Those saying that Chrome targets Windows and not IE… keep on dreaming! As much as I would like M$ to loose its suffocating monopoly…. why did they (Google) make Chrome Windows-only first then? It is still to see if the promised Linux&Mac versions will be as up-to-date as the Windows one or if they will lag behind.

To make Windows redundant they first need to make Chrome NOT depend on Windows. It is still to see if they get it.

Another thing is that many applications that people and corporations use and need run only as local/rich-clients apps. And most of them are tied ONLY to Microsoft's Windows. And this is not going to change anytime soon (unfortunately) and…

…No threat to Windows => IE % of market >66% ALLWAYS!!!

The other point about Chrome copying FF (and viceversa), although true, hides the fact that there are features in Chrome that FF does not have now and will have a hard time to adquire in the future, because Chrome starts off from a cleaner set of components:

- Chrome startups at the SPEED OF LIGHT!!! And don't expect that anytime soon in FF beacuse is too tighthed to “fatty Gecko”. Users will go “but this FF starts SOO Slowly!”

- Chrome multiprocess is good even for non-techies. “…oldFF used to crash completely with those flash pages, now only the flash breaks and I just reload the page” This is not easy for FF to copy either.

- Chrome uses MUCH less view space, but FF now still uses OS window decorators and a old-fashing textual-app menu that make it more screen-hungry. “With Asus EEE 901 1024×600 I don't have to scroll as much with Chrome as I needed to with my old-FF”. This is also difficult for FF to adopt (but not as much as the previous ones)

First, Google has their sights set elsewhere. Chrome may or may not continue to evolve, but it is just as likely that it will disappear as other browsers are affected by its gravity. Remember, as RobFlo indicated, Chrome's mission is limited to Google's cloud.

Second, FF (as well as IE these days) are not static. They too can evolve and are likely to adopt some of Chrome's ideas as long as Chrome continues to hold the public's attention. To hold that attentionChrome will need add blocking at a minimum, but more likely an entire infrastructure that makes it extensible. Those tasks may be outside of Chorme's original intent. With FF adopting a new JavaScript engine that seems destined to out pace Chrome, there will not be too many huge reasons to keep Chrome around.

It is to our advantage that Chrome suck as much oxygen out of the browser market as it can since that increases the likelihood that the FF development team will sit up and take notice of all the large and small shiny bits of Chrome and assimilate them.

This trend applies to all technology, one clever idea revolutionises a specific part of technology then the competing MONKEY will copy them. The MONKEY wont get it rite, but they will get close.

Monkey see monkey do.

With regard to chrome betting better software wise, i think this is has been proven not to be so already, with security flaws and runtime error's already dogging this browser.

I think he has it wrong with regard to IE to being insurmountable! Does anyone remember Navigator, truly the only browser that really troubled IE. Was given it's death notice only by market wrangling by Microsoft. This is now supposedly no longer possible due to anti-trust laws.

In finishing i think it is a plus either way, every new maker brings a new life and developments in its field. So lets hope we can see the end of IE rubbish!! Long live the fox!

There is no hint of doubt that Chrome makes browsing faster n better. But ppl like me who are used to Firefox will take some time to change their habits.

As of now I have to keep two instances of browser open and juggle between the two. For instance if I have to check my bookmarks or add a new bookmark to delicious..

Over a period of time Chrome will come out wid a host of features / extensions. The sooner they come the better.

Unfortunately, even if Chrome is (impresively) faster than any browser, and even if it has the last Javascript renderer, it has a lot of problems with some Javascripts (including Alerts, Prompts, etc.)
I don't know if that's the reason, but Chrome uses the same web renderer than Safari: AppleWebKit. And (oh, surprise!!!) I have the same problems on Safari using Javascripts.

As information, all javasripts works fine on Firefox 1.5+, Opera 9+, and even Internet Explorer 6+

I agree that Google's got way more marketing strength than Mozilla, but I was more or less thinking that although many people had tried out Chrome, this 2% market share isn't a definite “I'm switching over to Chrome now, so bye bye Firefox/IE!”.
This could be just people trying out Chrome. That is just a download count; or did they actually use some method to determine that this is indeed the case that Chrome has guaranteed a 2% market share? Maybe they just use both until one really proves to the end user that it is the better one.

In the end I guess we shouldn't loose track over the fact that these are just tools/browsers and that it doesn't really matter which one you use. We shouldn't get too attached to them… they are man made after all!

I think you are missing the point. Better doesn't mean it will sell more. IE is a terrible browser, but it's the most commonly used.

Chrome will succeed BECAUSE of Google. 2-3% marketshare in a day is unheard of.

There is no doubt that FireFox is a killer browser, but without a marketing budget, or the industry clout Google has, it will be stuck in the mud.

I agree that Chrome has a cleaner and simpler way of addressing most of the issues and I like the way they thought about everything, especially the TABS!!! The TABS are very intuitive! Separate processes, etc. FF3 definitely needs this!
But don't forget, Mozilla is in a better situation to adapt than Chrome. I heard that Mozilla is going to release a faster Javascript engine than Chrome's, so it must be a sign.

However, enjoy both! Chrome is faster at this stage, I agree, more pleasurable than FF but don't take the uniform route. Things change on the web really quickly! This is good competition!

One thing to think about though, and this goes back to the name Chrome which appears to have its roots in Microsoft Chrome Effects, a product that could have transformed Microsoft but failed due to internal politics, is that Chrome is actually a targeted browser and the target isnâ??t IE itâ??s Windows.

Chrome is designed to be a front end to Googleâ??s Cloud and it will allow applications that are web based to appear more similar to locally running applications.

This is, in effect, more of an effort to render Windows redundant which is why a number of common browser features were left out in favor of keeping it simple and elegant.

Eventually they will likely have control over Mozilla because they will need to control their code base as this competition heats up and that will likely result in Firefox being de-emphasized, but for now I think this is more about Windows than IE and that will make it really interesting to watch.

Firefox already has a community of thousands of extensions… Google has not so much..

I think there is room for both myself.. I think the XUL framework that Firefox on will be the main reason it survives.. It's really easy to make cross platform apps that look/operate the same where possible and natively match the base OSS conventions.. That's as good a reason to exist as any I've heard about Chrome.

You might also remember that Firefox is 3ya.. how old is IE now? I don't know exactly, but it's got to be close to 13 years since Microsoft started forcing it onto peoples desktops and it version 3 when that happened.

back then Netscape was the 800 pound gorilla with all the market share.

I work at a uni, and I've converted a good many of the staff away from IE to Firefox just for better security and features.. most are avid users now.

Google Toolbar and Google Desktop coming preinstalled on every Dell (possibly others as well) computer sold. Why not Chrome preinstalled on every computer Dell (and others) sells?

There is an underlying assumption here around IE dominance with the dog analogy. I challenge that assumption, that people cannot shift to another browser already installed on thier systems. Word of mouth is extremely powerful. These days I find novices who cannot install a piece of software on thier system download Firfox.

With the reputation Google has at connecting people with the required information and the way they do it – people will be inclined to download Chrome over Firefox – far easier to use and understand.

Joe aka SeoJoe.com