Google Chrome: The Fast Browser With Slow Adoption

I don't think Google's primary goal here is to have the largest market share in the browser market but to be able to drive innovation in the other leading browsers through competition.<p>Google Chrome drove Firefox (and others) to improve the speed of their javascript engines/interpreters which is hugely beneficial for Google meaning their web apps now run faster across the board.<p>In my opinion, Google Chrome exists to help Google push other browsers to introduce new features that make their web applications more accessible to everyone else.

4% market share in a year seems pretty impressive to me. The last major browser to launch, Safari, had about 2% market share two years after its release. Three years after that it was at 6% (depending on where you look). In another year, Chrome will probably have a significant lead on Safari, which will be 7 years old. Never mind Opera.

<i>"To date, Chrome really hasn't had the success that I suspect Google had anticipated for it," said Sheri McLeish, a Forrester analyst.</i><p>What sort of comment is that? One could create a quote like that about virtually anything in the world.<p>The article as a whole seems pretty bad. Looks like the author was looking for a reality to support his thesis...

Is the reason people get away with saying "There's no chrome for mac or linux" that chrome doesn't exist on those platforms but chromium does? I've been using chrome (or chromium, whatever) on linux for about 2.5 months and it's great. I use it on my macbook too and it's also really good. So what gives?

It's like Silverlight. Initially people were like "oh flash is already on 99% of computers" but failed to realize the fact that 99% (not really, but close enough) of computers come with Windows, and Microsoft controls Windows. Microsoft, when ready, can easily get people to use it.<p>And with Google, all it has to do is slap that browser on its front page if it <i>really</i> wanted the average user to switch.<p>Obviously Google chrome still has some kinks, so they won't want the average user to switch just yet (assuming that's even their goal).

I am waiting/hoping for NoScript-like functionality...

I had this wierd thing where I'd flip to Chrome, and it'd draw its screen line by line, like a broken Amiga. I switched to Firefox after that. [I was using Chrome because of wanting to use Google Wave).

I don't use Google Chrome because they haven't made an official version for Mac OS X. The current developer version for Mac OS X is very buggy and unreliable.

relax. browser market share is about branding and building those takes time.