Google Chrome

[Blaine Moore]

Here are my initial thoughts on Google Chrome:

Install was a breeze. Had to close FireFox, and the import took a while, but other than that it was very easy.

Pretty interface. I love the absolute speed with which pages are rendered. I like that I can resize any text box without a plugin. (Little things do add up, you know.)

Obviously, I'm pretty wedded to some specific firefox plugins and can't switch until they are ported over. Specifically, I would need the Password Hasher, Greasemonkey and GTDInbox plugins. So that's the major technical hurdle, which is to be expected with a beta product that's only a few hours old to the public. Those I'm sure will be available quick enough.

The second and more important reason that I will not be using Chrome, however, is this clause in their TOS:

By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any content which you submit, post or display on or through, the services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the services and may be revoked for certain services as defined in the additional terms of those services.

Doesn't seem to fit into their "Do No Evil" tagline, in my mind.

Until that line is removed, I am not going to use Chrome for much else than taking an occasional whirl around the net.

What I need to decide is whether I should block access to my websites by users that have Chrome installed. Google already controls enough of my information and privacy, I don't want to assign copyrights to them as well, and if I block access to the site by Google with a message stating that due to copyright reasons they can't see my site, it might get into their engines and force a change to that clause. Probably not though, and probably not worth the effort as the people viewing my site will not have the right to reassign my copyrights.

So in the meantime, I just need to avoid visiting my own sites when playing with the browser.

[Blaine Moore]

Google is changing their Terms of Service. Not suprisingly, they're blaming the lawyer's. Apparently they didn't think through the ramifications of copying the language from google docs and other services as it applies to a web browser.

Google does not want rights to things you do using Chrome

[CJ John]

As I understand this, Google launched Chrome within an inordinately short period of time after signing on again with Firefox--to be Firefox's go-to search engine, a paid arrangement--for another 3 full years. Rumour mongers are suggesting an insidious move on Google's part, as the launch of Chrome is potentially detrimental to Firefox, but Firefox is locked into an advertising contract with Google and must use the Google Search Engine as primary as per their terms.

So, I also heard that Firefox will be soon debuting an Open Source search engine that could very well do some damage to Google's traffic.

Any thoughts?

~cj

Source: NerdBusiness.com

[Blaine Moore]

Well, having Google as the default search engine is a nice income stream for FireFox, but really, who else would they use that wouldn't immediately be changed by the majority of FireFox users (as the type of person who uses FireFox is likely the type of person that knows how to change the default search engine.)

I hadn't heard about a Mozilla search engine. Useful, perhaps, but Google is the 800 pound Gorilla so I wouldn't worry in their shoes.

What will be more interesting is how long it takes before Chrome is the default browser installed on new Dell computers. My prediction is 6 to 8 months, although I don't know what sort of agreements Dell has right now so that's probably aggressive as I'm sure that they are already taking money from Microsoft for Internet Explorer. If that isn't the case, though, then they'll certainly be taking money from Google within the year.

[diana]

Good point on the clause. I was discussing this issue with a pal because Google offers so many different tools and has access to all this data on anyone who uses their services...getting a bit scary in that regard.

If examined, it could be a digital copyright infringement. Will be interesting to see.