Test-driving Chrome for Ubuntu
With an alpha version of Google’s Chrome web browser recently released, I’ve been using it on Ubuntu for a few days. Below are some thoughts on the new browser and its ability to improve the Ubuntu experience.
Before delving into an evaluation of Chrome for Linux, however, I should point out that the version I tested (which I installed using the 32-bit Debian package available here) was very explicitly advertised as unstable–so much so that a popup window appeared warning me to expect strange behavior the first time I launched the browser. For this reason, I’ve assumed that the annoying bugs I’ve encountered in Chrome over the last few days will be fixed in due time, and haven’t mentioned them below.
I should also make clear that my chief basis of comparison for my Chrome experience is Firefox 3, which I’ve used for the last several years, and which is the default browser in modern releases of Ubuntu.
With that out of the way, here’s a run-down of what I liked and disliked in Chrome running on Ubuntu:
The Good
- speed – even in its alpha version, Chrome renders pages much faster than Firefox. This is especially true of sites that rely heavily on JavaScript, like the WordPress composer utility. No longer having to cringe every time I open a script-intensive web page is a definite plus.
- simplified interface – Firefox’s interface is not bad, but Chrome raises the bar by removing extraneous menus by default in order to maximize the display area of web pages. I first found this frustrating, but quickly realized that I can get along very well without Firefox’s extensive menu. Chrome’s web-history and download-management interfaces, which are rendered as an ordinary web page in their own tabs, are also more convenient than the Firefox equivalents.
- faster ‘awesome bar’ – the awesome bar in Firefox 3 is a great resource for locating web pages quickly, but its tendency to lock up for a few seconds while trying to process a query can be frustrating. I have yet to experience equivalent behavior with Chrome’s implementation of the awesome bar. Perhaps I simply haven’t acquired a large enough web history to bog the utility down, but given Chrome’s focus on efficiency, I’m hoping that its awesome bar will indeed prove as zippy as the rest of the application.
- resource management – not surprisingly given the observations above, Chrome uses substantially fewer resources overall than Firefox. With the same pages open in both browsers for the same amount of time, top reported the following for Chrome and Firefox:
Chrome’s CPU usage exceeded Firefox’s occasionally, but in general, Chrome proved a much more efficient browser. I especially appreciate its efficiency on my tired Pentium IV laptop, which has precious few megabytes of RAM and CPU cycles to spare.
The Bad
- UI integration – although it’s written using the Gnome GIMP toolkit, which should make it fit seamlessly into Gnome, Chrome looks out of place on my desktop. I wouldn’t mention this if the Chrome developers hadn’t initially complained loudly about the lack of UI consistency on Linux, and reluctantly settled on GTK+ as the basis for their port. While I’m sure the final product can be made to integrate cleanly into the Ubuntu desktop without much trouble, I was surprised that the alpha release looked more like something out of KDE than Gnome.
- default search engine – unsurprisingly, Chrome’s built-in search engine defaults to Google. In the Windows version, this can be changed either during installation or by right-clicking in the address bar. Not so in Linux–if you prefer a different search engine, you’re apparently out of luck. Perhaps this will be addressed as Chrome’s Linux port matures, but if not, Google can expect a lot of flak from Ubuntu users complaining about their freedom of choice being denied.
Summary
Overall, I’m impressed with Chrome so far. Its tiny resource footprint is likely to score big points with Linux geeks who like their machines to run as efficiently as possible, and with users seeking a more responsive browser than the mainstream offerings. The current lack of integration into Gnome and the inability to change search engines (not to mention most other preferences) is discouraging, but we should spare final judgment on these issues until Chrome’s Linux port becomes stable.
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GTK+ is not the “Gnome toolkit” – it is the GIMP Toolkit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK%2B
@Christopher: thanks for the report. Has anyone found a Linux Chrome roadmap? I am wondering when is golden expected.
Also: I wonder why they haven’t chosen Qt for portability (like Opera did).
Did you notice any oddities in the font rendering? I would expect fonts to look the same as Firefox, but they did look a little off. Kinda like they do in KDE apps under Gnome.
When Chrome first came out, there was the rumor about it phoning home (to Google) about surfing activities.
Has this been disproved, or disabled?
@dragonbite: Chrome is based on open source chromium, so we should be safe unless they add prop bits on top. Anyone knows if the source of Chrome itself is also distributed?
http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxBuildInstructions
I’ve been testing it as well, and I think you’ve perhaps made a mistake when comparing memory usage. In Chrome, each tab gets its own process, so I think you were looking at only the tab with the highest memory, or perhaps chrome itself. For me, I get a process for each tab, so you’d need to add them all up.
Sam: my mistake, fixed. Thanks for calling attention to it.
Leo: I’m not aware of any target date for the stable release of Chrome for Linux. The developers seem to be intentionally quiet about it.
The Chrome source is supposed to be available at http://src.chromium.org/viewvc/chrome/, but I’m not positive whether that includes everything that was compiled in the .deb installer.
Tim: fonts actually look fine for me, although I didn’t do an exhaustive text. I would also expect rendering issues to be worked out by the time the browser is officially released.
dragonbite: as Leo points out, since the browser is open-source, it’s ostensibly more secure. That said, there are some concerns about privacy regarding the EULA of the Windows version (e.g., http://doanmba.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/chrome-vs-chromium-review-continued/ ); whether the same EULA will be used for Linux remains unclear.
Mike: interesting. I see a different process for each window, but not for each tab. Are you using the same build of Chrome as me? I’ll look into this more and update the post if I discover that my numbers were wrong.
I would actually love to have each tab be its own process, these days multicore processors are more and more ubiquitous (and the tendency is to have more and more). If you are running in legacy software, chances are you won’t keep 15 tabs open at the same time anyway 🙂
* errata: I meant to say legacy _hardware_
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[…] Test-driving Chrome for Ubuntu Overall, I’m impressed with Chrome so far. Its tiny resource footprint is likely to score big points with Linux geeks who like their machines to run as efficiently as possible, and with users seeking a more responsive browser than the mainstream offerings. The current lack of integration into Gnome and the inability to change search engines (not to mention most other preferences) is discouraging, but we should spare final judgement on these issues until Chrome’s Linux port becomes stable. […]
Sorry if this is a silly question, but could someone explain to me what posts #10 and #11 are about? Every once in a while I see posts like these … thanks!
Those are “backtracks” that get added when someone posts on their site or blog linking to this article.
@Chad: ah, thanks a lot! It would be nice if these backtracks were links that one could click and see the original page they are coming from.
Well, um, I would go ahead and use “developer channel build”. I’ve been following this since the early alpha stages– things sat for a while, and then the updates started pouring in a few months ago.
I haven’t been actively using it, but have been patiently waiting for the most part. I installed CrossOver’s port of Chromium from Windows, and, well, compared to the awful Windows 95/2000 UI it’s saddled with, I can be far more patient for this UI to be fully integrated to Gnome. I already use (and have used) GTK+ for a few things and so it doesn’t appear that alien to me. The only reason why I installed CrossOver’s port was my Windows friends were buzzing on and on about Chrome, but again, I can wait.
To fix the fonts (as mentioned above):
Install MS Fonts:
…sudo apt-get install msttfonts
and then update your cache:
…sudo fc-cache -f -v
I just installed chrome 5.0375 on ubuntu 9.1 and it did ask me if I wanted to change the homepage and also it asked if I would like to phone home to google to provide crash reports etc. It gave me the option. They must have heard your opinions:)
I like it, it works great! only thing I miss from the fox is the inline search with the / key 🙁 o well, I think I’ll live.