First glance will tell you that the gloves have come off. The title bar at the top of the application is simply not there. That screen real estate - forever gobbled by Windows - is suddenly given purpose and validity. This is where Chrome's tabs live. Second glance will tell you the application restoring and closing icons are not Windows standard. It's a small detail but it makes you feel somehow liberated from the operating system.
The layout is intuitive and the speed is impressive.
Now as someone who has worked heavily in web development I have to confess I feel the fear: we suddenly have us one more browser with inevitable bizarre interpretations to JavaScript or CSS to work around. What unknown quirks await discovery! Yes, friends - development work load has just gotten heavier all across the globe. What more, there is that unsettling tickle of a suspicion that Google may have pulled a Microsoft here. Internet Explorer never really played well with others. Its interpretation of cascading style sheets for instance was always a couple proverbial sheets to the wind and its take on code led to frustrated and screaming coders across the planet. Chrome too may be a bit of a playground bully browser with its own stance on how it should interpret the rules. I guess we will find out more - especially when Chrome's unique JavaScript engine is truly put to test.
Something decidedly non-Microsoftian in their approach though is that they're opening the source code for others to make browser add-ons.
Mmm.
Fascinating times. The game just got very, very different.
And I have not mentioned it yet and I think it needs saying: I love Chrome. I can say that without hesitation having used it for only an hour. I love Chrome. And I am so glad that it's here.
Download Google Chrome here: http://www.google.com/chrome
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