The best thing about the on going browser wars is not which is best? Because all the browsers have to prepare you to operate in the cloud. Therefore the freedom of choice is given to you with respect to choosing the browser. The real test in cloud computing will be, will the users accept the control exercised by the service provider and then it boils down to which application would he choose for the work that he wants to do. Cloud computing is not yet here nor has it been accepted but cloud computing readiness is here.
This is where browsers like FireFox will lose because they do not have anything else to offer except the addons. But then the distant future is only a horizon and has not yet dawned.
Microsoft has an added advantage that it is Windows 7 ready and so as far as personal computing and low level business applications go it does not have to worry.
There has been talk of Google’s own Operating system. That is a distant possibility but not a matter of urgency.
Ultimately it boils down to what attractive applications can the cloud offer in personal computing and whether the big businesses bite the byte, whom essentially the cloud will endeavour to attract.
Chrome can be down loaded presently and is easy to install. It guides you in the process and you can access all your files. It also fetches your book marks, pass words etc., from Fire Fox or IE. It is not yet Mac and Linux ready but it is expected soon. The tabs that appear or basically a “omni bar”( web address bar) and a “book marks bar” placed below it. There is also a “recent book marks” bar to the right of the screen.
The controls are to the right of the “omni bar”. They are the “page icon” and a wrench. The “page icon” lets you use “google gears” for applying short cuts etc., and the “wrench” is for the purpose of history, browsing, down loads etc.,
You can also switch your search engine by clicking on “options” below the “wrench icon”. Facility exists for setting up own home page. This is duplication of the work that igoogle does. Once you create your home page you can also create short cuts and all the paraphernalia associated with the browser disappear giving you a feel of a desk top application. Here is the rough view of the GOOGLE’s Chrome, Mozilla’s Firefox and Internet Explorer from Microsoft after the cloud computing days start. For the purpose of navigation through a web site instead of the arrow keys you have to “right click”
The facility of searching has been extended to pages within your desk top also. The history does not give the URL of the pages you visit but it does give a brief sketch of the site. Even book marks can be searched where a field is provided for the purpose and the contents are displayed to the right of your book marks. The private browsing of FireFox is called “incognito” in chrome.
Memory management has been introduced in Fire Fox 3.5 also but in chrome it has to be done manually by using and checking the task manager provided for this purpose. Fire Fox 3.5 lets you “restore previous session” automatically in case of a crash but in chrome this has to be done manually by using the “options/ basic menu”. But if you are working by using tabs in chrome problems arising out of that will affect only that page only and not the entire system but a task manager provided for this purpose will warn you of problems that arise in memory management.
Before concluding we would like to reiterate that in the browser wars it is not which browser is better as all the browsers provide you with a choice of using a browser you like and will also integrate your desk top with the web. The important thing is these are only the means and not an end to themselves.
