I downloaded Google’s new Mac Chrome Beta to my MacBook Pro. Downloading and installing the application was very easy and only took a few minutes. The browser works well. It also has a girl next door appeal that will make Safari users feel right at home. But should you ditch your old reliable Safari for it? Here are some points to consider:
Chrome is a search-engine wrapped in a browser, with several built-in search functions. For example: as you enter a URL on the address bar it uses an autofill function and suggests search keywords. By default, this is done using Google’s search engine but you can change the search preference to Bing or Yahoo. Or you can disable this feature altogether. But you can not escape Google search altogether should you decide to use Chrome on your Mac.
On the other hand, Safari is a just a plain old browser. You can decide how to search by yourself with no specific guidance and with no specific websites shoved down your throat.
Chrome may have some privacy issues which should be considered. Google wants to monitor your usage statistics (see Preferences option below). Many potential users may ask themselves if Google is playing the Big Brother and collecting usage data for its own reasons, and whether it is such a good idea to put so much more power into Google’s hands (as if they need any more power).
Chrome offers some development tools which can be helpful for web developers that want to test their website or web applications in runtime. Safari does not have such tools in place.
In summary: Mac Chrome is a good browser and can replace Safari quickly, easily and seamlessly. But Safari is also an excellent browser. Which one will you use?
