We've been using Google Chrome for a week now, and while we're impressed with its speed, we're less enamoured with its functionality.
For all of us at TechRadar and our sister computing magazines at Future, there's a deal breaker that has us running back to Firefox or Internet Explorer. Here's what we need from Google Chrome before it stands a chance of becoming our everyday browser.
Sure, it's beta software so we know that extra features are likely to appear, but we thought we'd help the Google devs out with our suggestions.
1. Google Toolbar
"I use Google Toolbar's Bookmarks to maintain the same list of bookmarks on my work PC, laptop, home desktop and Mac. For me, until that functionality is there, I can't use Chrome as my main browser, much as I'd like to."
Stuart Anderton, Publisher, TechRadar
2. Mouse gestures
"Add-ins, especially mouse gestures. I'm so used to using mouse gestures in Firefox that Chrome sees me uselessly wiggling my mouse about trying to open new tabs, and going back and forwards. Sorry Google – no mouse gestures, no Chrome."
Paul Douglas, Editor, TechRadar
3. Better history management
"I'd like to be able to remove individual pages from my 'most visited' pages that appear on my start page. Clearing my entire browsing data is overkill when I just want to remove one site that I spent a few days visiting but have no intention of visiting again."
Patrick Goss, Editor, TechRadar
4. RSS subscriptions
"For me, RSS is absolutely essential for any browser. It's not so much that it has to be my permanent reader, but it has to at least be able to deal with RSS so that when I decide to I can favourite the feed or at the very least browse through it and decide whether it's worth subscribing to. Feeds are an increasingly important way of reading a whole bunch of websites and it shouldn't be underestimated. Why Google can't just plug iGoogle in as a Start Page seems strange, but no doubt it will happen in future."
Dan Grabham, Computing Editor, TechRadar
5. Bookmarks pane
"A decent bookmarks pane – I have thousands of them! Plus automatic bookmark synching across multiple computers. I can't use it seriously until that's available."
Adam Ifans, Editor, PC Format
6. Pop-up blocker
"I like Chrome for its simplicity, so I don't want to see them add too many things. I'd like an option to get rid of pop-ups entirely, especially as I've had a few that have started playing sounds at me despite supposedly being out of the way, and the current bookmarking system is far too simplistic. A little RSS flag for easy subscription to website feeds wouldn't hurt, either – I hate playing hunt-the-icon – and browser syncing would be useful."
Richard Cobbett, Features Editor, PC Plus
7. Social bookmarking toolbars
"Without any toolbar add-ons for social bookmarking tools like Delicious or Magnolia, using Chrome as a main browser seems like a laborious process. What made Firefox so great was the add-ons – not beefier security or faster browsing. It's the social and productivity revolution that makes today's web what it is."
Christian Hall, Deputy Editor, PCAnswers
Do we need a Mac version? Graham Barlow, Editor of Mac Format doesn't seem especially excited by the prospect: "The ability to pull tabs off onto the desktop to create new browser windows has been a feature of Leopard's Safari for a while now, but it wouldn't hurt to have a version of Chrome on the Mac, since the other major browsers, like Firefox, are also available on the Mac."
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Your comments (1) Click to add a new comment
omegagrandpa
September 10th 2008
1. CHROME IS GOOD BUT!!!!!! You have an Issue !!!!.... Tab Reloading. and this should not be a Extension or anything like that. it should be part of the browser.. Most of us all have several tabs open at any one time.. you talk about speed!.. EVERY CLICK COUNTS! Time is money and Chrome is #1 in Speed.. or can be. hear is the idea.. For each and every Tab.. including the ones that where there at one time... but you removed and now want to put back a year later.. should be able to set up a Tab Reload time!.. Either AUTOMATIC and left up to the Browser as to when it's reloaded. or better yet/AND allow the user to pick a time period to reload each tab... the really nice thing is being able to change tabs add and remove them.. and Chrome being as smart as it is.. Remembers that you had this tab set to this page before and you anted this reload time then so we will set it to that again now. So it's a matter of tracking Tabs and there URL associated with it... YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!make it part of Chrome.. and really make them TABS and CHROME POP... Thank you for your time...
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