Google Chrome 5 Beta Review

[Crispy]

There's hardly a piece of software more important for a desktop operating system these days than the web browser. Even the most casual of users will end up employing one several times per day. You could argue that Linux has always had a wide variety of browsers to choose from and, if you just look at the numbers you're definitely right. But, with the risk of getting a lot of people aggravated, I'll say that there has been only one real option for Linux users and that is Mozilla Firefox. Everything else, from Konqueror to Opera, just doesn't stack up and not for lack of trying.

So how would a newcomer to Linux and to web browsers in general, like Google, manage? Remarkably well, it turns out. Jumping ahead a bit, Google Chrome probably won't replace Firefox for most people and it's not going to become the default web browser in a mainstream Linux distro anytime soon, but it does so many things different and/or better than anyone else that there's no doubt Chrome is going to find a lot of fans in the Linux crowd.

Version reviewed: Google Chrome 5.0.307.11 Beta

Full read here: http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/linux/Google-Chrome-Review-137377.shtml

 

[Adamd]

I was using 5.0 for a little while but it was very unstable and crashed about every 15mins on just basic websites so I went back to 4.1.

Either way I am using Chrome as my main browser now and am really enjoying it.

For me the browser is more important then anything else since it is open almost as much as my computer is on so speed and stability is very important. Chrome is very easy to use and really is good about making the screen as big as possible with the low profile menu system to it.

I really enjoy it and consider everyone who is using Firefox to give it full time use for a few days and I have a feeling you might be switching.

The only real thing I think they can do is make getting the bookmark bar up easier. If you did not know that hitting Ctrl and B would bring it up or take it away it can get kind of confusing why it is sometimes showing and other times it is not.

 

[johnwillyums]

Hi Adam. I'm using the dev. build which updates itself all the time. Every day I think.
I've had no problems with it at all in terms of freezes etc. I like the fact that if the site you're on crashes you don't crash the whole browser.
So I'm on 5.0.356.2dev. (I just had to look). I'm using speed dial, adthwart, gmail notifier and google talk, google wave notifier, fast youtube search, google similar pages, shareaholic, cooliris and chromepad.
It was these addons, especially speed dial, that dragged me away from my first love, Firefox.
If I press ctrl+b the bookmark bar goes away. If I press it again it comes back and stays there.
Basically I hated this browser and only used it for Wave, but it has seduced me and I wouldn't go back now.

Cheers, John

 

[RST101]

I'm also using the dev and can report no issues with regard to freezing crashing etc.

I only use adblock and rss feeds as add ons so....

All is good here though

 

[Adamd]

Well my Chrome was crashing so hard it was knocking out the entire browser but most of the time it remembered what sites I was on at least.

O well the current non beta version works fine

 

[tw33k]

I posted in another thread that I have been trying chrome on and off since day one and always go back to firefox. Just now, after reading this thread, I fired it up and it was sooo slow. Loading seven forums was terrible. I'm using 5.0.342.5 btw.
I want to like it but I can't

 

[greyno3]

Which one do I download? I have win7 x64. Am using chrome 4.1.249.1036

 

[johnwillyums]

I'd say the dev build. It's updating constantly and seems to be able to handle the addons, themes etc.
I've had no trouble at all with it.
See what others say

 

[Dark Nova Gamer]

I posted in another thread that I have been trying chrome on and off since day one and always go back to firefox. Just now, after reading this thread, I fired it up and it was sooo slow. Loading seven forums was terrible. I'm using 5.0.342.5 btw.
I want to like it but I can't

Really? Perhaps something else is causing this. I'm running the latest dev build (5.0.356.2) and every page I load, loads very fast. Cached or not.

 

[imacken]

I've been using v4 for some time now and like it a lot except for one thing - no print preview!
Does v5 have it?

 

[housry23]

I have been using the dev channel for some time now. I had tried Chrome in the past and always went back to Firefox. With the addition of extensions, I am now strictly a Chrome user. It launches faster, loads pages faster and pretty much does everything better than FF. I was a huge FF fan until 3.6. I don't know what they are doing over there, but FF is going downhill IMO. Chrome is so much faster than FF. When I open the browser it just pops up, with FF it takes a couple seconds before it opens. I have downloaded and installed Minefield(Firefox 3.7 Alpha), it is better than 3.6, but still doesn't come close to the speed of Chrome. This of course is all my opinion and each and every one of us are entitled to our own opinion and preferences.

 

[Adamd]

I posted in another thread that I have been trying chrome on and off since day one and always go back to firefox. Just now, after reading this thread, I fired it up and it was sooo slow. Loading seven forums was terrible. I'm using 5.0.342.5 btw.
I want to like it but I can't

That's really surprising.

The speed is one of the main reasons why I made the switch because it was so fast. I am thinking it loads just about every website including sevenForums just about instant as soon as I type it in. And I really am not bluffing.

I am just using simple Road Runner standard connection as well.

 

[greyno3]

I am running the latest ver. of chrome now and got a big boost in speed.