Google Chrome 16 makes me a bit sad

I have been complaining about Opera for a long time now about how they removed a feature that I loved and used multiple times on a daily basis.

Google Chrome has done the same. Google Chrome 16 removed the optional parameter I could use to get back the old ‘new tab page’.

Google Chrome 16 makes me a bit sad

So basically, I am stuck with the ‘new tab page’ which has pretty awful UI for accessing the recently closed web pages.

I hate this small option at the bottom right of the screen. I wished Google had made a dedicated page for it just like they have for bookmarks, most visited pages and web apps.

Google+ is to Facebook what Chrome was to Firefox!

Now that I have seen and used Google Plus, I can safely say one thing. It replaces Facebook for me. (Me on Google Plus).

It reminds me of the time when I had to use Firefox because I had no other good option. And then Chrome arrived and enabled me to get rid of Firefox.

Facebook is hard to avoid these days if you are running a bunch of sites relying on traffic from the social media. But Google+ ensures that I now have a solid alternative to stay in touch with my online friends.

Knowing Google, they are likely to add features at a much faster pace. And future looks very interesting for Google’s social ambitions.

My next computer would be a Google Chromebook

Google launched Chrome OS based Chromebooks earlier this week. They are arriving in the international markets next month. No confirmed plans for the Indian market.

I am eagerly waiting for Samsung/Acer to launch their Chrome OS netbooks here in India so that I can buy one.

My next computer would be a Google Chromebook

I plan to give it to dad who wants a simple device that can check email and show him latest stock market details.

Earlier I was considering getting an Android based Tablet PC but Chromebook makes a lot more sense and that is what he would be getting!

Google Chrome pre-rendering functionality is cool

I have been noticing this happening a lot these days. Google Chrome has a feature named:

Predict network actions to improve page load performance

This is accessible from the settings (chrome://settings/advanced). I am not sure if this is enabled by default but I have it on.

And it does work nicely. I have seen web pages opening up in instant. The browser tries to guess what page you might open next and loads it in the background.

Here is how it tells you that the current webpage was actually pre-rendered: