Second-generation Chromebooks will be faster promises Sundar Pichai.
Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome, said in an interview that faster Chromebooks are on the way. This is good news for those who wanted to invest in a Chromebook, but were turned off by the underwhelmingly sluggish performance. Google is aware of the issue, and is looking forward to user feedback after they’ve sampled the second-generation device.
“We remain very excited about Chromebooks,” he told CNET. “We got a lot of positive feedback, and we are really looking forward to the next generation of Chromebooks. We will improve on the dimensions of speed, simplicity, and security.”
He added that because Google updates Chrome every six weeks, Chromebook performance is much better now than it was when they first arrived on the market. But speed freaks likely need to shy away, as Chromebooks will still be designed with low power consumption, long battery life, and low prices in mind. Basic online social needs will be met, but Chromebooks aren’t meant for gaming or editing hi-res photos.
In the interview, CNET’s Stephen Shankland said that the current Chromebook is simply underpowered for his overall needs.
“Google Docs documents grind open,” he told Pichai. “Scrolling can be an excruciatingly laggy affair. My son, trying to play the Flash-based Crush the Castle 2 game, cried out in exasperation when trying to construct his medieval defenses. Keyboard repeat rates aren’t adjustable to let me set them fast enough with only a brief delay before kicking in. When I have more than 15 or 20 tabs open, it seems that old tabs must be reloaded from the server when I switch back to them.”
If this is true for all Chromebook models on the market, then Google will indeed need to work on increasing the performance of Chrome OS if it plans for the platform to stay afloat during the tablet and ultrabook craze. Maybe this second-generation is what Thursday’s Android 5.0 “Jelly Bean” report was referring to, a speedier version of Chrome OS that will work alongside Windows 8 in a dual-OS marriage.
Article source: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Chrome-OS-Chromebook-Sundar-Pichai-Google-Docs-Windows-8,14739.html
Tags: Chrome OS, Google Docs, Sundar Pichai, Thursday Android
Google has released updates for two of its very useful Android apps Google Docs and Chrome to Phone today. Both updates can now be grabbed from the Android Market or you can install these apps if you don’t have them already. To remind you, Chrome to Phone is only available in select countries.
Chrome to Phone Update Change-log:
- Updated look and feel
- Fixed crash when copying text from Chrome to the device
- Added landscape support
Chrome to Phone Download
Google Docs for Android Update Change-log:
- Make any file available offline for view access while not connected.
- Manage offline content, including seeing what’s out of date.
- Automatic syncing of offline content while on Wi-Fi.
- Star and rename files while offline.
- Improved reading experience of Google documents while on a tablet.
Google Docs for Android Download
Article source: http://androidos.in/2012/02/google-docs-chrome-to-phone-android-apps-updated/
Tags: Android Market, Google Docs, Phone Update Change, Wi Fi
Google Cloud Print is an under-appreciated service that can send print jobs from virtually anywhere to a connected printer in any other location. Normally that involves tedious configuration on your network, but Cloud Print can do it in just a few minutes. It’s really easy to set up, and there are a few things you can do to extend its support beyond the browser to make all your printing tasks a lot easier. Here’s a look at what it can do, how you can set it up, and how to make it even better.
What You Can Do With Google Cloud Print
Google Cloud Print makes it possible to send any document or image to a printer from any location. For example, if you wanted to print out a letter at home while at work, you could use the service to send that letter to your home printer and have it waiting for you when you get back. Normally this kind of setup requires a tedious network configuration, but with Google Cloud Print you just click a few buttons and you’re done. The service can also print web pages and other documents to PDF format and save them in your Google Docs account. This is can be especially handy if you’re keeping your account synchronized with all your computers using a third-party service called InSync (more info here). Basically, if you want to print anything from any device to practically any location, Google Cloud Print can make that happen.
If you want to get started with Google Cloud Print, here’s what you’ll need:
- The Google Chrome web browser.
- A regular or internet-enabled printer. (Virtually any printer is fine, but the setup process varies depending on the type of printer you have.)
- An active, internet-connected computer that the printer is connected to if it is not an internet-enabled printer.
- A Google account. (If you don’t have one, sign up for one here.)
Once you’ve got all of that ready to go, you can start setting it up.
