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On and on it goes, updates to better and faster versions of an already decent web browser from Google. Chrome is what homies would call “Bling Bling”, or “Fresh”, since right now it is rising to the top with all the new gear. Just what is the new gear, and how does it apply to your life?

That is exactly what Geek Choice Blogs is here for: to answer any of those perplexing questions that you might have concerning your personal computer, laptop, or hand-held device. Right now there are a lot of new and exciting innovations coming out for web browsers, so we do not want you to miss out on the opportunity to learn about some of them.

Google actually hired several Firefox developers and built the first version of Chrome, impressing even the founder, Eric Schmidt, who was hesitant to enter the ongoing “browser wars” between Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera. Google seems to be the one who jumps in front of the others in the action line, coming out with ideas from browsers like Firefox first. For instance, the graphical user interface which created the name “Chrome”, integrates the search and the address bar together to form a very easy to use interface.

The aim of every browser is to be fast, simple, and secure. Which does it the best? Let’s look at the record.

Chrome went through all the acid tests, 100 or so tests that are measured almost like the colors of a real acid test with litmus paper. Google passed all three with good colors, this is important to see as it gives us the truth about a browser that will not fail us.

Chrome certainly does not fail us on speed. Using a V8 engine, it revs up very fast power to surf the net, with the V8 JavaScript engine. In a speed test in 2008, Google flew by Firefox 3.0, two times faster with the V8 engine. Google did not stop there, they went even farther with SquirrelFish Extreme, marking a 36% improvement in speed over the V8 JavaScript Engine. Wow.

Enough jargon for today.

Basically, Google Chrome seems to be the one coming out with all the new toys and trinkets for web browsing. They started the “pages” idea, if you use Chrome then you notice how on the start page it is not just one page, it is all the ones you have visited most in the past. A pretty cool feature, making life using email and other jobs simple.

Now, for the headliner: Chrome 8. Right now it is in the experimental stages, so do not go searching the world wide web for the full version, as it does not exist yet. But guaranteed you will be impressed at the new features.

A search-as-you-type feature is something that goes along with the address bar as a search tool. What else? The searches are scanned by AVG! Talk about secure and safe, as well as useful. Typing a single letter will turn up a bunch of sites that are most related to it. It is like Java on steroids! No more having to wait 10 seconds for a search page to load, those days are in the past, welcome to the super-information highway.

Also in the new Chrome 8 there is the Cloud Printing feature, which allows you to print to your home printer from anywhere. Chrome just makes like easy.

So we have covered the aims that browsers need to meet the standards: fast, simple, and secure. What about better? Yes, we will see how Google Chrome battles it’s way to the top becoming “King of the Browser Mountain”.

If you’re a user of Google’s internet browser Chrome, their arguable answer to Mozilla’s Firefox (offering much of the same functionality and performance that places these two competing browser’s well ahead of Microsoft’s stagnant Internet Explorer), there’s a good chance you also use Gmail.

With Chrome now supporting extensions, a long overdue addition to its impressive features, we have a new extension that augments your Gmail experience. Called Better Gmail for Chrome, this is an unofficial extension that renders your use of the popular email service a bit more manageable.

After its installation, you’re ready to begin taking advantage of it. To access the extension’s features, click on the wrench and select Extensions -> Better Gmail Options. Looking at the list of options, simply click on those you’d like to toggle for activation. An upcoming update that includes support for POP3 Email is said to be on the horizon.

Those of us in the Geek Choice office have no real preference between Chrome and Firefox, finding both to be far preferable to Internet Explorer. If you have a favorite extension to use with either browser, feel free to share it with us!

Better Gmail for Chrome can be retrieved here.

While Internet Explorer and Firefox are the two most popular browsing clients used to navigate the web, Google’s made some headway with a relatively new entry that’s been a recipient of high marks for its features. Called Chrome, Google’s web browser has been praised for its speed and functionality.

If you’re a web developer, you’re always mindful of the speed your website moves at, knowing that even the slightest delay could determine whether or not a new visitor will return.

Aiding developers to that end, Google has released Speed Tracer, a Chrome extension that helps developers gauge just what might be slowing things down – Java execution, specifically.

While this is probably of no use to your average internet user, it’s certainly something worth looking into if you’re someone who either has a website or is in the process of developing one.

The video below offers a demonstration of how Speed Tracer works:

Chrome can be downloaded from this site, while the Speed Tracer extension can be found here.