Comments on: Google Chrome: A User Interface Review

By: Has Google Chrome got room for Improvement or will it beat Firefox and IE? | Josh Chandler's Blog

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:48:23 +0000

[...] browser whether this means Google will begin to build out a more substantial UI is yet to be seen, UsabilityBlog.com had a good feature on the Chrome UI which you might want to check out, but I think for Google to be [...]

By: led

led — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:28:29 +0000

well, chrome is not that fast. it is only a hype. with the kind of clutter it has it is bound to be much slower than IE

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:11:17 +0000

I agree that the average user shouldn’t want to use chromes task manager, but it is a great development tool. If chrome didn’t have helpful development tools nobody would ever try to fix issues there site might have rendering on chrome.

I really like the fact that address bar is under the tabbar. It just seems more correct. But the whole thing is definitely still a beta.

By: roberts

roberts — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:19:02 +0000

there are so many advantages and features with Chrome, such as it’s speed, for example; now if only they would take care it’s quirky cookie management…

By: J. J. Gould

J. J. Gould — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:43:48 +0000

Hi all –

Very good points as to Chrome. My own biggest peeve is the current Bookmarking functionality and user flow; I find it hard to believe that the powers-that-be at Google did not simply mimic FF or IE7 browser-based bookmarking features for this Beta launch. There is no need to break this convention if breaking it offers no real benefit (and in fact, more detriment than benefit).

However, on a tangent, I would really have to dispute that: “youâ��ll find that many people in the field of user experience favor Mac.” At least on this side of the pond (in Canada), I know of zero UX Professionals/IAs/Interaction Designers who work primarily in Mac. For example, an established and extremely powerful Usability Test tool like TechSmith’s Morae (http://www.techsmith.com/morae/systemreq.asp) has not been launched in Mac. I find that telling.

It just smacks to me as yet more Microsoft and Vista bashing. Sure they’ve ripped off so many of Apple’s GUI elements, but it doesn’t mean that UX Professionals wouldn’t be using it without complaining every day.

By: Dave Musson

Dave Musson — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:13:59 +0000

Ah, web applications. Thanks for pointing them out Francis because I’d missed them. Interesting feature, now my Gmail can be in its own window instead of a tab. Not sure if it is useful yet but at least I know about it now. Something I’d missed.

Anyway I wanted to highlight the nightmare that is the downloads window, it is hard to find and all the ‘downloaded file’ options are hidden in the right click context window. And my real issue; I’m downloading a file but no longer want to use the browser so I close it and guess what happened, the file download was cancelled. Opps. Beta or not that was annoying and against the ‘norm’ for browsers now a days.

By: Michel

Michel — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 08:23:06 +0000

There is one issue in the options screen I had to post.

The second tab in the screen, where you can configure the download location, is called ‘Minor Tweaks’. What is up with that?
It looks like Google really had no clue how to categorise there setting screen… Minor Tweaks really isn’t a good name when you want to find your options ;) Weird! I’d except better from Google!

By: David Humphreys

David Humphreys — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:48:07 +0000

Just putting my browser user’s hat one of the things I often found frustrating in FF was opening that next tab with the mouse was that I had to use the menu or was forced to ctrl-t. Ok that is not such a big deal but I am an old bugger and I never learned to type in school, so I am more comfortable with the mouse than the keyboard.

Chrome’s always visible tab bar gives me a new tab at a click and always tells me at a glance how many tabs I have open (even if it is one).

However the options do bug me - has anyone else worked out how to make Chrome check for a new version? I stumbled across it when looking to compare my version with the latest download. The auto update checker is under ‘About Google Chrome’. Click this to find what your version number is and it will check against the latest version. Awfully obscure.

By: Francis

Francis — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:13:58 +0000

I’m surprised no one mentioned the items in Chrome that I find the most exciting, which are its treatment of downloads and web applications.
When you click on a “download this” button in a web page, you get an arrow icon that briefly descends into the status bar, to show you that your download now appears there; all the downloads of your page appear side by side, you then have options such as delete, open, etc. You also have a link to a page showing *all* your downloads, sorted by date.

The web application mode is really simple; it just means you can open a web application with no menus or icons, just a thin title bar (”Create application shortcut). Its a real no-brainer, but just the kind of user-friendly idea that looks like its obvious once it’s implemented.
When you register a page as a web application, Chrome (in windows) gives you the choice of recording the shortcut in the start menu, on desktop, or in the quick launch. So you have real shortcuts to launch the app, just like “real” applications.

I also like the “no-frills” look, but that’s a matter of taste. It really stays out of your way unless you need it.

By: Loretta Hui

Loretta Hui — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:37:13 +0000

Great post. I completely agree with the browser speed comment.

I actually wish Firefox had made their tabs not state-sensitive. I use their Bookmark toolbar all the time and essentially that’s how I bookmark pages I visit frequently (those aren’t frequently will go into delicious). When there are tabs, I can simply drag the tab onto the toolbar and the page will be bookmarked. However, when there is no tab, I will have to press the keyboard shortcut of bookmarking a page, clicking and selecting the folder I want to bookmark it in, and press done. A lot more complicated than just dragging a tab.