How to Set Up Google Cloud Print
There are two ways to set up your printers with Google Cloud Print. A handful of newer printers have internet connectivity built in and so you can connect them to Google directly. This process varies by printer, so visit this page to learn if your printer is compatible and, if so, how to set it up. If you have a traditional printer that’s connected to your computer, however, the setup process is always the same. Just follow these steps:
- First, make sure everything is in place. You’ll need Google Chrome installed on your computer. Also, ensure that your printer is connected to your computer, it’s currently on, and you can print from it normally. (Note: You’ll only be able to send print jobs to this printer when it is connected to your computer, so it’s best to set this up on a desktop machine where the printer will always remain connected and powered on.)
- Once you have everything in place, open up Google Chrome and click the wrench icon in the upper right corner, choose “Options” (“Preferences” on a Mac), and then click the “Under the Hood” tab. Alternatively, just click this link. Now scroll down to the Google Cloud Print section towards the bottom and click “Sign in to Google Cloud Print.”
- In the resulting window, sign in with your Google Account. This will enable the Cloud Print Connector on your computer.
- When a new message appears with a button labeled “Finish printer registration,” click it.
- You’ll receive a confirmation if everything worked properly, and it’ll offer a link called “Manage your printers.” Click on it to verify all the printers on your computer are now listed.
To test out your new setup, try printing something from within Google Chrome (such as this web page). When the printing options appear, choose “Print with Google Cloud Print” from the Destination menu. Click the “Print” button and you’ll be asked to choose one of your cloud printers. Pick the one you want and, assuming everything is working correctly, your printer should print out a document.
Do More with Google Cloud Print
If you followed the instructions in the previous section, you already know how to print from a web page, but there’s still more than you can do. Currently there are plenty of ways you can print from your smartphone, and even from your Mac desktop (if you prefer to avoid using Chrome for the task).
Print From Your Smartphone
Google Cloud Print has an tons of support in Android, of course, with a dedicated Android app and cloud printing support in the Google Docs Android app. You can also use third-party apps such as PrinterShare™ Mobile Print and Easy Print to get even more printing support out of Android. iOS users can check out PrintCentral Pro for iPhone and iPod touch or iPad to print with Google Cloud Print as well. Any mobile device can utilize cloud printing services by simply using Google’s mobile web apps. Just visit m.google.com on your mobile device to get started.
Print from Your Mac
Strangely, there is no Windows app for Google Cloud Print but there is one for Mac OS X. It is aptly named Cloud Printer, and you can download it for free on the Mac App Store. It’s not a perfect application, as it can only handle documents that Google Docs can view. Also, it doesn’t function like an actual printer and instead requires you to choose a file you want to print from the dedicated app. You can, however, follow these instructions to use Automator to set up a virtual printer if you really want to use the standard print dialogue. Even with these disadvantages, it’s still a simple (and free) way to print from your Mac without the aid of Google Chrome.
For a few other niche options, and to stay up-to-date on the latest Google Cloud Print extensions, apps, and add-ons, keep an eye on this page.
Got any helpful tips for getting the most out of Google Cloud Print? Share ‘em in the comments!
Article source: http://lifehacker.com/5882060/google-cloud-print-its-actually-awesome-and-heres-how-to-set-it-up
Tags: Google Chrome, Google Cloud Print, Google Docs, Google Docs Android
It’s days like these when we know Google has our back. They’re constantly working to make all their services better. Today, the Search Giant has released solid updates to two of their services – Google Docs and Chrome to Phone. These updates include some aesthetic improvements for both phones and tablets, as well as offline availability for your documents.
Chrome to Phone
This new update comes with a rehashed look to the interface. Mostly, the minimalist arrows make it much sharper and more sleek. It might be a bit different for those who don’t have Android 4.0, though. When I tested the update on an HTC Thunderbolt with Gingerbread, the arrows still had the older look.
The guys from Android Central have a much different look, though. And it might be due to the software differences of Ice Cream Sandwich.
The UI is still missing the new unified Ice Cream Sandwich look. It would be great if Google could integrate the same updated look to all of its apps, including this one. Instead of the image on top, it could be a bar with options, the search button and the menu button, much like Google Docs (image below) and many other apps out there.
The update also includes a fix to the crashes when copying text, which is definitely welcome. Also, if you’re a landscape user, you might be happy to know that this feature has been included to Chrome to Phone as well.
Google Docs
Google Docs saw a more exciting update this time around. Many of our tablets are WiFi-only. This means that we find ourselves without an internet connection much of the time, in which case you can’t access or edit documents from Google Docs.
