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HubSpot Dev Team's Top Five Google Chrome Features

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google chrome logo

Chances are you don't spend much time thinking about your web browser. It's just there -- the tool you use to check your email, read the news and run your company.

Google is trying to change that. On Tuesday they launched a new web browser called Chrome. It plays the same role as Internet Explorer and Firefox, but it plays the role very differently.

How? Dan Abdinoor and other HubSpot developers have been using Chrome since it launched on Tuesday. They answered that question with a list of five features that set Chrome apart:

(1) Terrific Tabs -- Drag any tab off the bar to launch it in a new window. Drag and drop tabs between separate Chrome windows. External links open in a new tab directly to the right of the tab you're viewing instead of the right-most tab. Create an application shortcut from any tab, you'll get a shortcut icon and a clutter-free window each time you launch it. If a web page malfunctions it only crashes the tab, not the whole browser.

(2) Outstanding Omnibox (Address Bar) -- Use the Omnibox to go directly to a URL, or use it to guess the page you're looking for -- Google site suggest is built right in. If you want to search Google, just type a question mark before your keyword. Need to access a bookmark but don't want to dig through your folders? Just type a few characters of the bookmark name or URL, look for the star next to the page title that indicates a bookmark.

(3) Bookmarks Be Gone -- Keep your bookmarks out of sight. Unless you import them from another browser, Chrome will remove the bookmark bar. Just open a new blank tab and you'll see the bookmark bar at the top, on the right there's a list of recent bookmarks. You can also type part of a bookmark name or URL into the Omnibox to fetch it. To bookmark a page, click the star icon next to the Omnibox.

(4) Helpful History -- Open a new tab and you'll see tiles of your most visited websites. Click the full history link on the bottom to see your browsing by time and date. There's even a search box to find a site by any part of the name or URL.

(5) Useful Utilities -- Digging into the guts of a web application is not fun, but sometimes it is necessary and Chrome offers a whole suite of utilities. There's task manager that shows you what tabs are running and the resources consumed. Use Chrome's inspector tool to see page structure, javascript performance and make CSS changes on-the-fly. You can also launch a separate javascript debugger console for each tab. Even the ubiquitous "view source" feature is taken a step further by color coding markup and making URLs into links.

Chrome is a great new tool that will make you more productive. By itself it won't change your business, but it's part of a series of changes having a huge impact on your business. Just like Tivo, the iPod or caller id, Chrome makes it easier to find the content you want, and avoid annoying interruptions.

As a marketer, that means you need to do even more work to create great content and attract an audience.

 

Internet Marketing Kit


Posted by Rick Burnes on Fri, Sep 05, 2008 @ 08:15 AM

COMMENTS

As a marketer, I see this as yet another opportunity to differentiate. I'm up for this challenge. 
 
Don't forget the Incognito tab for those concerned about privacy. I did not find a delete history button.

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 8:56 AM by ethnicomm


Thanks for the tip, regarding google's new tool chrome. I saw the link in my gmail window, and was wondering what this was? 
 
 
 
Now I know 
 
 
 
You guy's at hubspot are on top of every new gadget, that's out there on the internet and keeping us inform well. 
 
Keep up the great work, you guy's at Hubspot...! 
 
 
 
Ed :)

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 9:03 AM by Ed


@ethnicomm Yes, the incognito mode is something worth mentioning. I think it buys Google some trust-points, since many people are concerned that Google has too much data about users. Incognito mode can make those people a a bit more comfortable. 
 
You're right that there's no way to delete all history, but when you're viewing history there are 'delete history for this day' links on the right hand side.

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 11:26 AM by Dan


what are the cons? are there any?

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 11:46 AM by Jeff


If you like Chrome’s stripped down Web Inspector, you will love the original, full featured version in the WebKit nightlies. Cheers!

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 12:57 PM by Timothy Hatcher


@Jeff I would say there are a few cons right now: 
 
1) Chrome is PC only, although they promise a Mac and Linux client will come soon. Lots of internet-savvy folks and Google lovers are using Macs today and they might feel snubbed a bit. 
 
2) Text box memory is missing. One thing I've come to love in FF and IE is the text box memory, just double click and see all the values you've previously typed in a form field. This did not make it into the beta version of Chrome. 
 
3) Chrome uses the webkit rendering engine, the same thing behind Apple's Safari and mobile Safari browsers. It's a very small market share and not all web developers keep it in mind, so there's a chance some websites will not render as the designer intended. I don't count this one against Chrome, but users should be aware.

