So Google has created WhatBrowser.org, a site to help teach people they should Google Chrome to help teach ordinary non-geek people about web browsers. It’s a simple but illustrative little site with a short and to the point video explaining why Browsers are so important and the choices you have.
To be fair on Google, they do offer Opera and Firefox as alternative browsers in their “try a new browser section”, but no sign of IE 8. Clearly the site is specifically for people stuck and settled with Microsoft.
It’ll be interesting to see how Google promote the site.
On a side note, here’s a fascinating image illustrating a time line of web browsers from the early 1990s to the present. (Thanks Bohoe)
actually it does show me IE, and its in the youtube clip as well.
It identified my browser as Chrome 4, and showed IE among the alternatives.
I’m guessing you’re using IE8.
Google is abusing its position as a trusted brand, by dishing out “advice” which conveniently misses the corporations biggest rival, Internet Explorer. (It’s not just IE that’s left out, e.g. Opera is ignored too.)
The video is a very bad example of corporate propaganda by overpaid geeks with a superiority complex. It’s extremely patronising. However, many users really aren’t this stupid. People will eventually lose faith in a company that resorts dirty-tricks campaigns in a desperate attempt to steal customers from its rivals.
If there is a small proportion of users out there who are that stupid, this would be the demographic at which this video is aimed.
P.S. Thank you Google for informing me early on in the video that a web browser is “different from a search engine”. Do you really believe your customers are so ignorant?
Enjoy! :)
“To be fair on Google, they do offer Opera and Firefox as alternative browsers in their “try a new browser section”, but no sign of IE 8. Clearly the site is specifically for people stuck and settled with Microsoft.”
Either they changed this or perhaps you visited the site with a Mac, on which IE is not an alternative (well, it’s never really).
The problem is, given the choice, people who are well-informed would not necessarily choose Chrome.
Chrome is really not that clever. It’s just another web browser. In fact it’s built on on WebKit:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=2208
Chrome is not the fastest:
http://www.timacheson.com/Blog/2009/mar/performance_benchmarking_internet_explorer_8_vs_chrome
Chrome not the most secure, either:
http://www.timacheson.com/Blog/2009/aug/ie8_is_the_most_secure_web_browser
Actually much of what Google does is not particularly new or technically impressive. E.g. Google Docs is based on an existing product they purchased, etc. They code in Python and their love for this language is famous, but remember they but they can’t take the credit for Python; whereas Sun are responsible for Java are Microsoft for .NET, C#, VB.NET, and many other basic building-block technologies.
What does distinguish Google is the success of their PR, their business strategy, their popularity and awesome commercial success. It’s exciting stuff, but let’s try to keep it in perspective.
Don’t be afraid to challenge the mythology surrounding Google. It’s a contemporary example of mass-hysteria. You’re free to check the facts for yourselves.
It’s important worth noting that this new website — which Google wants us to believe is set up to educate us poor ignorant web users — is almost certainly more honestly about raising the profile of Chrome to exploit the unbelievable situation with Windows 7 in Europe.
Lobbying and hysteria have achieved a momentous outcome at the EU (arguably the most corrupt and bloated public institution in the history of human civilisation).
The overpaid pen-pushers at the EU have forced Microsoft to advertise products by rival companies on Windows 7! Users are now forced to see an advert for Chrome and other browsers, before they can get to their usual browser IE.