This update adds offline usability to Google Docs. Simply choose which documents you want to be able to access offline, and they become available wherever you might be.
As with all Google Services in Android, this app is meant to be easy to work with. Basically, after you choose a document to be available offline, the app syncs automatically whenever possible. You can make any changes to a document, and the changes will be updated as soon as the tablet hits internet connectivity. (This can also be done manually).
This would be very helpful for tablet users who are constantly working on their documents. Go ahead and work; the changes will be automatically updated when possible, creating a much more unified experience. That’s not the only new feature in this update, though.
There’s also a new feature for tablet users. Now when you open a document (while online) you will see a “high-resolution” version. This has much of a magazine feel. You can swype left and right through the pages, displaying all your hard work.
Wrap-Up
Keep them coming, Google! If you want to check out these new updates, go ahead and get them straight from the Android Market. We have posted the links below for your convenience. Be sure to let us know what you think.
Google Chrome to Phone
Google Inc.
MARKET
QR
POWERED BY APPAWARE
Google Docs
Google Inc.
MARKET
QR
POWERED BY APPAWARE
Article source: http://androidandme.com/2012/02/news/chrome-to-phone-google-docs-updates/
Tags: Android Central, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Google Inc
Google Chrome, the search giant’s web browser, is growing its market share at an incredible pace and is on course to overtake Microsoft’s Internet Explorer this year.
StatCounter shows that Chrome is now the browser of choice for more than one in four web surfers (27 per cent) and that IE is losing its dominance daily. Microsoft’s once undisputed king still holds more than a third (38 per cent) of the market share – but this is way down on its 70 per cent share back in 2008.
If the current boom in Chrome popularity rolls on, and IE continues to drop users, we could see Google’s baby becoming top dog by around June or July.
Mozilla’s Firefox is also under threat from the Chrome onslaught, with a share of 25.27 per cent – down by over 5 per cent of its share for the year before that.
Safari’s share is just over 6 per cent – up from 4.79 per cent in December 2010 – and Opera comes in fifth place with a 1.98 per cent slice of the browser pie.
Google Chrome only launched at the end of 2008, but with close integration and added features for people using Google’s ubiquitous suite of web tools such as Gmail, Google Docs and the like, the exciting benefits that will surely come as a result of Google+, and Google throwing oodles of cash at promoting the product, Microsoft and Mozilla must be seriously concerned.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats – Browser Market Share
© copyright Pocket-lint 2012
Article source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/google-chrome-overtake-internet-explorer-2012-094609775.html
Tags: Google Chrome, Google Docs, IE, Internet Explorer
The Samsung Chromebook open and ready for work.
Judging from all those Chromebook ads you’ve been seeing pop up on every tech. Web site known to man. Google really, really wants you to buy a Chromebook. Should you?
I like my Samsung Chromebook, but it looks like not many people fell in love with these Chrome OS powered netbooks. So, Acer and Samsung have reduced their price from a high of $499 to $299 and Google started banging the advertising drum for Chromebooks. So, should you let the new price tempt you into getting one?
I say yes.. My Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, which I’ve been using for months now, is the perfect grab and go laptop. It’s weights just over three-pounds, the battery lasts for about ten hours, and the lightweight Linux desktop with a Chrome Web browser interface is all I need for work out of the office.
That said, the first generation of Chrome OS had its problems. On the other hand, since then Google has made numerous significant improvements to Chrome OS and almost every week sees new improvement to Chrome OS, the Chrome Web browser, and Google’s family of cloud-based applications that Chromebooks use in lieu of traditional desktop apps.
How to try ChromeOS without a Chromebook.
Rajen Sheth, Google’s group product manager for Chrome for Business. recently explained, “We’re not selling a device, we’re selling a new paradigm of Web-based computing.” Google’s long term goal is to the blur the difference between Web-based and local desktop applications so that both will work equally well for you. Google knows, however, that this will require a “mind shift.” So, is today’s Chromebook ready to shift your mind? Here’s where we are today.
Chromebook Hardware:
The Samsung Series 5 comes with a matte 12.1-inch display. It’s powered by an Intel Atom N570 dual-core CPU running at 1.66Ghz, has 2GBs of RAM, and a 16GB solid state drive (SSD). For graphics, it uses an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150.
