plezWorld Checking Out Google Chrome

Time to take a breather from the frenetic pace of US politics and one gets the funny feeling that plezWorld is spending way too much time trying to sway the election for the Leader of the Free World... plus, I don't think many of ya'll are listening anyway!

My inner geek is begging for something new and tantalizing, something to take my mind off of the junior senator from Illinois and that unvetted governor from Alaska.

And PCWorld.com provided the perfect antidote: Google Chrome.

The following is an article by J. R. Raphael in the latest PC World that lists the pro's and con's for trying out the beta version of Google Chrome.

September 2, 2008

The first beta of Chrome, Google's long-in-development Internet browser, became available Tuesday afternoon for Windows Vista and XP users, with Mac and Linux editions soon to follow. There's ample reason to be excited about the release, and just as much reason to be wary. Check out the screen shots, weigh the pros and cons, and then decide for yourself.

Seven Reasons Chrome Could Be Cool

1. It won't crash.
   
   Perhaps Chrome's biggest draw is its multiprocess architecture, which, in a nutshell, protects you from having a bad Web page or application take your browser down. Every tab, window, and plug-in runs in its own environment--so one faulty site won't affect anything else that you have open. This approach also adds another layer of security by isolating each site and application within a limited environment.
   
   
2. It's really fast.
   
   Again because of the multiprocess foundation, one slow site won't drag down the rest of your browsing. Instead, you can effortlessly click to another tab or window. With plug-ins, the arrangement works similarly: If you open a site that has a slow-loading Java ad, for example, the Java itself will be isolated and the rest of the page won't be affected. The program itself opens within seconds of when you click the icon, too--a distinct advantage over some slower-loading alternatives.
   
   
3. You barely notice it's there.
   
   Calling the design of Chrome's interface streamlined is an understatement. The program barely looks like a program, and the vast majority of your screen space is devoted to the site you're visiting--with no buttons or logos hogging space. Chrome's designers say that they wanted people to forget they were even using a browser, and it comes pretty close to achieving that goal.
   
   
4. It makes searching simpler.
   
   One of Chrome's signature features is its Omnibox, an integrated all-purpose bar at the top of the browser. You can type in a URL or a search term--or both--and Chrome takes you to the right place without asking any questions. Omnibox can learn what you like, too--a talent that goes beyond the obvious automatic completion function. Say that you want to use the PCWorld.com search function, for example. Once you've visited the site once, Chrome will remember that PCWorld.com has its own search box and will give you the option of using it right from Omnibox. The function thus automates keyword searches.
   
   
   
5. It gives you more control over tabs.
   
   Chrome gives the idea of tabbed browsing new power. You can grab a tab and drag it out into its own individual window. Or you can drag and drop tabs into existing windows to combine them. Chrome also gives you the option of starting up in any tab configuration you want--whether a custom setup or the set of tabs you had open in your previous session. Other browsers require third-party add-ons to provide this capability.
   
   
   
6. It opens new doors on your home page.
   
   Chrome comes with a default dynamic home page. As you use it, the program remembers the sites that you visit most often. The top nine of those appear in snapshots on your home page, along with your most commonly used search engines and bookmarks. There's no force-feeding here, though: You can override the dynamic home page with any home page you want, just as you can set the default search engine to any service you prefer.
   
   
7. It lets you stay incognito.
   
   Like Internet Explorer 8's recent beta release, Chrome offers a private browsing option--one it calls Incognito. You can open a special type of new window and rest easy knowing nothing you do in it will be logged or saved on your computer. And unlike Internet Explorer's, Chrome's Incognito window is isolated from the rest of your browsing experience, so you can have your private window open alongside your regular windows, and each will operate independently.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seven Chrome-Related Concerns

1. It's only in its first beta.
   
   This is Chrome's first test release, so problems are bound to crop up over the coming months. If like most people you rely heavily on Web browsing, you run a risk by putting your online life into the hands of an unproven product. Visits to some plug-in-oriented sites such as logmein.com have generated errors ("This application has failed to start because xpcom.dll was not found..."). Do you want to deal with that kind of uncertainty daily?
   
   
   
2. You won't have any add-ons.
   
   Add-ons are a huge draw for Firefox fans, and none of these are available in Chrome yet. Google does intend to create an API for such extensions, but for now you'll have to make do without your AdBlocks, Better Gmails, and BugMeNots--or you'll have to switch between browsers to use the add-ons you want when you want them.
   
   
3. You can't synchronize.
   
   One big plus of Firefox is its ability to synchronize across multiple computers using Mozilla's Weave option. This arrangement allows you to keep your home browser, your laptop browser, and your work browser looking identical at all times--and once you get used to that level of synchronization, it's hard to give up. Chrome doesn't yet have that capability.
   
   
4. You may draw the short stick on standards.
   
   Standards get a little less standard as this new player enters the equation. It's based on WebKit, the same open-source system that drives Apple's Safari; but when you look at pages in Chrome compared to pages in Firefox or IE, you'll notice a difference in text formatting. And since most sites give coding priority to the market leader, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment with Chrome.
   
   
5. You're giving advertisers extra ammo.
   
   Have you seen all the hype about Google's privacy practices and how much of your data it shares with advertisers? Imagine the potential ammo you're giving it by using this browser. Google will now have total control over your experience from the time you open Chrome to the time you shut down. In some sense, you might just as well invite DoubleClick to watch over your shoulder while you surf.
   
