Monday, September 1, 2008
Chrome, the web browser from Google
Chrome, the web browser from Google
Interesting. I was sceptical of the rumours that Google ever was actually working on such a thing - why would they, when Firefox is already so good and includes a Google search bar by default?
I like that it uses the WebKit rendering engine - as a web developer, subtle differences in the ways WebKit works just seem more intrinsically ‘right’ to me. Not that I have any serious reservations against Gecko, but I do note that Firefox is very quickly becoming the last browser that uses Gecko for rendering, as more and more new projects choose WebKit, and some like Epiphany are even moving away from Gecko to WebKit.
Yet I still use Firefox, because the most important feature to me, by far, is the ability to add extensions. There’s simply nothing else like this in any other browser. There’s also apparently no mention of it in Google’s plans for Chrome, but I suppose it’s still possible.
Aside from this, Chrome looks like it only has a handful of trivialities to set it apart from any other browser. In fact, it looks to me like they could have been done as Firefox extensions, or at most, a Firefox derivative (as Flock did). And many of them have already been done by Opera (including that awful, wrong tab placement). So I guess my question remains - why?
One final note - this is not related to Mozilla’s own ’Chrome’. Google really could have picked a name that wasn’t already in use, by another web browser no less.
( Edit: I realise now that their point was likely that the browser’s only relevance is as inconsequential decorations next to what’s really important, namely, Google’s services. If that is the case, I can’t help but question the strategy of giving your product an intentionally depreciating name. Plus I just think it sounds silly.)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Coda 1.5
Coda 1.5
Awesome. At work, this free update has removed two external programs from my workflow - my Subversion client, and ack. Less context switching, not to mention the fact that every inch of Coda is designed so well.
Truly, they live up to the tagline ‘shockingly good Mac software’.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Olympics: Pollution over Beijing? Don't worry, it's only mist, say officials
Olympics: Pollution over Beijing? Don’t worry, it’s only mist, say officials
Official readings collated by Beijing’s municipal environmental protection bureau yesterday gave an air pollution index (API) of 91 for Beijing as a whole, and 87 at the Olympic stadium. The World Health Organisation regards an API of more than 50 as high, and a reading of 100 or more is considered unsafe.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Fake Name Generator
Fake Name Generator
Looks handy for when you’re obliged to enter your details online, and aren’t feeling creative. Even gives you a disposable e-mail address.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I’m wary about [Wii MotionPlus] becoming “the new Wii Remote,” as it could segment the market, and I don’t like the idea of buying another peripheral just to have a working controller.
I’m wary about [Wii MotionPlus] becoming “the new Wii Remote,” as it could segment the market, and I don’t like the idea of buying another peripheral just to have a working controller.
—NWR, on Nintendo’s E3 press conference
Monday, July 14, 2008
Final Fantasy XIII coming to both Xbox 360 and PS3 in simultaneous launch
Final Fantasy XIII coming to both Xbox 360 and PS3 in simultaneous launch
More choice is a good thing for us.
Considering the following that FF has, this is a fairly big deal. Sony’s fate of being in last place this time around seems to have been sealed. One can hardly say they don’t deserve it.
