The wait is finally over – Google has released Chrome for Mac in beta and boy is it fast. Being a beta, it’s still missing a few things, like extension support that you get with the Windows version but it’s still a good release.

The beta release does include support for themes along with the features I’ve come to love. There’s the gallery of recently visited sites, great bookmark support, and the ability to drag tabs off to create new windows. All in all, it’s a very intuitive, very slim browsing experience, which I’m really happy with.

The release also included a Linux beta as well as the new extension support for both Windows and Linux users. The gallery currently includes more than 300 extensions, and though there’s no Mac support yet, it’s coming soon to developer channels.

Source: Google Blog

Seems like every time Steve Ballmer has appeared for a Q&A over the past four months he’s been asked about Chrome OS at least once. His usual response is something like “Ah…erm…uh…well…WHY DO YOU NEED TWO OPERATING SYSTEMS?!?” Now that we know why Google wants two operating systems, and now that we see where Chrome OS fits in the OS marketplace, it’s easier to understand Ballmer’s, ah, consternation. Chrome OS is all about being fast and light, basically everything Windows isn’t, which makes it perfect for your everyday user. That could be really bad for Microsoft, considering the hordes of people who are unhappy with Windows but unwilling to pay for a Mac or bother with Linux.

But Google is only releasing Chrome on pre-selected hardware devices. There will be no download for your current netbook. There will be no install disc. If you want Chrome, you’ll have to buy a new machine. I was surprised to see Google take this path because it really limits the initial install base. I know a lot of people who would love to drop Chrome on a separate partition, if only to give it a shot. Those same people are highly unlikely to buy a new machine for the OS, though. The only way the hardware limitation makes sense is that it controls the Chrome experience for users in the same way Apple controls the OS X experience. Approved hardware should ensure a positive initial experience for every user, giving Chrome the kind of word-of-mouth power it needs behind the marketing.

Now obviously the most appropriate place for Chrome is the netbook market, where computers are designed with basic tasks in mind. By stripping down the specs, manufacturers are able to offer netbooks at unprecedented prices, something consumers have really loved. I’ll avoid extended discussion about the sole merit of netbooks being price, because I think that should be clear to everyone at this point (laptops at the netbook price sell just as well as netbooks these days). Chrome allows manufacturers to drive costs even lower because there is no “Microsoft Tax.” Imagine a netbook plunging to $199 (ignore Black Friday deals for a moment). You wouldn’t be able to keep those things on the shelf. Hell, I’d get one just to stream content to my TV. At that price point, more consumers would likely be willing to give the new operating system a try, especially if it sports the Google brand.

Google isn’t aiming for an overnight coup with Chrome, just a nice, slow bleed. By slowly turning money-conscious consumers toward a simpler operating system, Google can leech people away from Microsoft from the bottom up. Granted, Chrome isn’t going to replace Windows for the people who want to play Modern Warfare 2, at least not on their gaming rig. But even those guys need a laptop, and $199 looks a lot better than anything running Windows.

Google had its official Chrome OS reveal today, finally giving us some screenshots and a whole lot of Q&A to dig through over the coming weeks. YouTube is flooded with new footage of the OS in action, so I’ll leave you to watch it while I cover the more general details here.

First and foremost, Chrome OS is about speed. “We want Google Chrome OS to be blazingly fast,” said Sundar Pichai, Google’s VP of product management. It should be so fast that it will be able “to boot up like a TV,” according to Pichai. If you’re trying to figure out whether or not your TV has a boot time, just think of the time it takes for the screen to warm up to fully vibrant color. That’s how quickly Chrome will go from pressing the power button to ready to check email. About 7 seconds. Now that’s fast.

Most of that speed comes from the shift to web applications from traditional local applications. Everything in Chrome OS will be managed on the web, even Photoshop-like functionality (though that will come at a later date). For consumers it means no more software updates or hardware backups. The first will be nice, but I’m sure people will have trouble getting used to trusting their data to Google (let’s just avoid the discussion of how that’s already the case, shall we?).

A lot of people wondered why Google would need two operating systems. The company says that Chrome OS is all about the web, while Android is more app-oriented. Chrome, much to my surprise, won’t support any Android apps. Pichai and Sergei Brin were pretty clear about the intentions for Chrome – that it’s all web, all the time – and that it won’t share in Android’s Marketplace.

Check the gallery at Gizmodo for some official screenshots.

I’ve been looking for a new browser recently, mostly because nothing’s really cutting it. I like the gesture support for my Macbook in Firefox 3.5, but it’s a crazy buggy release, the worst I’ve had from Mozilla, and its been driving me crazy. The spinning-lollipop-of-death when I’m browsing through Google Reader is enough to make me wish I had more hair so I could pull it out. Safari’s nice, but it’s missing my gestures and feels sluggish at times. I’m not an Opera guy, so just don’t ask. There is an up and comer that I’ve got my eye on, though, and I’m anxiously awaiting a stable build.

I’m talking about Chrome for OS X, which is known in development right now as Chromium. I’ve been playing around with a few of the most recent builds and I have to say, the browser just keeps getting better. They still haven’t implemented most of the gestures I love (seriously, rotating two fingers to flip through tabs is wonderful), but it seems like new features are making the pre-alpha build almost every day, which can only mean good things for the future.

As a recent article on CNet points out, Chromium is also kicking some Apple ass in the speed department. Chromium comes in a solid 34% faster than Safari, which used to be king on almost any OS X machine.

It’s strange, I never really used to place much importance on my browser, but its become almost as important as the operating system. I spend so much of my time within a browser’s confines that it makes me curious just what Chrome OS is going to do for mobile computing. I love the sleek simplicity of Chrome (I also own a PC) which is only enhanced by the pure speed of the whole thing. Once it gets going on my Mac, I just might be in love.

