Google to Release Browser Named 'Chrome' on 09/02

At Google, we have a saying: "launch early and iterate." While this approach is usually limited to our engineers, it apparently applies to our mailroom as well! As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit "send" a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome. As we believe in access to information for everyone, we've now made the comic publicly available -- you can find it here. We will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome tomorrow in more than 100 countries.

So why are we launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web.

All of us at Google spend much of our time working inside a browser. We search, chat, email and collaborate in a browser. And in our spare time, we shop, bank, read news and keep in touch with friends -- all using a browser. Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there. We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build.

On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn't the browser that matters. It's only a tool to run the important stuff -- the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.

Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today's complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers.

This is just the beginning -- Google Chrome is far from done. We're releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We're hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust.

We owe a great debt to many open source projects, and we're committed to continuing on their path. We've used components from Apple's WebKit and Mozilla's Firefox, among others -- and in that spirit, we are making all of our code open source as well. We hope to collaborate with the entire community to help drive the web forward.

The web gets better with more options and innovation. Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the web even better.

So check in again tomorrow to try Google Chrome for yourself. We'll post an update here as soon as it's ready.

FreakPirate said:
How long until someone complains that something on SG doesn't work with their new browser?

zenFish said:
Ugh, another browser?

Fuck off already.

SuicidePuppies said:
hooray, more shit to test for.

Roethke said:
I suspect that I am the only person whose first thought was to make a "Burning Chrome" referrence.

There, geekery for the day satisfied.

gdarklighter said:

Why exactly is this a problem? Nobody's forcing you, and competition helps to drive innovation.

zenFish said:

Yes, because having IE around for so long helped us out with STANDARDS.

Roethke said:
I suspect that I am the only person whose first thought was to make a "Burning Chrome" referrence.

There, geekery for the day satisfied.

Accuser said:
Coming Soon: Google Blood!

We all use blood every day, so we decided to see if we could improve it. Google Blood still has the red blood cells you're familiar with, but they're scented with vanilla to keep you smelling great all day. (Additional scents will be made available as beta continues.) White blood cells are useful as well, but sometimes they cause problems. We've reworked them and, while there are bugs in every program, we're pretty sure we cured leukemia. Lastly, we reprogrammed platelets to host your favorite mp3 player, so now you can have your iTunes with you wherever you go without the need for headphones.

Next up: Google Cold Fusion

Pip said:
What time is it being released? I've been searching for it most of the morning.

Morgan said:
Live Firefox or Die!

d20 said:
with regards to bitching about supporting yet another user agent: you guys did read the comic, right? i'll gladly support a Webkit-based client that pre-tests each build by rendering a broad sample from google's cache of the entire internet (and space, and three other dimensions).

Roethke said:
I suspect that I am the only person whose first thought was to make a "Burning Chrome" referrence.

There, geekery for the day satisfied.