Empower Your Browser: New Possibilities

Web browsers aren't just for browsing anymore. In the early days of the World Wide Web, all you needed was a way to read text.

The Web browser has evolved into a platform for our digital lives, offering more interactivity while moving further beyond its passive browsing roots (i.e., checking e-mail, paying bills and balancing checkbooks, watching videos, social networking, playing games, networking and even managing a law practice). These applications and services work just fine within conventional Web browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox, but only because developers have modified code, updated hypertext language standards, created browser add-ons and enhanced technologies like Flash and JavaScript. Google, however, wanted to see what would happen if a Web browser was built from scratch to support the exploitation of Web browsers today.

That is precisely the core of Google's new Web browser called Chrome (www.google.com/chrome). As the Google team stated on its blog, “the Web has evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications” and it was time to “completely rethink the browser.” (See, http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html.) The general consensus is that Google has succeeded in building a Web browser that sustains the ineffable “Web 2.0.” For its next trick, Chrome could unassumingly become the next computer operating system. Why spend money on Windows or Mac when all of your software applications, personal data and support network are accessible through a Web browser?

Losing Ground

When it comes to Web browsers, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the global frontrunner. IE has matured through seven versions (with version 8 currently in Beta), has been the subject of a nasty antitrust suit, and continues to weather the callous disdain of Web developers everywhere. IE is included in every copy of Windows, so why would you take the time to download another Web browser?

During the early years of the Web, IE's main competitor was Netscape, which has died a slow death over the years. Netscape was acquired by AOL in 1998, and the company finally ceased supporting the product in March 2008.

From the smoldering ashes of Netscape arose the open source project of the Mozilla Foundation (www.mozilla.org), which offers the Firefox Web browser. Version 3 was released in 2008, and the browser has been gaining ground for several years, mainly due to the fact that it can be completely customized through add-ons and applets.

Into this messy browser war enters Google. Chrome was released on Sept. 2, 2008, and quickly earned a bevy of downloaders and users. Within just a few months, the Google Chrome browser was threatening to take about 1% of the browser market. That may not sound like a lot, but IE has consistently grasped 70%-75% of the user market and Firefox has sustained itself at just below 20%. In November 2008, IE's usage share dipped below 70%, signifying that other browsers had finally managed to make a small dent into the iron side of IE.

Security and the Cloud

Web 2.0, “computing in the cloud,” and “software-as-a-service” is all so very exciting, but in legal circles, the inevitable questions of security, safety and client confidentiality surface immediately.

And for good reason. The Internet is a scary place for anyone who hasn't designed a Web page or studied the backbone technologies underlying the Internet. We've all been warned that simply visiting a Web site can immediately compromise the security of our computer ' along with the confidential data that it stores.

To protect your computer and your client data, you should always make sure you are using the latest version of your Web browser. You should also take five to 10 minutes to explore the security options for your Web browser. In IE, you can click on Tools>Internet Options to find the Security tab. Here, you can set your security level to “medium” or “high,” and turn off potentially malicious options such as “active scripting” and ActiveX controls. While this will certainly protect you from many potential security breaches, it will also turn off the convenient functionality of many Web sites that you may rely on everyday for your banking, communication and work.

Firefox has similar security options, and you can also download add-ons such as “Adblock Plus” (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865) or “NoScript” (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722) to provide extra layers of protection.

Google, in its quest to provide the leanest browser possible, did not include as many security options in Chrome. There is no way to completely turn off scripting from the options panel, and you cannot use an “add-on” in Chrome's current release to control security options.

The benefits of Chrome just might outweigh any security fears. For starters, Google Chrome is fast. The design of the browser is streamlined, and a new Javascript engine handles background processes on Web sites several times faster than IE or Firefox.

Second, Google wanted its browser to keep running, even when a Web site made the browser choke for some reason. So each tab in Chrome runs as a separate process, much like each software application on your computer runs as a separate process. That means that if one Web site crashes, all you need to do is close that single tab ' the other tabs continue to operate. This feature is certainly handy for containing browser crashes, but it also hints at the potential for the browser to become more of an operating system. You might have Google Mail and Google Calendar open in separate tabs, which means that if the calendar “application” goes down, your mail will survive.

Browsing the Future

If you're still using IE for all of your Web browsing needs, you might be missing out on some exciting aspects of the evolving Web. While there is nothing wrong with IE (and in fact version 7 has vastly improved the experience with tabs and a re-designed interface), it is certainly worth your time to give Firefox or Chrome a try. Both browsers are free to download, and they can be removed if they're not to your liking.

The Web browser has become such a ubiquitous tool in today's business world that we barely even notice its presence. But every once in a while, it doesn't hurt to take a few moments to explore other tools and push the boundaries of your browsing comfort zone. While IE might have been just fine for your Web-browsing habits a few years ago, you just might discover that another Web browser suits your current needs a little better.