Sounds as slow as a 2009 vintage netbook doesn’t it? It’s not. All that hardware has to do is power a very thin-Linux operating system and run the Chrome Web browser on top of it. For those purposes, the processor is more than fast enough and 2GBs of memory is all you’ll need. Storage? Almost everything you do will be stored on the cloud. 16GB is more than enough.
On the netbook sized system’s left side you’ll find a headset/microphone jack, with a USB 2.0 port and a proprietary port for a VGA dongle hidden behind a plastic door. The second USB port and a SIM card slot hide behind plastic door on the right side. In the front you’ll find a card reader that can handle SD, SDHC, SDXC , or MMC cards. At the top of the display, it also has a Webcam. For networking it uses a 3G radio and 802.11n Wi-Fi. It doesn’t, however, have an Ethernet port.
There’s also no Bluetooth. I can live without an Ethernet port, but the lack of Bluetooth bugs me. The Samsung’s Webcam is fine, but I’d love to be able to make Google Voice calls from my Chromebook via my Motorola H17 Bluetooth headset.
On the other hand, the keyboard, while not back-lit, boasts large, well-spaced out keys. Although larger than most netbooks, many laptops have abysmal keyboards. I found the Samsung Series 5 keyboard to be the next best thing to my gold standard for keyboards: the Lenovo ThinkPad’s keyboards.
That said, the Chromebook keyboard is not your usual keyboards. It has no function keys and the delete key is also missing in action. Instead, it duplicates some of this functionality with keyboard shortcuts. To find out about ChromeOS’ keyboard shortcuts, use the keyboard combo “Ctrl-Alt-?” to open up a display that will show you all keyboard shortcuts.
The touchpad is good-sized and I was able to work with it without much trouble. I hate all touchpads though, so I replaced it with a mouse.
The touchpad is capable of multi-touch gesture. At this time, only two-finger scrolling, right button clicking, and drag and drop multi-touch are supported. To drag and drop, you use one finger to click on an item, then use a second finger to move the item to your intended location and then release both fingers to drop it.
The battery life is remarkably good. I’ve used my Chromebook constantly for up to ten plus hours and I’ve yet to bring it under 10% of remaining battery life. I’ve finally found a laptop that, provided my plane had Wi-Fi, I could use constantly over a trans-Atlantic flight.
I could actually keep it that long in my lap as well. The Samsung runs cooler than any other laptop or netbook I’ve ever used and at a bit over three-pounds it can sit there, or on a flimsy airplane table, all day.
Chromebook Software:
The Chromebook’s real strength is the Chrome Web browser and your Google account. Without a Google account, you can’t use a Chromebook. Yes, there is Linux underneath Chrome, but only the most hardcore of Linux hardware hackers are going to bother with it.
You don’t need to be online to use a Chromebook. You can save music, documents, video and what have you on the local SSD. It’s not ideal though. For example, while you can work with Gmail off-line, you still can’t use Google Docs off-line. Sure you can save and view your Google docs off-line but you can’t edit them. Google promised that we’d have the ability to edit Google documents and spreadsheets off-line back in August, but we’re still waiting for it to show up.
So, sure, Chromebook works hand-in-glove with such Google services as Gmail for e-mail,Google Docs for your office work, and Picasa for photos. And, you don’t have to use Google-based software as a service (SaaS) or cloud-services. For example, I’ve used Salesforce and Zoho applications with it. You can also always find more Chrome applications in the Chrome Web Store. But the bottom line is that the Chromebook works best, as promised, as an Internet, cloud-based device.
When you use it as intended, it works well. I can write this story, grab mail, video-conference with a plan using Google Talk or ooVoo and listen to music from my cloud-based Google Music library (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/google-music-your-great-music-locker-in-the-cloud-review/1671).
Since the Chromebook first showed up, Google has made numerous improvements to the ChromeOS. The current stable version is Chrome version 16.0.912.63 and it’s a real improvement over the first version.
For example, it’s now easy to use virtual private networks (VPN)s with ChromeOS. If that is, you use L2TP over IPsec with PSK and L2TP over IPsec with certificate-based authentication. It still doesn’t support SSL VPNs, such as OpenVPN or proprietary VPN implementations, such as Cisco Anyconnect. I’d really like to see both supported.
It’s also faster than the last version and, thanks to its Chrome Web browser brother 15 release, ChromeOS has inherited its new tab and screen display. This makes it easier to jump from your favorite pages to your favorite applications and back again.
