There was a lot of chatter yesterday on the web about a new browser from Google hitting the tubes. Well, Chrome was officially unleashed today for Windows XP and Vista sufferers users and it seems to be a VAST improvement over the current three leading browsers (IE, FireFox and Opera).

I have to say, I wasn’t too fond of reading the whole Comic Book on chrome to get to the end and not have a link. Not that I actually read it, but still. You get the point. I did manage to point my browser at the chrome home (ET!) and get the download link. Unfortunately, at the moment, its for Windows Only, they do plan on releasing a Linux and a Mac version shortly though.

I won’t bore you with the whole history behind chrome or the code beneth it, plenty has already been written about that. What I do want to do is let you see some of the cool features. First is the top screenshot. Chrome displays DoG alright, there are some alignment problems, but that can probably be corrected by actually fixing the website code itself.

The browser does render quicker than either Firefox or IE (which is a plus) and it incorporates the tabs to the top bar (where the minimize and close buttons are) which is taking a little time to get used to, but its cool all the same. There isn’t too much to the “settings” so far (take a look at the screenshots) but that is bound to change as they continue to add more features. After all, this is a beta.

I do like the “recent pages” that display when you open a new tab. Outside of the speed and some minor differences though, it appears to be “just another browser” upon first inspection. If anyone else out there is using Chrome (or trying) I’d like to hear what you think about it. Maybe I’m missing something.