Web browsers aren't just for browsing anymore. In the early days of the World Wide Web, all you needed was a way to read text.

The Web browser has evolved into a platform for our digital lives, offering more interactivity while moving further beyond its passive browsing roots (i.e., checking e-mail, paying bills and balancing checkbooks, watching videos, social networking, playing games, networking and even managing a law practice). These applications and services work just fine within conventional Web browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox, but only because developers have modified code, updated hypertext language standards, created browser add-ons and enhanced technologies like Flash and JavaScript. Google, however, wanted to see what would happen if a Web browser was built from scratch to support the exploitation of Web browsers today.

That is precisely the core of Google's new Web browser called Chrome (www.google.com/chrome). As the Google team stated on its blog, “the Web has evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications” and it was time to “completely rethink the browser.” (See, http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/fresh-take-on-browser.html.) The general consensus is that Google has succeeded in building a Web browser that sustains the ineffable “Web 2.0.” For its next trick, Chrome could unassumingly become the next computer operating system. Why spend money on Windows or Mac when all of your software applications, personal data and support network are accessible through a Web browser?

Losing Ground

When it comes to Web browsers, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the global frontrunner. IE has matured through seven versions (with version 8 currently in Beta), has been the subject of a nasty antitrust suit, and continues to weather the callous disdain of Web developers everywhere. IE is included in every copy of Windows, so why would you take the time to download another Web browser?

During the early years of the Web, IE's main competitor was Netscape, which has died a slow death over the years. Netscape was acquired by AOL in 1998, and the company finally ceased supporting the product in March 2008.

From the smoldering ashes of Netscape arose the open source project of the Mozilla Foundation (www.mozilla.org), which offers the Firefox Web browser. Version 3 was released in 2008, and the browser has been gaining ground for several years, mainly due to the fact that it can be completely customized through add-ons and applets.

Into this messy browser war enters Google. Chrome was released on Sept. 2, 2008, and quickly earned a bevy of downloaders and users. Within just a few months, the Google Chrome browser was threatening to take about 1% of the browser market. That may not sound like a lot, but IE has consistently grasped 70%-75% of the user market and Firefox has sustained itself at just below 20%. In November 2008, IE's usage share dipped below 70%, signifying that other browsers had finally managed to make a small dent into the iron side of IE.

Security and the Cloud

Web 2.0, “computing in the cloud,” and “software-as-a-service” is all so very exciting, but in legal circles, the inevitable questions of security, safety and client confidentiality surface immediately.

And for good reason. The Internet is a scary place for anyone who hasn't designed a Web page or studied the backbone technologies underlying the Internet. We've all been warned that simply visiting a Web site can immediately compromise the security of our computer ' along with the confidential data that it stores.

To protect your computer and your client data, you should always make sure you are using the latest version of your Web browser. You should also take five to 10 minutes to explore the security options for your Web browser. In IE, you can click on Tools>Internet Options to find the Security tab. Here, you can set your security level to “medium” or “high,” and turn off potentially malicious options such as “active scripting” and ActiveX controls. While this will certainly protect you from many potential security breaches, it will also turn off the convenient functionality of many Web sites that you may rely on everyday for your banking, communication and work.

Firefox has similar security options, and you can also download add-ons such as “Adblock Plus” (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865) or “NoScript” (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722) to provide extra layers of protection.

Google, in its quest to provide the leanest browser possible, did not include as many security options in Chrome. There is no way to completely turn off scripting from the options panel, and you cannot use an “add-on” in Chrome's current release to control security options.

The benefits of Chrome just might outweigh any security fears. For starters, Google Chrome is fast. The design of the browser is streamlined, and a new Javascript engine handles background processes on Web sites several times faster than IE or Firefox.

Second, Google wanted its browser to keep running, even when a Web site made the browser choke for some reason. So each tab in Chrome runs as a separate process, much like each software application on your computer runs as a separate process. That means that if one Web site crashes, all you need to do is close that single tab ' the other tabs continue to operate. This feature is certainly handy for containing browser crashes, but it also hints at the potential for the browser to become more of an operating system. You might have Google Mail and Google Calendar open in separate tabs, which means that if the calendar “application” goes down, your mail will survive.

Browsing the Future

If you're still using IE for all of your Web browsing needs, you might be missing out on some exciting aspects of the evolving Web. While there is nothing wrong with IE (and in fact version 7 has vastly improved the experience with tabs and a re-designed interface), it is certainly worth your time to give Firefox or Chrome a try. Both browsers are free to download, and they can be removed if they're not to your liking.

The Web browser has become such a ubiquitous tool in today's business world that we barely even notice its presence. But every once in a while, it doesn't hurt to take a few moments to explore other tools and push the boundaries of your browsing comfort zone. While IE might have been just fine for your Web-browsing habits a few years ago, you just might discover that another Web browser suits your current needs a little better.