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I think Google Chrome is the fastest, most user-friendly browser on the market.

Opera is close, but Google added speed and usability to the mix. I’ve been so enamored of Chrome that I only use Firefox for testing anymore.

I’ve also been using the developer channel for months.  Think of it as a big beta test.   That means I’ve seen more crashes than most.  But the way Google Chrome runs means that a bad extension, add-on or site with bad code doesn’t cause your browser to crash.

Even better?   Google’s announcement today that Google Chrome 4 is a stable version.    That means I can recommend using the browser to my clients, friends and family.  And I do.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer lost amazing amounts of market share to Firefox (which Google helped develop) because it was slow, bloated and bogged down like a typical Microsoft product.  Like lemmings, however, many users including me began bogging down Firefox as well.  And now Firefox crashes because there are 20 add-ons competing for resources and the system is sluggish.

Google Chrome’s architecture helps solve that.

My recommendations are that you download Google Chrome now. After that, take a look at the extensions gallery.  We wrote about Google Chrome extensions last month.  Many of your Firefox favorites are here, as are some new extensions from Google.  It’s almost time to update our list because there are some terrific new extensions and some that seemed great but were never used. Try Chrome out for a week.  I think you’ll enjoy the speed and usability.  But be careful about deleting any existing browsers. There are still sites that do not work well with Chrome.  You won’t be surprised to learn that Microsoft is one so if you’re an Office user or even just use Excel or Word, don’t get rid of Internet Explorer. Here is a Google video on Chrome extensions:

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No tracker in his phone

Sopranos fans may remember Tony getting his hands on a new cell phone and having the GPS function ripped out. You’ll forgive Palm and Windows Mobile execs if they feel like doing the same.

As Google’s Android adds features every week, the convergence between phone and Largest Search Company Ever blurs fast.   Word out of Google now is that phones using Android will change the search results based on the phone’s location to a degree of granularity we never saw with computers. If I type the word “pizza” in a Google session on my computer, I’ll receive results about local pizza restaurants, not necessarily about pizza recipes, pizza stores, frozen pizza or anything other than a ranking that can eventually be monetized or propel the company into a data leadership role no other company can match. Now phones with Google’s Android operating system do the same thing.  Using Google’s Search Suggest feature, the company suggests that

users in the Boston metro area begin typing “Muse”, suggestions such as “museum of science boston” and “museum of fine arts boston” are provided because people near Boston frequently look for these very popular museums

For now, people with Android phones have to opt-in to the service by visiting “Settings” on their search page and checking off  “Allow use of device location”. There is no word from Google on how it will use the convergence of the demographics it collects about you, your real-time physical location from your Google Microchip phone, the search information you’re presented and your subsequent real-time actions including calling someone, texting someone, walking to the museum (and just how long did that take you by which route so we can update Google Maps’ walking directions?). Perhaps Tony Soprano had the right idea after all.