted Microsoft to redo IE9’s UI to look like Chrome’s in 2011 (despite that, they never fixed the “snappy” feel that Chrome has - why does IE still freeze briefly for 1-2 frames every time you switch tabs? Why is the address bar still so fiddly? Oh well, IE is dead now so we’ll never know...)
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- jfim 5y ago
  One of the big features was also the fact that it was running multiple processes. Back then, if the browser crashed it just took down the whole browser with all tabs, which was also a bit more common with the numerous plugins that were required to browse the web.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- sangnoir 5y ago
  You forgot speed - both when launching the app and general responsiveness. Launching chrome was shockingly fast - clicking the launcher and having the browser chrome show immediately without the crutch of a loading window was downright revolutionary. Once loaded, Chrome was really snappy (e.g. switching between tabs).
  - agumonkey 5y ago
    yes indeed, it's so ingrained that I forgot. And to this day, chromium/chrome is still the fastest (even though it got bloated in other places).. I hate to admit it for I wish firefox could get up to par but everytime I use chrome I sense it; and it was shocking at the time. Also the update release pace, for better or worse, was also a new kind of fast.
  - mohanmcgeek 5y ago
    Yes. There would be a chrome process always running in the background, visible in your taskbar on the right. Chrome had a lot of smart people put in a lot of thought into it. It was a sea of difference when it came out. Not to mention their original Chrome OS pitch was also amazing. I really wish we had THAT Google now.
- virtue3 5y ago
  - no horrible mem leaks from tabs like firefox :/
perryizgr8 5y ago
Remember this video? https://youtu.be/nCgQDjiotG0 https://youtu.be/nCgQDjiotG0 Chrome was seriously fast when it launched. It made everything else seem a decade old.

agumonkey 5y ago

a list of shockers - streamed install process (download a shim of 300kB which will stream the rest) - obviously the chromeless ui - the dynamic status bar (ok that was the point above) - downloads shown below (as cute as the status bar, actually I miss that thing) - something about tab closing that was more regular (no need to move your mouse) - option / printing lean and fast

DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
Counter-points: 1. At the time, Firefox’ total installer size was ~4-5MB. 2. Much lighter than the contemporaneous IE8 and default Firefox skin, but it just came down to removing the menu-bar and status bar. Chrome’s lack of a traditional menu-bar put me off for a while, I’ll admit. I also disagreed with Chrome having its own visual-style on Windows instead of using the system theme. I know Chrome integrated with Aero Glass on Vista-and-later, but I was an XP hold-out until 2013 when I jumped to Windows 8.1. 3. “Dynamic” is overselling it. Internet Explorer had an auto-hiding status bar since version 4, albeit only in full-screen mode. 4. How is that a good thing? It wastes a thick line of screen space if you downloaded a single file. I preferred Firefox’s separate download manager window. 5. IIRC, Chrome’s “close-everything-without-moving-the-mouse” feature wasn’t in its earlier releases - and I had that functionality in Firefox (back when Firefox had a single close-current-tab button on the far-right instead of close buttons on each tab) 6. Who prints web-pages? Even in 2008. - But yeah, Chrome’s attempt at cutting down unnecessary UI was bold - and prompted Microsoft to redo IE9’s UI to look like Chrome’s in 2011 (despite that, they never fixed the “snappy” feel that Chrome has - why does IE still freeze briefly for 1-2 frames every time you switch tabs? Why is the address bar still so fiddly? Oh well, IE is dead now so we’ll never know...)
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jfim 5y ago
One of the big features was also the fact that it was running multiple processes. Back then, if the browser crashed it just took down the whole browser with all tabs, which was also a bit more common with the numerous plugins that were required to browse the web.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
sangnoir 5y ago
You forgot speed - both when launching the app and general responsiveness. Launching chrome was shockingly fast - clicking the launcher and having the browser chrome show immediately without the crutch of a loading window was downright revolutionary. Once loaded, Chrome was really snappy (e.g. switching between tabs).
- agumonkey 5y ago
  yes indeed, it's so ingrained that I forgot. And to this day, chromium/chrome is still the fastest (even though it got bloated in other places).. I hate to admit it for I wish firefox could get up to par but everytime I use chrome I sense it; and it was shocking at the time. Also the update release pace, for better or worse, was also a new kind of fast.
- mohanmcgeek 5y ago
  Yes. There would be a chrome process always running in the background, visible in your taskbar on the right. Chrome had a lot of smart people put in a lot of thought into it. It was a sea of difference when it came out. Not to mention their original Chrome OS pitch was also amazing. I really wish we had THAT Google now.
virtue3 5y ago
- no horrible mem leaks from tabs like firefox :/

perryizgr8 5y ago

Remember this video? https://youtu.be/nCgQDjiotG0 https://youtu.be/nCgQDjiotG0 Chrome was seriously fast when it launched. It made everything else seem a decade old.