google skeptic

I’m not sure why anybody believes anything Google says at this point, but it’s nice to see that somebody is raising the logical questions about the Google Chrome browser.  Personally, I think this article understates how bad an idea it is to use a browser that gathers user data and phones it home to Google constantly.  Then again, I remember when there was outrage because Microsoft wanted users to authenticate their XP installations.

Anyway, as the article points out, Firefox 3.5 is essentially just as fast as Chrome and has far, far better privacy protection (because Firefox isn’t in the business of collecting your personal information, duh).  It’s also just as free, has a ton of useful extensions and is genuinely cross-platform.

(emphasis added)

Why Firefox 3.5 Beats Google Chrome

Firefox, with the launch of version 3.5, has surpassed Google Chrome as a browser of choice, according to data recently collected by Net Applications, a company that tracks Internet usage.

Sure, Google Chrome is faster according to some benchmark tests. Firefox 3.5, however, has proven to be the fastest version Mozilla has unleashed to date. But there are a lot more reasons why users are swayed to choose one browser over another, and speed is not necessarily the deal-maker or deal-breaker.

[snip]

Another differentiation between Firefox and Chrome: Chrome is a component of the Google ecosystem; Firefox is independent from any search engine. There have been some perhaps unfounded observations about Google’s “monopolizing of the Internet,” with the most raucous outcry coming from Microsoft. Surely, there is no evidence of any underhanded practices by Google, but the question is still unanswered: Is there a potential for manipulation of advertising revenue, user tracking habits or cookie tracing when using a browser from the same company that runs the most widely used cloud computing platform?

Take a look at Google Chrome’s Privacy Policy. By default, Chrome sends user data to Google’s servers.

There’s been a lot of cybercrying from bloggers and reviewers over the private browsing functionality in Firefox 3.5 and the fact that private and nonprivate browsing cannot be run simultaneously, as is the case in Chrome. However, because Chrome is capable of being run in incognito mode side-by-side with normal mode, Chrome can potentially leave cookies intact when a user may think they have been deleted.

read the rest via Analysis: Why Firefox 3.5 Beats Google Chrome – Software – IT Channel News by CRN.