So, so long as you’re connected to the Internet, the Chromebook is great. But, ChromeOS still has trouble dealing with files on the SSD. For example, when I look at my local files I can view PDF documents and PNG images, but Chrome OS still doesn’t know what to make of Word document files, LibreOffice document files or zipped files. Come on! Google Docs can open both the first two and it’s 2011, what other operating system doesn’t know how to at least view the contents of a zipped archive?
Still, at least with the latest release, Google has made some process with local files. ChromeOS now suggests that that I upload it to Google Docs rather than give me an unknown file type error message. That’s nice, but what I really want is for Chrome OS to do is either open the file in Google Docs, which is what I’d expect it to do, or at least give me a choice to open it rather than ask me to do it by hand.
Curiously, with some file types, such as PNG. ChromeOS will both show me the file and give me the option of using the appropriate Google program: Picasa. Clearly, there’s still room for progress.
Still, while these problems are annoying, the bottom line is that Chromebooks aren’t meant to be used offline. They’re not meant to be yet another fat-client, ala Windows, desktop. They’re cloud-based desktops that just happen to use Linux as their foundation.
So is a Chromebook worth getting? Problems and all, I think so. It’s not going to replace my weighty Linux Mint 12-powered Lenovo ThinkPad R61 anytime soon, but it’s just what I need for when I need for run and work computing. Sure, I could use a tablet, but as nice as they are, when it comes to serious work I need a keyboard and for that I’ll take an inexpensive Chromebook any day of the week.
Related Stories:
Google exec discusses future for Google Apps, Chromebooks
Google: We don’t need Chrome OS, we want cloud login for PCs
Chromebooks Live!
Google’s Chrome operating system gets a much needed update
Chrome 15: The Best Browser keeps getting better (Review)
Article source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/google-wants-you-to-buy-a-chromebook-should-you-review/10019
Tags: Chrome OS, Chrome Web, Google Docs, Related Stories
Google’s Cloud Print now is the default print manager in Chrome.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
Google’s remote printing feature called Cloud Print got a big boost with Chrome 16, the company announced today. Cloud Print now comes directly integrated into the browser, along with a host of useful changes to the service.
The update expands Cloud Print into a more robust tool, which Google said has more than 6 million connected printers and numerous
Android and iOS apps to support it since its debut in April. Along with the Chrome integration, the new Cloud Print update gives Chromebook users a full, traditional Print Preview option, and the service now lets you save Web pages such as receipts and confirmation pages to Google Docs.
Cloud Print now can share and control printer access; its interface has been tweaked to be more
tablet-friendly; and the Print button has been developed into an element that site designers can add independently to their Web sites.
Hitting Control+P (or Command+P on a
Mac) will now default to the Cloud Print interface, although your local printer will still be selected. Cloud Print is an option from the drop-down on the left, and there’s an option below it to choose to run the print job through your operating system’s print manager.
A Google spokesperson clarified that Chrome previously had limited Cloud Print integration that depended on a Web app or Chrome extension, but it didn’t use the browser’s print flow directly. This means that both Chrome the browser and the Chrome OS have identical Cloud Print workflow.
Article source: http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57343264-12/chrome-cloud-print-finally-get-a-proper-handshake/?part=rss&subj=software&tag=title
Tags: Cloud Print, Credit Screenshot, Google Docs, Print Preview
Google’s Cloud Print now is the default print manager in Chrome.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)
Google’s remote printing feature called Cloud Print got a big boost with Chrome 16, the company announced today. Cloud Print now comes directly integrated into the browser, along with a host of useful changes to the service.
The update expands Cloud Print into a more robust tool, which Google said has more than 6 million connected printers and numerous
Android and iOS apps to support it since its debut in April. Along with the Chrome integration, the new Cloud Print update gives Chromebook users a full, traditional Print Preview option, and the service now lets you save Web pages such as receipts and confirmation pages to Google Docs.
Cloud Print now can share and control printer access; its interface has been tweaked to be more
tablet-friendly; and the Print button has been developed into an element that site designers can add independently to their Web sites.
Hitting Control+P (or Command+P on a
Mac) will now default to the Cloud Print interface, although your local printer will still be selected. Cloud Print is an option from the drop-down on the left, and there’s an option below it to choose to run the print job through your operating system’s print manager.
A Google spokesperson clarified that Chrome previously had limited Cloud Print integration that depended on a Web app or Chrome extension, but it didn’t use the browser’s print flow directly. This means that both Chrome the browser and the Chrome OS have identical Cloud Print workflow.
