haniblog

I’m not one for complacency so I sometimes throw out what I’m used to and start again. I bought a MacBook Pro recently and started fresh with only my MobileMe sync to get me going. Actually I’m typing this on my second-new MacBook Pro since the first one had wobbly feet which Apple replaced with, again, no quibbles.

Like any long-time Mac user, Safari was always my main browser but there have been times where I’ve had Firefox, Camino and even Opera as my default. I almost always go back to Safari after a while and shake my head at my folly. This is the browser, I’d say to myself.

And here we go again with Google’s Chrome. But after two days I’m encouraged and I really like what I see. The tabs are brilliantly organised and much better than the short-lived Safari beta implementation. My favourite feature so far is the Omnibox. Most other browsers have an address box along with a separate search box on the side. Chrome combines the two into a “How could I have lived without this?!?” feature. Type in any search term into the address field and Google Suggest finds relevant sites for you. Or go for an URL you know and it’s there. Brilliant.

Chrome is also snappy to launch and quite a fast browser. I’ll forcibly use this for this week and then switch back to Safari to see if I miss anything Chrome-wise.

Updates to follow.

UPDATE 15th Jan: What? No auto-RSS detection? Am I missing something? And no Mac Extensions yet. Crap.

UPDATE 18th Jan: Right it’s back to Safari for this week to compare.

UPDATE 30th Jan: Safari it is I’m afraid. Chrome was snappy and responsive, as I stated previously, but there’s a feeling of gimmicky-ness that I just couldn’t shake.

Google finally switched on UK Street View in the Maps application on the iPhone and in Maps on the web. Here’s the view from outside our office.

Funny… everyone I show this does exactly the same thing: type in their postcode and go “That’s my house! That’s my car! Wow!”

When did this go live? Traffic updates on Google Maps for the UK. It also works on the iPhone as well!