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 5:56 PM by Dan


dan -- might be cool if you wrote a follow-up article of the top 5 things they need to add or they missed. bh.

posted on Friday, September 05, 2008 at 7:25 PM by Brian Halligan


It is interesting to see how google has gone about indexing the world's information. It is now a 800 pound gorilla matching micorsoft in size but gets away with the image of david (google) Vs Goliath visual image and somehow do no evil branding has shorn all the armor off MS body.  
 
 
 
Chrome is cool and chrome will eat IE for breakfast in 6 months time. Unlike chatapp, browser is more intrinsically linked to the search and the more intuitive both are , faster it is for the user. 
 
 
 
GCOLA for anyone ...coming soon ..u can gulp faster, refill forever and die sooner

posted on Saturday, September 06, 2008 at 1:48 AM by ram


I downloaded it the same day it came out. Works more efficiently but still need adjusting to it!

posted on Sunday, September 07, 2008 at 1:29 AM by May


Hi, there is one big cons to google Chrome, at least on this version: I donwloaded Chrome and enabled it to pick up all my firefox settings and bookmarks. A few minutes later i tried to install the google toolbar on Chrome as I couldnt see it in-built by default and realised that Chrome would take me to the google toolbar for firefox thinking that I was using firefox instead. Has anyone experienced that yet?

posted on Monday, September 08, 2008 at 4:04 AM by David


I installed the Chrome Browser. I would rather sick with Firefox. I can't afford to lose all the extensions i have on Firefox.

posted on Monday, September 08, 2008 at 4:23 AM by Super Profits Media


The Hotel Experience experimented with Chrome a little last week, and as with many initial roll outs, we found the experience lacking, but given time and the immense resources to which Google has access, I'm sure that it will not be long before Chrome is a decent alternative to Firefox, Flock, IE, or Opera.

posted on Monday, September 08, 2008 at 4:07 PM by Eric S Pratum


I hear what everyone is saying about the toolbars and the add-on functionality but I think you're missing the point. 
 
Google Chrome is about getting the excess out of your face and letting users interact with what they want -- the web. 
 
Tons of extensions and toolbars can sometimes add productivity but usually they add a lot of clutter.  
 
I think Google is going to release a really impressive API for Chrome, one that allows developers to tie in the Omnibox and other native actions like tab dragging so that extensions can be created that do not clutter the interface but add the required functionality. 
 
Think about Apple and the platform for developing iPhone applications, you can access all the core features but they don't let you clutter up the interface of the phone. Your app is a silo, its not allowed to degrade the overall experience.

posted on Tuesday, September 09, 2008 at 3:55 PM by Dan


I love everything BUT the bookmarks. I use my bookmarks to organize my work. The Chrome bookmarks are clumsy and difficult to edit

posted on Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 1:16 PM by Rio


Chrome is still missing various features; for example, the mode where "open in new tab" also selects the tab. And there really are useful Firefox extensions; you don't have to clutter up your browser with ones you don't use. I use "AutoFill" on the Google toolbar a lot; presumably they'll come up with that soon enough. And once they make it possible to write add-ons, there'll no doubt be many, although we'll see whether it catches up with Firefox. 
 
I think the real bloat problem may be Firefox itself, which has simply grown so many pieces that it's very big. This kind of thing is usually a strong sign that it's time for re-architecture; hence Chrome. 
 
They also need to upgrade to the latest WebKit, which surely will come in the next release. 
 
But the fundamental concepts of Chrome are very good ideas, and are particularly beneficial to Google's web-based apps. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all goes.

posted on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 6:56 AM by Daniel Weinreb


there are so many advantages and features with Chrome, such as it's speed, for example; now if only they would take care it's quirky cookie management...

posted on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 8:31 PM by film fan


I think Chrome is very good browser. Neat, lean and fast. I still think Google will face an uphill battle to get the average net surfer to switch browsers. I am not talking about tech heads who try anything new, I am talking about the non techie users who are your critial mass. If you look at the new Google service insight which gives you a graph of search term usage over time, you will see the keyword “Chrome browser”, popularity is now dwindling. It is the same for Firefox 3 which peaked when they were trying to break the record for most downloads. I think it is just too hard to get people (specially non - technical users) to download a new piece of software, and then install it.

posted on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 2:55 PM by adidas


Chrome is a great new tool that will make you more productive. By itself it won't change your business, but it's part of a series of changes having a huge impact on your business.

posted on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at 7:51 AM by christian audigier


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