I hope that you all saw our press release last week: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080911/20080911005193.html?.v=1

Yes, SmarterMail, SmarterTrack, and SmarterStats all look good and function well in Google's new Chrome browser.  Over the last year we took the time and investment to create the "STInterfaceFramework."  Basically, this means that all of our products are designed from the ground up with a common, solid Web design that is cross browser compatible and allows for common skinning to save time and money for our customers.  Another added benefit is that, since the foundation is streamlined and efficient, new browsers and other technologies are adapted and integrated with relative ease.  We do not have to reinvent the wheel when advances are rolled out.

We conducted tests with the new BETA version of Google's Chrome browser and everything works as it should and looks right.  A few tweaks here and there in the next minor release and we will be all set--arguably before Chrome is truly ready for market itself.

As our CEO said in the press release:

“We imagine a technological future not dominated by one or two controlling mega-technology companies. Web 2.0 (and later) is all about empowerment and choice. We see a world where consumers will be able to open virtually any browser on any computer in the world to access SmarterMail, and push email and collaboration to their Apple iPhone, BlackBerry, or other mobile device—and we think this is a good thing.”

Testing Google Chrome

I am running Chrome now as my primary browser and it is fast and has a good assortment of features--really not bad for a brand-spanking-new product still in BETA.  Pop-ups work great and the importing of favorites and common sites is very fast.  The address/search bar works very well indeed.  I also like how enterable fields are rendered and emphasized with a default butterscotch-colored trim--not perfect but it is very intuitive.

Google's Dark Side

There has been a lot of stress regarding the EULA and ownership/redistribution of information displayed and/or entered inside the interface.  Others have done a very good job of talking about this, so I will trust that the other bloggers and reporters will communicate market demand well enough so that I can pass on it for now (see the MarketWatch piece).  I have also noticed that the installation of Chrome seems to have fiddled with my java settings a little.  This has made me unable to post to my personal Google Blogger (Blogspot) account through IE--but it works very well in Chrome.  Hmmmm....

Reflections on Chrome

I do see some compatibility issues with some of my favorite sites, but I suspect that the Google development team is hard at work, pounding caffeine energy drinks to bring all of this into compliance.  Probably my favorite attribute of Chrome is the "cleanliness" of the interface--buttons and features are tucked away so that the Web site being viewed gets the limelight without distractions.  Time will tell if Google--with their predilection for ads and a monetize-every-link-possible philosophy--will be able to resist the temptation to crowd it up with wiz-bang colors and mouse-over annoyances.

All in all, it appears to be a solid effort that will likely shake up the FireFox's and IE's of the world in a  good way.  But I have to say that they might want to re-think the "Simon-esque" Chrome Logo.

Until next time,

Jeff