Google has recently released its Chrome system as it makes its first moves into the web browser market currently dominated by Microsoft and Internet Explorer. In a strategy reminiscent of the Microsoft approach taken in the mid 90s to package IE with its operating systems, Google is currently in discussion with a number of PC manufacturers to offer Chrome as their pre-loaded browser for 2009.

The web browser market is becoming increasingly competitive as the major players involved attempt to establish dominance over one another and open source user-driven applications like Firefox. Microsoft’s recent attempt to buy Yahoo was a strong signal that the company has at last come to terms with the fact that it has missed the boat as far as Web influence is concerned, while open source applications such Open Office continue to threaten their dominant position in desktop applications.

Google’s Chrome adapts and develops on some of the features that you may already be familiar with if you are using IE7 or Firefox to browse the Web, with Security, Speed, Stability and a clean User Interface representing some of the issues that Google have tried to actively address with their Beta version release.

SearchWiki

If in addition to Chrome you are using Google Search, a ‘wiki‘ function has been introduced to the browser, which allows users to manipulate and comment on their own search content. SearchWiki lets users re-order, remove or add specific web search results, meaning that the next time they perform the same search, the personalised version will pop up. Although some commentators think that the SearchWiki system will only be used by a dedicated group of web enthusiasts rather than the Internet population at large, if it is well received, the introduction could have profound effects on emerging trends in search. Social Search, for example, combines traditional algorithmic search favoured by today’s engines with human editorial input, the idea being that humans have the ability to craft a better result in any given situation because they can make the types of distinctions machines can’t.

Let us know what you think; you can download and try Google Chrome for yourself by visiting http://www.google.com/chrome

We think that it’s important that you can find lots of useful information for free on this site, and will develop it in that vein for our customers, potential customers and interested visitors alike.

So have a look around, and if you think there’s anything that we can do for your organisation, by all means get in touch for a chat. If you’ve already got a website partner, use the knowledge you gather to beat them up and make sure that they do a better job for you. Finally, if you’re a site developer looking to poach our fabulous content, at least you’ve got good taste, by all means help yourself….after all, new ideas are rarely new for long these days!

Cheers

Keith