For those of you looking to make a change, the guys at TechCrunch have put together a little program with an Automator script that will automatically check to see that you have the latest version of Chromium installed.

So I ran across this cartoon about how Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X should be scared of Google ChromeOS and it made me wonder. How true may this cartoon be?

Could Google’s ChromeOS dominate cloud computing? Could ChromeOS become the operating system for all our gadgets including cell phones, desktops, laptops, tablets, netbooks, etc.? Could Google store all our apps on centralized servers thereby eliminating the need to sync up all your devices all the time? And considering all of this, could Google and ChromeOS remain free?

Scary as it may sound, I think the short answer is yes.

Even though I’m a self proclaimed techno-geek/gadget guy, I find it hard to predict where all of “this” is going. Considering it feels like just a few years ago when I was rocking out to my brand spanking new Guns-N-Roses Appetite for Destruction tape during breaks from nonstop marathons on NES Super Mario Brothers, I really have a hard time predicting the future. My first PC game was text-based and was played on a monochrome monitor. My college PC had a 270 Megabyte hard drive that I regularly compressed. Did I have a clue that just a few years later that my phone would fit in my pocket and could play my entire library of music as well as stream online video content and surf the web? Uh, no. So what’s my point? I try to think about the future of gadgets and no matter how hard I try, I cannot predict where all of this is going.

That’s why this cartoon is so intriguing. Though intended to be humorous, it may have a point. In this new world of technology, don’t you think it’s silly that we are still paying for operating systems? Of course some of us don’t (you know who you are Linux users) but the majority of us still pay a premium to run our computers. It also seems silly that we have to sync up all our gadgets with cables and cords. I imagine in just a few short years we’ll laugh at how many cables we used to have to carry around and keep track of. I also think it’s silly that we don’t have all of our applications available to us no matter what device we use. Programs like Xmarks and MobileMe are just the start of things. I mean come on, it’s 2009, shouldn’t I have all my internet bookmarks available to me no matter what computer or device I’m using (thank you Xmarks for taking care of that). But bookmarks are just the start of it, next will be applications. Then what comes after that?

If you’re like me, this sounds great, but a bit scary as well.

Gadget Teaser’s take on the browser wars started here. As you know, we here at Gadget Teaser are loyal fans of Firefox, but it doesn’t take much for us to make a switch. Especially when news like this comes in from Pwn2Own:

A recent contest at CanSecWest, an event that brings together some of the most skilled experts in the security community, has demonstrated that the three most popular browser are susceptible to security bugs despite the vigilance and engineering prowess of their creators. Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer were all exploited during the Pwn2Own competition that took place at the conference. Google’s Chrome browser, however, was the only one left standing—a victory that security researchers attribute to its innovative sandbox feature.

Well isn’t that interesting. I never expected Google’s Chrome would be the last man standing. In fact, I expected all to go down but perhaps not that fast. This coverage solidified a few things for me.

Number 1: stay away from Safari. One of the hackers went after Safari and Mac OS X first because “he believes that it is the easiest to exploit.” Not a good sign for Apple.

Number 2: no browser is totally safe. When they allow the use of plugins on the second day of competition, I’m sure Chrome will go down as well.

And therefore Number 3: no matter which browser you do use, you need to take care and consideration of where you browse and the content you keep. Keep your cache clean and clear out your cookies and saved passwords from time to time. It’s your data the hackers are after, use a little more care and you should be safe.

So after all that being said, will I be switching to Chrome? I’m not sure yet. But I am giving it another look.

I’m an avid Firefox user. I have been for years. And there are many reasons for my love affair. First, I enjoy the ability to install add-ons like “Adblock Plus,” “All-in-One Sidebar,” and especially “Foxmarks.” Also, Firefox gives me the freedom to tweak settings inside the browser’s core which can change my interaction with it, as well as its overall speed. Finally, I definitely notice that the browser uses less of my PC’s memory and always releases it properly when I close it. What’s not to like about Firefox?

So, it might surprise you to know that I am always willing to try the next new thing in web browsers. I’ll install Opera and try it out for a few weeks then go back to Firefox. What’s that? Google came out with a new browser called Crome? Sure, I’ll install that too and see what all the hubbub is about. Since everyone on the planet seems wired to think anything Apple does is great, I end up installing Safari as well. Sadly, even though I installed all those browsers, I still end up using IE to check my work email. I’m sorry but for some strange reason Microsoft’s webmail client works better inside Microsoft’s web browser. Crazy, I know.

For those of you out there wondering what the current advantages and disadvantages of each of these browsers are, maximumpc.com has put together a great list comparing all the browsers. And they even took it one further by comparing what the future releases will look like.

Anyone who may have thought the death of Netscape would signal the end of the browser wars, boy were they mistaken. In fact, it could be argued that it was at that point it all began. It didn’t take long for Mozilla’s Firefox to emerge from Netscape Navigator’s ashes, and over time, Firefox would win over enthusiasts with a potent combination of speed, security, and an unprecedented level of customization.

But what started as a two-man battle is quickly growing into all-out warfare. Prepare to be overwhelmed by an onslaught of new browser releases in the coming months as Microsoft, Mozilla, Apple, Opera Software, and Google all vie to provide your vehicle for navigating the web. Each one brings something new to the table, whether it be blazing fast performance or a unique feature-set. Don’t worry if you haven’t been paying attention – we jump in the trenches with whole lot of them and get to know each one on a personal basis.

So there you have it. Read it and make your own decision. Don’t just use IE because it comes installed with Windows. Try something new on and see if it fits.

As for me, I’ll be constantly trying whatever is the latest and greatest thing to come out in the browser wars. And then, well… in all honesty… within a week going back and using Firefox about 95% of the time.