When I was a child, I spoke as a child, when I became a man, I put away childish browsers.
— 1 Browserinthians 13:11
The more you use Chrome, the more you will like it. It’s like getting a new application that improves your PC but doesn’t require you to change the way you work.
Here are 7 reasons you should drop your current browser and switch to Chrome:
- It’s faster than any other browser. Don’t take my word for it, read these charts from lifehacker that show exactly how much faster it is.
- Your bookmarks and settings are available to you on ALL your devices. Whenever you login to your chrome account from any device your bookmarks and settings are there.
- Different user settings in the same browser. If you occasionally need to have your significant other quickly log in to his or her account without switching Windows logins, you can click the switch user and all the settings for the other user (including cookies and logins) will be active. This is also helpful if you have multiple logins to the same email accounts.
- It makes it much easier for the NSA to get your data rather than having to acquire it from multiple sources…
- Browser based apps. Applications you can run inside your browser with a dedicated user interface. Examples include Google Drive, Pandora, and many others.
- Stability. Boring but important. Chrome is extremely stable and now has the largest market share of any browser. When companies are developing webpages, they target the top browsers, which Chrome is solidly on top and continues to gain market share. Similarly, Chrome makes it easier to disable adware (like unwelcome toolbars).
- Extensions, Extensions, Extensions. There are SO many cool extensions that you can use and more being developed every day. A few of my favorites include:
- Clearly—For reading articles and saving to evernote in a clean fashion
- HoverZoom—Lets you see the larger image on a website without having to click on it.
- Evernote Web Clipper—Clips web pages and sections directly into your Evernote.
- Ad Block Plus—block ads from all sorts of websites automatically. Including Facebook.
- Many other cool extensions available at the Google Chrome Store.
So uninstall Firefox and stop using IE (but keep it for the occasional site that needs IE). When you first launch Chrome, accept the option to let it be your default browser. And be sure to install Chrome on your phone and tablet so your settings and bookmarks are available to you. And, if like me, you are using the iPad 2 (or iPhone 4), Chrome adds voice recognition so you can speak your searches.
Geiger CIO Dale Denham, MAS+ provides practical insights on how you can benefit from technology in no nonsense terms. Follow him on Twitter: @GeigerCIO.
