Why I don’t use Chrome

I find that post to be slightly misleading… if you have Chrome set to “Most Visited” you set a page of the top 8 most visited websites, and it’s sticky. Meaning, you would only ever have to choose that option once. It remembers what you chose.

@Bob Martens, I completely respect you opinion for which browser you want to use, but I don’t see the “Too much stuff going on to just promote Google’s properties and other Google/Chrome-centric stuff.” The example given in the post is a single instance of poor design that, properly configured, you should never have to see… Google has never been very good with design… I assumed we didn’t expect much from them.

@mknepprath, for a while I was using the Speed Dial extension, but I was having issues with it. I don’t remember quite what was wrong, but there was something about the extension not working correctly and opening up blank tabs, or wouldn’t allow me to click on things. Has it been updated? I’d give it another look, but I’m finding all the sites I visit are already either in my bookmark bar on on that page or even, stored in memory when I try to search for them.

@Bob Martens Again, I’m probably thinking too hard on this one, but why would a company who gives you free things be any worse than a company that sells it’s products? I get the impression that you’re knocking Google because they are giving away a free web browser. (Don’t get me wrong, we should all probably be very leery of Google at this point. They control a lot of information.) But to my point, aren’t all web browsers free at this point? Safari is free for Windows. (Though you might argue you pay for it when you buy a Mac.) Firefox is free. (Though they are having their own issues now that they can’t even compile the thing on a standard PC…) Opera is free.

I can’t help but feel that you are changing your argument mid-stream. Part of the reason you don’t use Chrome is because the design, and I get that. The other part is that you feel you don’t want to invest too much with Google or whatever. I understand that too.

But then you go on to say that you don’t like Chrome because it’s free?

Now, I’ve never really liked the idea of Google having an “App Store” in their browser. I think I tried Angry Birds once, just to see that it was possible, but since then I had forgotten they even had an “App Store” for their browser.

Let’s not hold Google to the fire here alone, though. If we want to talk about “needing extensions to get rid of crud that [INSERT COMPANY HERE] adds (instead of adding features that were not included) let’s talk about Apple and how wonderfully their new Networking Protocols work. Then let’s talk about needing DAVE Networking (by Thursby Software) just to use our iMacs with our server. Or let’s talk all the PC manufacturers who add all the crap-ware to the systems so you’ll either pay the extra $50 to not get it, or use a 3rd party tool to get it all off.

I’m not saying that you are wrong in saying that “Google is doing something wrong”, but I’m saying that this shouldn’t really be a surprise, since everyone seems to be doing it and no one seems to care. Sure, it would be nice if Google would stop adding crud to their browser. I was thinking the same thing about Firefox 7 years ago. I thought Apple’s Snow Leopard was fine before they added all the “new Lion Features.”

For what it’s worth, I probably turned this comment into more of a rant than I intended. I don’t entirely disagree with you. (As a Chrome user, I am happy with my browser, but I don’t think it’s perfect yet.)

Lastly, I want to thank you for allowing me to post this on your blog, rather than my own. I’ll be submitting the proper paperwork and fees for the renting of the space.