Google Chrome: A Personal Review

Been keeping quite low for quite some time due to my busy schedule...had not much time for other stuff lately :-)

Ok to the review....you might have heard of the new internet browser by Google called Chrome and you had not tried it out yet because you do not know if it's as good the one that you are using now. So please give me a chance to present my verdict on this new web browser to you and then you can decide whether you want to use it or not.

First, let's look at its user interface. Overall, it looks very clean and neat as well as simple to me...kinda reminded me of Safari by Apple when it first came out to public release. And as with other current web browsers, Chrome comes with multiple tabs support, which is quite useful especially if you are the type who likes to open multiple webpages simultaneously... so for those who are still using IE6, please spare some time to upgrade to IE7 at least, if you are to remain as a loyal Microsoft fan.

The general GUI of the browser...very neat and pleasing to the eyes to me

One advantage that Google said Chrome has over the other web browsers at the moment (IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, just to name a few) is that each tab you open in Chrome will have its own Process in Windows Task Manager. Google claims that by doing this, in case any of the webpages in any tab crashes, it won't cause the whole browser to crash and shutdown ala IE, Firefox and Safari crashes that I encountered. Only the affected tab will be closed, not the whole browser. But, personally I feel that if you open many tabs in Chrome, it's gonna contribute to the same RAM hog problem that we all accustomed to by using the other browsers. It's a good effort by Google nevertheless.

Individual processes for each tab in Chrome

In order to conduct your regular Google searches, just key in your search words/phrase in the address bar and Chrome will automatically do a search for it on their search engine. Nice touch there too. Not to mention, the address bar is also very intuitive ala the new address bar by Firefox3.

And if you tend to visit your favourite websites often, everytime you open Chrome, it will show you the thumbnails of your favourite webpages. Very convenient IMHO.

Your most visited websites...complete with thumbnails :-)

The other thing that Google boasts is the speed of Chrome when loading webpages with Javascripts. I tried it and yes, loading Javascripts on Chrome is like having a ride in a turbocharged bullet train. Internet banking and Live Timing on www.formula1.com will be a breeze for regular users of such services.

On the other hand, Chrome took equally amount of time to load any other ordinary websites, albeit still speedier than IE. From what I can see, the fastest web browser is still Safari, followed by Firefox and Chrome and lastly IE. Sorry, don't know anything about other offerings i.e. Opera as these 4 are the ones that I've used and still using.

Another disadvantage of Chrome is that there's no plugins and extensions at the moment. Yeah....I know it's still in Beta mode, so let's give Google some time to finalize some of its functions and fix some existing/potential bugs on it and then we'll see what offerings they have installed for us. So, I guess that Firefox hardcore users (like me :-p) would like to skip this first while waiting for the final release to be out, complete with its plugins and extensions.

Final verdict: Great browser in the making with enough potentials to tumble Firefox out of the No. 1 spot that it has been holding on for so long. What it makes up for speed in Javascripted webpages is compromised by lack of plugins and a not so speedy performance on other normal websites. But highly recommended to give it a try at least....reall not bad.


Pros:
Clean look...real nice
Really fast while loading websites with Javascript
Individual processes for each tab to prevent whole browser crashing (only the affected tab(s) will be closed)


Cons:
Loading speed of other websites is not any much different compared to competitors
Individual processes practice might lead to RAM hog problem
No plugins/extensions at the moment




Cheers

...almost another year...

*updated with FINAL date and venue for the gathering this year :-)

Venue: My place
Date: latest update is 14th Sept (Sun)
Time: 6.30pm to 10.30pm (can't stay too late cuz it's a working Monday day after)

YW -> Preparing spaghetti (make sure the spaghetti's delicious :-p)
CS & CM & MY -> Can you guys bring some mooncakes?? A box of 4 will do la. Can steal from CS's & CM's dad :-p
Henry -> No need to prepare anything...just come and enjoy...and no alcohol for you :-p
Me -> Providing the place for the gathering is kind enough :-p If time permits I'll make some western snacks...no promise la ya :-p Lanterns and candles have been bought :-)

Guys, please have some light meals before coming....just in case the spaghetti guy FFK the food on us :-p

_________________________________________________________

For these past few weeks, I spent a lot of time looking back at 2007...a year which was great for me...a year where everything worked out right and went very smoothly I might add: my upgrade from Masters to PhD, my research work, I managed to achieve all my resolutions even before the 4th quarter of the year came to play (except for a particular one which I have not achieved before until today and of which I thought I'd have achieved a few weeks back but no, it didn't happen)....and I was not disappointed in any sense...a great year indeed.

