Google’s Chrome captured the browser world headlines this week as the fastest browser with a bunch of cool features.
Chrome was released as a software Beta, and according to Google, is only the beginning. They are relying on feedback from the user community moving forward. Another popular browser, Mozilla’s Firefox has relied on the community for long. Combined, these two browsers control roughly 25% of the browser market share. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is clearly #1.
The blogosphere has come out with a list of features they would like to see on Chrome and Firefox, like the one here. The problem I have with lists like these is that everyone wants to see new features. In this process, the existing features are overlooked, and are not maintained. The existing features have to be made more secure and performance-tuned.
In order to increase browser market share, you have to capture the corporate market. Large corporations are paranoid about security. Every new feature in a browser is a security risk in their eyes. Someone I know works at a company that doesn’t allow their employees to access company e-mail on an iPhone. The rationale is that a third-party application with malicious code could potentially get installed on the iPhone, perhaps getting overlooked by Apple during their screening process (which is another topic altogether…).
As a web developer, I would like to see fewer browsers in the market. Standards are published, but no one follows them 100%. I have to ensure that a page looks the same on Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 2, Mozilla Firefox 3, Apple Safari, and now Google Chrome. This is just for the Windows operating system. I then have to contend with Linux and Macintosh platforms.
What features would you like to see on your favorite browser improved, or added? Type in your thoughts in the comments section