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Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

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Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#11

Post by v21 »

roc wrote: post #10
weavejester wrote: post #8

The author is missing the point. Chrome does not market its version number, and transparently updates itself in the background. I'd imagine the vast majority of Chrome users have no idea what major version their browser is on - I sure didn't until I took a look. Unlike previous number races, Chrome's rapidly increasing version numbers do not indicate a will to impress consumers with high values. Instead, Chrome takes…

> "users have no idea what major version their browser is on" To be fair, I'm pretty sure this is true of every browser. And most software in general. Marketing people like having a number. Developers like having a number. They like it for different reasons and have different goals for it. But users have never really known or cared.

I use Chrome, and this is the first time I have been ignorant of what version number my browser is on. So yes, most users don't know or care. But now, even techy users don't know or care. It really is a step change.

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#12

Post by v21 »

numlocked wrote: post #9

This was actually the entire purpose of Chrome - to push forward the state of the art in browsers. When Chrome was released, Google made it clear that they didn't care per se whether people used Chrome. What they cared about was getting more people using better browsers by forcing the browser market to move at a faster pace. And it appears they have done exactly that. I'm very impressed with the execution - they arti…

Competition sure can be a wonderful thing, when it happens.

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#13

Post by brudgers »

cryptoz wrote: post #2

It's not like Google advertises the Chrome version number, though. In fact, they seem to try to hide which version you're on, so I don't think that this is a marketing gimmick at all. Chrome's release schedule has a lot more to do with the changing nature of user software and the Internet - version numbers shouldn't matter, all users should aim to run the latest version, and updates should come quickly. These are all…

>"IE's release cycle is still humiliatingly slow."

Or reassuringly stable if you are supporting an enterprise. Given Google's planned abandonment of support for older browser versions in their applications, there may be a ready market for a more stable browser platform.

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#14

Post by InclinedPlane »

Sigh, not this BS again.

Look, google doesn't advertise version number revs, and updates happen invisibly behind the scenes. Figuring out the chrome version number takes effort, as there is no rebranding on a major version number bump. Chrome uses the major version number for engineering reasons and uses a continuous deployment method. Certainly other developers may make a bigger deal of major version revs (often tying them to a product updates requiring new purchases) but that shouldn't affect anyone's judgment of chrome's versioning. They could jump to version a million by now, nobody should care much.

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#15

Post by InclinedPlane »

carbonica wrote: post #4

"This smells to me like an anti-trust move" People really need to learn what anti-trust is and what it isn't. My goodness, the label gets applied to everything .

"Anti-trust" is government action to break a "trust" or monopoly. The author appears to be using the term incorrectly.

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#16

Post by carbonica »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #15
carbonica wrote: post #4

"This smells to me like an anti-trust move" People really need to learn what anti-trust is and what it isn't. My goodness, the label gets applied to everything .

"Anti-trust" is government action to break a "trust" or monopoly. The author appears to be using the term incorrectly.

I'm referring more to the fact that he suggests increasing a near-hidden version number every 6 weeks to be potentially criminally anticompetitive.

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#17

Post by [deleted] »

cryptoz wrote: post #2

It's not like Google advertises the Chrome version number, though. In fact, they seem to try to hide which version you're on, so I don't think that this is a marketing gimmick at all. Chrome's release schedule has a lot more to do with the changing nature of user software and the Internet - version numbers shouldn't matter, all users should aim to run the latest version, and updates should come quickly. These are all…

[deleted]

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#18

Post by pavel_lishin »

brudgers wrote: post #13
cryptoz wrote: post #2

It's not like Google advertises the Chrome version number, though. In fact, they seem to try to hide which version you're on, so I don't think that this is a marketing gimmick at all. Chrome's release schedule has a lot more to do with the changing nature of user software and the Internet - version numbers shouldn't matter, all users should aim to run the latest version, and updates should come quickly. These are all…

> "IE's release cycle is still humiliatingly slow." Or reassuringly stable if you are supporting an enterprise. Given Google's planned abandonment of support for older browser versions in their applications, there may be a ready market for a more stable browser platform.

If you need stability, don't upgrade. It's the choice of large corporations everywhere. :)

Re: Chrome: Playing the browser game for keeps

#19

Post by InclinedPlane »

carbonica wrote: post #16
InclinedPlane wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Anti-trust" is government action to break a "trust" or monopoly. The author appears to be using the term incorrectly.

I'm referring more to the fact that he suggests increasing a near-hidden version number every 6 weeks to be potentially criminally anticompetitive.

Well yes, that too. I'm implying that he is not only ignorant of the proper meaning but also even of the proper terminology.
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