Now in 2008, I only managed to achieve one..ONE!!! of the few resolutions that I had planned for....and it's not even a major resolution....sigh. Been feeling quite down lately actually...nothing seems to work out right, everything falls apart almost at the same time or one right after another. One of the thing is my PhD....the deadline is coming in a few months' time and this final hurdle is extremely hard for me....really can't do it alone but thanks to my family for their endless support and unconditional love :-) What to do after my PhD??? Ask me that next year haha The other thing is something that I truly regretted not achieving simply because I've delayed it for too long and maybe not putting in sufficient effort...

The Chinese said that 2008 the year of the Rat is a good year, but to me it's one of the worst years so far.....been reading that a continuous feeling of being down (depression, I hope I'm not depressed though) causes a lot of health problems so I'm trying very hard to get out of it!!

So I went and dug up my good ol' Panasonic VS2 phone and found some photos and videos still stored inside....some that I can cherish to I hope....one of them is this

CS aka Chickuboy, Henry aka CiB (bit drunk :-p), YW aka 老表 and I (no I'm not gonna tell you my nicknames :-p)

Took this photo on 26-9-2007, where these guys came over to my place for a Mid Autumn Festival gathering by playing Cluedo and as you can see, Henry got bit high from just a can of Carlsberg :-p Friends of more than 10 years since highschool (CS and Henry since primary) who have remain loyal all along. Really appreciate their friendships :-) Thanks guys....Looking at photos like this I feel a sudden 感触感 hahaha don't know why....well, maybe as we get older we have more worries and not willing to let go of certain things in life :-p

This year's gathering is on Please Read First Line In Bold of This Post but this time round we have a new member joining us.....CS's 'baby' haha that also if he and his gf is joining us few sebatang kara-s :-p Let's up the ante and play some candles and lanterns this year shall we?? :-) And to CS and Amber, no PDA (Public Display of Affection) at my place ya....cuz my place is holy :-p hahaha

Getting really tired now....I ought to go to sleep...I think I'll do that after I've solved this equation for my research :-p



Cheers

Cheers to you Daddy :-)

Since cochon asked me to update my blog so I post one here la :-p

Date: 27-8-2008 (Wednesday)
Venue: Overseas Restaurant @ Plaza Armada
Occasion: Dad's Bday

Was in the mood for a rally race that day. Travelled 94km on a single day and crossed the KL-Selangor border 8 times!!!! I usually crosses the border 4 times on a single trip from home to Monash and from Monash back to home. But on this day, man I was like on steroids haha

Home (Cheras, Selangor) -> KL -> Monash (Bdr Sunway, Selangor) -> KL -> Home -> KL -> Restaurant (PJ, Selangor) -> KL -> Home

But the food was very nice and the whole family was very happy....yeah just the 4 of us...Parents initially invited a friend of mine to join too but my friend couldn't make it.

*Offtopic for a moment: Mom came to study room and offered me a piece of ginseng..."Don't gobble up the whole thing like what you usually do!!! This is expensive!! Bite it bit by bit and savour the taste in your mouth before chewing and then only you swallow it!!" haha but it tastes real good and errrr....bitter :-p hmmm.....maybe I should dig out the tiny bit that got stuck between my teeth and re-savour its taste again lol 11 (a term shared between me and a friend :-p)*

Alright now to the food....didn't take much photos of the food simply because I was too hungry and had forgotten to play my part as the cameraman :-p

Some very nice pork with some small buns to go with the gravy....superbly done

As for dessert, the captain gave us free cendol pudding



And as for what we ate in between...well they were eeerrr...eaten and un-photographed :-p

Now the time for the 'main dish' of the night.....the cake!! Was supposed to get a cake from my friend but due to an unforeseen circumstance, it did not happen too. So mom went and booked this cake from a shop in Bdr Mahkota Cheras. It tasted not bad though...but it's sponge cake inside so it's not that filling after the heavy meal.




And our main character of the night....Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the birthday boy, Misterrrrrr Philip Ng!! :-)

Dad with his birthday cake...I love this pic a lot :-)

Posing with my present for him this year - Bonia leather wallet :-)


I think my dad still look very handsome for his age :-) and no....he's not that old... but I'm not telling you his age either :-p

...and me after a hearty meal....bbbuuurrrpppp oops...excuse me :-p

Mom's a little shy about putting her pretty face on the net so we'll leave her out alright? haha but she did enjoy the dinner very much too :-)

And most importantly... well to me at least, we took our first family photo since my graduation. I'm currently admiring on my study table the family photo that we took after I got my SPM results and am wondering how time flies and how my university life had robbed me of my boyish charms (haha perasan haha but true...) But still being together, living our lives happily and healthily is truly a blessing and I really thank God for that....for I AM TRULY VERY HAPPY TO BE PART OF THIS FAMILY :-)

I will always be there for them and will do ANYTHING to hold on to that connection (used this phrase twice in 2 weeks and I do mean it...)

Before I end....



Daddy,

I love you, always :-)

Gary boy

Cheers to whoever reading this and may you and your family be well and happy..... always :-)