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-57343264-2/chrome-cloud-print-finally-get-a-proper-handshake/
Tags: Cloud Print, Credit Screenshot, Google Docs, Print Preview
Google has begun adding its own ads to the top of Chrome’s new-tab page.
(Credit:
screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Google just found another digital billboard for online ads: its Chrome Web browser.
I just started noticing the ads on one of my computers yesterday, and I’m not the only one to see them. Right now, the ads tout Google’s Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks, which not coincidentally happen to be on sale for the holidays.
The ads don’t interrupt ordinary Web browsing by pushing aside Web page content and don’t compete with regular Web page ads. Rather, they appear in a yellow-tinted box at the top of the new-tab page in Chrome.
That page is typically a mere way station for users on their way to other destinations, but it’s getting more important as a hub for Chrome Web Store apps and as the home screen for Chrome OS.
The ad reminded me most of the occasional promotions Google puts on its otherwise spartan Google.com home. They’re not obnoxious flashing distractions, but they stand out against amid the uncluttered field.
You can’t blame Google for wanting to take advantage of a chance to make money. But as the Spiderman saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.
When Google launched Chrome in September 2008, it made it clear that the browser was a secondary mechanism for making money. The company wanted people to see Web pages faster and to enable programmers to build more advanced Web applications–like Google Docs, for example.
And as we’ve seen since then, Google likes using Chrome as a vehicle to bring new Web-app features to market–a new experimental interface to let Chrome extensions use a speech-to-text conversion, for example–and to encourage would-be Google standards such as SPDY networking, WebM video, and WebP images.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that Chrome’s new-tab page ads will likely remain like Google’s home-page ads. They’re chiefly used to promote Google services, and occasionally to offer important information such as links to natural-disaster response pages. But Google doesn’t sell the ad space the way Yahoo does with its main page.
There’s nothing stopping Google from plastering its entire browser with ads. But the moment it did so, it would start annoying users who already have plenty of other strong choices in the browser market right now. And in the long run, I believe Google will make a lot more money using browsers to advance Web services and to drive people to Google search ads than it will selling banners in its browser.
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57331212-264/googles-new-ad-space-chrome/?part=rss&subj=latest-news&tag=title
Tags: Chrome Web, Chrome Web Store, Google Docs, SPDY
Google has begun adding its own ads to the top of Chrome’s new-tab page.
(Credit:
screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Google just found another digital billboard for online ads: its Chrome Web browser.
I just started noticing the ads on one of my computers yesterday, and I’m not the only one to see them. Right now, the ads tout Google’s Chrome OS-powered Chromebooks, which not coincidentally happen to be on sale for the holidays.
The ads don’t interrupt ordinary Web browsing by pushing aside Web page content and don’t compete with regular Web page ads. Rather, they appear in a yellow-tinted box at the top of the new-tab page in Chrome.
That page is typically a mere way station for users on their way to other destinations, but it’s getting more important as a hub for Chrome Web Store apps and as the home screen for Chrome OS.
The ad reminded me most of the occasional promotions Google puts on its otherwise spartan Google.com home. They’re not obnoxious flashing distractions, but they stand out against amid the uncluttered field.
You can’t blame Google for wanting to take advantage of a chance to make money. But as the Spiderman saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.
When Google launched Chrome in September 2008, it made it clear that the browser was a secondary mechanism for making money. The company wanted people to see Web pages faster and to enable programmers to build more advanced Web applications–like Google Docs, for example.
And as we’ve seen since then, Google likes using Chrome as a vehicle to bring new Web-app features to market–a new experimental interface to let Chrome extensions use a speech-to-text conversion, for example–and to encourage would-be Google standards such as SPDY networking, WebM video, and WebP images.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that Chrome’s new-tab page ads will likely remain like Google’s home-page ads. They’re chiefly used to promote Google services, and occasionally to offer important information such as links to natural-disaster response pages. But Google doesn’t sell the ad space the way Yahoo does with its main page.
There’s nothing stopping Google from plastering its entire browser with ads. But the moment it did so, it would start annoying users who already have plenty of other strong choices in the browser market right now. And in the long run, I believe Google will make a lot more money using browsers to advance Web services and to drive people to Google search ads than it will selling banners in its browser.
Article source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57331212-264/googles-new-ad-space-chrome/
Tags: Chrome Web, Chrome Web Store, Google Docs, SPDY
