Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"What is a browser? was the question we (Google) asked over 50 passersby of different ages and backgrounds in the Times Square in New York. Watch the many responses people came up with."

That video is HILARIOUS. It just goes to show you how completely clueless most people are about the technology they use - though I have to admit I was surprised to see some of the younger people being just as clueless. It shows that technical knowledge is much less about age than it is about interest/desire to understand. And, frankly, most people aren't geeks and they don't care about how the technology works or even what it is that they're using. They'll typically only use something different or better if they're forced to - a new computer, a new operating system, etc.

The guy who said he uses the "big blue E" is pretty typical in my experience - though what surprised me was the confusion between a search engine and a browser. You'd think the fact that Internet Explorer says Internet Explorer everywhere would be a hint that the browser is called Internet Explorer. But people clearly pay more attention to what's going on INSIDE the browser - that's the experience they care about.

Yesterday, Google launched their own Web browser. Since this is pretty big news, I decided it was worth posting network-wide. Do we really need another browser? Before yesterday, my answer would have been no - I'm a very satisfied Firefox user, and Internet Explorer 8 is shaping up quite nicely. But after watching the 90 minute Google Webcast yesterday, I was very interested in with what Google had created. There's a great online comic that walks you through why Google created the browser, and what kinds of things were important to Google when creating Chrome. I think this comic is also how the browser was leaked before Google was ready to announce it. Read more...