Chrome, chat, radio.

KlawChat returns this week, but on Wednesday at 1 pm EDT. I’ll also be on ESPN 890 in Boston at 5:20 pm on Wednesday.

I just read about Google’s new open-source browser, Chrome. Have any of you tried it yet? I’ve got Firefox pretty well tricked-out the way I like it, and it’s pretty stable aside from a few disagreements with Shockwave, so I’m not sure I’m looking to jump to another browser … but it seems nice and new shiny and all.

Comments

  1. Chrome is sweet. I’m using it right this moment. However, I don’t plan on leaving Firefox, because I rely on a couple of add-ons not available in Chrome. Given that Google made the project open source, I suspect that those Firefox add-ons will eventually make their way to Chrome. When that happens, it’ll be a hard call.

  2. Hey Keith, I’m not around during your chats, and I’m sure someone will ask you this tomorrow, but what are your thoughts on Travis Snider being called up so soon? Thanks

  3. I downloaded the Chrome beta earlier, and I’m pretty impressed so far. Anecdotally I’ve found it to be significantly faster than Firefox 3, especially on sites like Engadget and ESPN.com.

    I’ve been using Firefox v3 and have had consistently had problems in the following areas:

    -Media playback: Media randomly stops playing in the instance of the browser I have open. To get it working again I have to restart Firefox.
    -Memory leaks: When first opened, it uses about 90 MB of memory, and by the time I have it open for a few hours it grows to over 200 MB.
    -Freezing: Certain sites cause the browser to lock up indefinitely.

    The original Firefox dusted IE5 and 6, but IE7 was a huge leap forward for Microsoft (and actually has a lot of UI features I like better than Firefox) and Firefox has gotten a bit bloated for my liking. IMO Chrome looks better than either.

  4. Keith:

    I’m having the same shockwave problems with Firefox however it’s been happening to me all the time. On ESPN.com specifically, I get thrown off probably every 4th or 5th time I switch views on the site. Were your problems this severe? Did you do anything to combat the problem? If so, please share. It’s killing me.

  5. One of the biggest improvements with Chrome is the improved Java Script handling, which will make a difference with sites based on AJAX (read: anything by Google). In addition, it uses WebKit, the engine for Safari, KDE, and Midori (GTK-based browser). Essentially, the underlying technology is open source, and used by three large and motivated software communities (Google, Apple, and the Linux people).

  6. Joe: More job-saving silliness. Their GM is desperate, but not serious.

    Rod: I’m only crashing completely once every few days, but I get a lot of Shockwave errors. I’ve got NoScript installed and I’m going to try to identify the problem applets and block them via that plugin.

  7. Chrome = ridiculously fast.

    gonna take some time to get used to it, not abandoning firefox yet.

  8. Nice – I actually went and submitted a couple of questions for Klaw chat in advance. Are the $5 baiting rules still in effect?

    On a non-baseball thing, I’m getting tired of my 3 prong Trader Joe’s Diet (Frozen BBQ Pizza, Spinach Linguini with Marina Sauce, or Naan with Chole) and I’m determined to learn how to cook something/anything. What’s the ultimate idiot’s guide cookbook type thing you would recommend? Keep in mind that I’ve cooked rice once successfully in my life and never meat – we’re talking real cooking idiocy here.

  9. Ace,

    Try this one. It has a ton of basic recipes, each with an introduction on how the cooks arrived at the particular recipe and what did/did not work for them. They also have a book designed strictly for 30-minute recipes, but I’ve never read it.

  10. Ace: I’d recommend Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, or the 1997 edition of Joy of Cooking.

  11. Chrome gets my thumbs up. FF3 was killing my work computer and so far (albeit for two hours) Chrome is holding up much better. It’s got some quirks, no doubt about it, but I like it.

  12. Anyway you could post a link for today’s 4-letter chat?

  13. Zach in Mpls

    I received On Cooking 3rd edition a few years ago for X-Mas and really enjoy it. I’t really technical and more of a textbook format, but I’m a semi-advanced self taught cook who learned everything I know from Good Eats, so it fits my style and it’s great for reference. Here’s the 4th Edition; I’d create a hyperlink, but I’m on IE6 at work and I’m not sure how through the comments box, so any suggestions or editing to this post would be appreciated.

    http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Textbook-Culinary-Fundamentals-only/dp/0131713272/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220455659&sr=8-1.

  14. Chrome is definitely good, better than Firefox across the the board. The only problem I have with Chrome (and of me it’s a HUGE problem) is lack of Google Toolbar – how is it even possible that Google developed Chrome and did not adapt their own Toolbar for it?

    PS: Keith, not sure if you saw my comment in the chat, but you are wrong on Bulgakov being a one hit wonder…

  15. Klaw, love your work. I had two random off-topic questions…What are your thoughts on ‘The Last Lecture’ and also what is your pick for best burrito in Boston?

  16. Keith, can you provide any tips for wok management (e.g. cleaning, should i use it for frying, et al)?

  17. Hey Keith,
    Regarding your “one hit wonder” Mikhail Bulgakov comment on the chat, I thought Heart of a Dog was pretty excellent and from what I hear, also quite popular in Russia. It’s worth the read.

  18. Keith,

    Send all those Ramirez lovers over to Neyer’s blog, he doesn’t have him even in the top three.

  19. For a beta 1 release, Chrome is pretty sweet. Very fast. Still, until they add support for RSS feeds so I can keep track of KLaw postings, I can’t make the switch…

  20. Thanks for the cooking advice guys – will give it a shot.

    On Chrome, I’m quite liking it – I don’t know if its a placebo effect, but it “seems” fast.

  21. Andy,
    on the burrito – I’m not a purest at all and probably the pickiest eater around, but I loved “Boloco” wraps – not really a burrito, but pretty damn good.

  22. Lack of AdBlock for Chrome (for now at least) is a dealbreaker for me.

  23. Not bad so far…loads quickly….i subdivide my bookmarks in several categories so if its not a tabbed favorite i have to go to the right of the screen and go through my “other bookmarks” and move the cursor back to the left to choose…slightly annoying…still have FF 3.0 as default.

  24. Have to agree with the majority here on Chrome… very fast.

  25. Alex DiTullio

    I need a suicide pool pick for sunday, im between the lions and the eagles. Id like to save the eagles for later though any suggestions

  26. My suggestion, seriously… don’t “save” anyone. If you count on “making it to week 15 to use the Pats” you’ll never get there.
    You never know who’s going to get hurt, who’s going to emerge. Take the team you feel the most confident about this week, and unless they have a way better matchup next week, use them now.

  27. love the lions

  28. Anyone read Mossberg on WSJ.com? Any recommendations on pimping out Firefox? Mossberg reviewed Chrome and said FF is still faster on non-JS sites. I utilize FF on my desktop and Safari on my macbook. Any opinion on FF for Macbook?

  29. I was excited for Chrome, and even though it seems faster, I am having the same problems with videos as I was with Firefox. Consequently the new IE 7 while a bit slower, is much more stable and I’m not having the video problems that the others have.