Paul Rouke and PRWD on User Centered Design

Google’s famous motto ‘do no evil’ seems to be in conflict with the terms and conditions of their new browser Chrome – Google stated that they can use any of your copyrighted material posted to the web via Chrome. This has since been retracted but inevitably makes me question Google’s true agenda. The other thing which strikes me is the similarities between the Microsoft and Google chrome logos.

Impressive Look, Speed and Ease of Use

Ignoring my initial hesitance I downloaded the browser and I have to say I’m impressed with the look, speed and ease of use.
I’m also please to see Google have created a URL box which also works as a search function, called the omniBox. A great example of applying user centered design. The browser is a lot less cluttered also meaning that more appears above the fold and its faster to load. Another nice feature is that you can grab tabs to open them up as new windows.
Chrome, which is still in beta version, has had a few teething problems; its unable to use some plugins and is currently only available for Windows. Also if you type :% into the search bar it makes Chrome crash, but I’m sure these will all be ironed out in the near future.

Google, The Big Brother

My real shock was when I opened up my history. It had listed my history pre-Chrome, showing information such as who’s profiles I had viewed on Facebook, emails I had sent and documents I had opened on my desktop (with exact times) and the option to open them direct from the browser. Its a useful feature and there is the option of ‘incognito mode’ but it a little too scary to think what people could do with such information if they got a hold of my laptop, not to mention what Google can do. I’m all for intuitive search but for me however, it’s a little too far - I think it’s time to de-Google.

If you have already tried it, how are you finding this new web browser, and what are your views on the advanced history functionality that can track your daily activity to such depths?

Tags: chrome, google, industry insight, ucd