   
6. The dropdown bar is dropped.
   
   The idea of the URL dropdown bar is dropped in Chrome. To compensate, the browser offers "intelligent" features in its Omnibox; but if you like being able to see your recent URLs at the click of a button, you'll miss the dropdown bar.
   
   
7. You lose some history power.
   
   Chrome's History functions are less versatile than the powerhouse ones built by Firefox. Chrome offers only a simple screen showing your day-by-day history. The ability to sort everything by date, site, or most visited appear to have joined the distaff and spindle on the ash heap.
   

So there you have it: the good, the bad, and the ambiguous of Google's first foray into browsing. You've heard the hype; now, the decision is yours.

Whose campaign will you be joining?

Read the PCWorld.com article about the pros and cons of Google Chrome here.

Read the CNN.com article about Google Chrome here.

Check out Google Chrome screen shots here.

If you have Windows Vista or XP, click here to download the Google Chrome browser.


plez sez: i used to use Mozilla Firefox and got rid of it when my computer was infected by the nastiest of viruses earlier in the year. i really like Firefox and have seriously thought about re-installing it... but now, i'm considering Google Chrome, since i have a gmail account, and i have a Google homepage, Google Calendar, and just used Google Spreadsheets last week.

plezWorld wonders who else has taken the plunge or is preparing to install Google Chrome.

CNN's Black in America - Woman & Family

From CNN.com:
(CNN Student News) -- Forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., CNN launches a sweeping on-air and digital initiative, CNN Presents: Black in America. These documentaries, "The Black Woman and Family" and "The Black Man," focus on fresh analysis from new voices about the real lives behind the stereotypes, statistics and identity politics that frequently frame the national dialogue about Black America.

Black in America: The Black Woman & Family
Aired: Wednesday, July 23, 9 p.m. ET
Program overview: Soledad O'Brien explores the varied experiences of black women and families and investigates the reasons behind the disturbing statistics on single parenthood, disparities between black and white students in schools, and the devastating toll of HIV/AIDS. O'Brien reports on the progress of black women in the workplace and the status of the black middle class.

Resources associated with CNN Presents: Black in America.

plez sez: i waited with bated breath for this show to air. got the DVR all queued up and ready to go. skipped over the hip hop/spoken word artist... that isn't my style, sorry.

alas, less than an hour into the two hour program, i am disappointed with the show. the Black experience, the segment on Black women alone could've run for two hours. maybe i'm socially aware, maybe because i'm Black, but i didn't see any groundbreaking information. the same tired issues were trotted out: single mother households, lack of emphasis on education, poverty in the Black community, rampant HIV/AIDS infection rates, lack of preventive health care, interracial marriage, ad nauseum.

and of course, hallelujah, low and behold, a WHITE ancestor! how in the heck did ole girl think she get that light skin and freckles! oh, not just any old white ancestor, of course, they found a family whose white great-great-great grandfather had a Black mistress, not a slave! he had two families: one white and one Black. each family had a gaggle of kids. earth to soledad o'brien, just about every damn Black family in the US has the DNA of some nasty, white rapist lurking in the shadows of its history. and just think, marriage between white men and Black women was against the law in most southern states until 1970! yeah... less than 40 years ago!

during this time of obvious miscegenation on the part of white men raping Black women, a Black man could be lynched for looking (or whistling) at a white woman... some shit about violating the purity of the white race! see Emmit Till, a 14-year old boy who was dragged from his uncle's home and shot and lynched for allegedly whistling at a white woman while visiting relatives in mississippi in 1955.

i guess my biggest issue with the "Woman & Family" episode was the lack of historical context (other than the white ancestor bit) surround all of the issues that were discussed in the documentary. are Black people that damn pitiful, that damn lazy and shiftless, and deserving of scorn for the failures in their communities, OR were there some contributing events in their history that saw them to this station in life? soledad o'brien didn't go there, even though she is Black, her parents were college professors, and her and her five siblings are all graduates of harvard. she couldn't take that extra step and delve into the why?

why do most of us have white ancestors, but rarely do we know who they are? why do most of the Black families not have two parents? why is there such a shortage of eligible Black men for professional Black women? why is education a failure for Black families at such an alarming rate? why do so few of our young men graduate from high school (less than 50 percent)? why is HIV/AIDS such a scourge in our community? why doesn't anyone step up to address the health care gap between Blacks in america and whites in america? why does a high percentage of Black children suffer from homelessness and poverty in america? why does it seem that slavery, something that ended over 150 years ago, still hold so many Black people back? why do so many Black people vote for the Democratic Party candidates? why did circumstances in New Orleans lead to such destruction of that city when similar catastrophes in other parts of the US don't have such a negative effect?

this was not a balanced story... they should have stayed with the Rand family and critiqued them in various scenarios rather than jump around. there was little continuity between segments (except when they referenced members of the Rand family). there was no acknowledgement of nuance, no shades of gray, few nuggets of information that would have made this a groundbreaking documentary. one would be better off finding a copy of "Eyes on the Prize," which covers 30 years of the Civil Rights Movement in a FOURTEEN HOUR documentary.

well... now, i'm off to watch Black men episode...