satine.org

by Charles Ying

Google Chrome Frame

September 22nd, 2009

Google Chrome Frame is huge.

Revisiting my post on Google Chrome Lite from February:

In 2009, Google should embed Google Chrome into Google Toolbar, which has a HUGE install base. This would be a huge driver to accelerate Google’s web platform, convert more folks over to a modern browser experience. Imagine a Chrome “Lite” running inside Toolbar inside IE, billed as a “web accelerator”.

(Insert humorous smug remark here. Okay, it’s out of my system.)

This is the right strategy for Google to use against Microsoft in the browser wars. Google’s 2009 playbook probably looks similar to this:

  1. Let Google Chrome Frame mature in open source into a completely awesome (and hopefully secure) web plugin. Web developers get excited and really start using HTML5 instead of talking about it. Security issues are vetted and addressed.
  2. Bundle Chrome Frame 1.0 into Google Toolbar (hell, Google everything), with huge established (and unpublicized to date) distribution.
  3. Launch both as part of a multi-prong “death by a thousand cuts” attack (Chrome standalone, OEM, Chrome OS, Chrome Mobile, YouTube HTML5 video, etc.) on Internet Explorer.
  4. ???
  5. Profit!

What should Microsoft do? Get busy. Find a differentiator (graphics, JavaScript, sync, hardware port, XBOX, etc.), stop looking at WebKit and start shipping it already.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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5 Responses to “Google Chrome Frame”

  1. Anna Langella Says:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 2:59 am

    very nice idea. would be interested to hear how many downloads it gets. slightly strange to think someone would want to keep ie6, but be willing to install a plugin to avoid having to use ie6!

  2. Marc Perroulaz Says:
    October 3rd, 2009 at 1:13 am

    Well, we can think now about a IE plug-in for Google Chrome Frame. No … seriously … where we go here :-(

  3. anestesya Says:
    October 7th, 2009 at 5:22 am

    dude! an awesome idea.

  4. asdfg Says:
    December 4th, 2009 at 7:03 am

    Great intentions…but bad idea. As it is..IE6 is the baby that should never have been born. By allowing stubborn IE6 users to “prolong its usage” via this plugin will just perpetuate the crime that is IE6. Furthermore, most corporations that still insist and use IE6, will most likely not approve installation of this plugin. Individuals who still use IE6, will prob not even know this plugin exists. I say, let IE6 die its long overdue death and not prolong it with this plugin.

  5. Website Says:
    September 17th, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    In IE9, Microsoft has integrated its SmartScreen Filter with the new Download Manager feature to bolster security.