Google Chrome

Microsoft has been a little worried about Google and for good reason. Google's new web browser, Chrome, is the latest product offering by the company that's adamant that they're not taking over the desktop. For a first release Chrome isn't bad. It does everything a browser should do quite well.

• Rendering web pages: Its rendering engine seems like someone's slaved over it and has come up with a product that unlike safari is more concerned with showing up "real world" web pages as they were intended rather than just sticking to standards. It's able to show most pages very well and very quick.
• Speed: The browser is quick. A lot of browser claim they're fast but I've yet to come accross any browser that's as quick. I don't have figures as yet but its the perceived delay that matters to the ultimate user isn't it?
• Tabs as different processes: Helps, definitely helps in case one of the tabs crashes its not supposed to take the entire browser down. However I've had a case in which all of Chrome crashed!!!

Problems:

• Downloads: Didn't see an option to pause and restart downloads. Once I cancel a download there's no option to restart it either.
• The colours: Blue under XP... that's the only colour that the browser's tiny task area's available in and doesn't take the colours assigned in the OS and doesn't seem to support skins.

Wishlist:

• Full screen mode
• Easier access to plugins.

Just a note to people who go on about the integrated search in the address bar! IE and Firefox both have it in case you've not realized yet.