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Extension support could bolster Google Chrome's market share

By | December 8, 2009, 10:30am PST

Summary: It’s been a long time coming, but Google Chrome is now available for the Mac and Linux platforms, but the browser’s support for extensions may have a larger impact.

It has been a long time coming, but Google Chrome is now available for the Mac and Linux platforms, but the browser’s support for extensions may have a larger impact when it comes to market share.

Extensions have been the strength of Mozilla’s Firefox browser and now Chrome has more than 300 of them. Firefox has about 5,000 extensions and a vast library, but Google is off to a good start (see Google blog).

The gallery for Chrome extensions looks solid, but it has a tough Mozilla act to follow.

The larger question is whether extensions support can move the needle on market share. According to Net Applications, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has 64 percent market share followed by 25 percent for Firefox. From there, Safari and Chrome (roughly 4 percent each) duke it out for the scraps.

Given the market share outlook, it’s notable that the the long awaited Mac and and Linux betas have launched.

According to Google’s blog:

  • Google said the Mac beta “took longer than we expected.”
  • The Mac Chrome beta focused on a clean design and fast performance.
  • The Chrome for Linux beta is focused on tight integration, speed and features that fit natively with the operating system.

With a Mac beta, Chrome can now battle Safari more effectively.

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Topics

Google Inc., Apple Macintosh, Beta, Google Chrome, Linux, Web Browsers, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Internet, Hardware, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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RE: Extension support could bolster Google Chrome's market share
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0 Votes
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Try Chrome on Ubuntu
linuser 8th Dec 2009
I've been using Chrome developer builds on Ubuntu, for some time now, and it is BLAZING fast! Firefox is also a great browser on Ubuntu, but Chrome's performance is mind boggling.

If Chrome on Ubuntu is any indication, Chrome OS is going to really kick some butt, in the speed department.
0 Votes
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Why?
de-void-21165590650301806002836337787023 8th Dec 2009
Quite happy with Chrome on Windows, thanks.

And why do you think that a minimal Linux distro running on a braindead netbook device will be more useful than said device running Windows, IE/FF/Chrome *AND* locally installed apps?
0 Votes
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It won't
Cylon Centurion 8th Dec 2009
Cloud Computing is no substitute for full featured operating systems.
0 Votes
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Cloud Computing is no substitute for full featured operating systems.
bigpicture 9th Dec 2009
"Cloud Computing is no substitute for full featured
operating systems." I have seen a lot of those type
remarks before, like "I can't see a PC needing any more
than 64K of RAM". Can you guess who said that? Hint: the
initials are B.G.

We don't have a dial up modems any more, and the PC
outside connections are getting to be as fast as the inside
connections. So why not have remote programs,
processing and data storage like the way it used to be?
Remote processing only evolved because of slow
connection speeds anyway. The technology has come full
circle.
0 Votes
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What would happen with FF?
ottovoss@... 8th Dec 2009
My only concern about Chrome is that Google would be no longer interested on supporting the FF project.

Competition is always a good thing for users, but can Firefox keep on growing without the help of one of its biggest promoters, Google?

I certainly will try Chrome on my Mac, but my main browser is Camino, and my second is Firefox.
0 Votes
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For the forseeable future, Google will support Firefox. Google ONLY cares
DonnieBoy 8th Dec 2009
about the percentage of standards based browsers
with very fast JavaScript. They need FireFox to keep
that number as high as possible.
0 Votes
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RE: Extension support could bolster Google Chrome's market share
Loverock Davidson 8th Dec 2009
Google has to work through some issues first. You have to download a very beta version of Chrome to get extensions working even on the Microsoft Windows version. You have to be part of their developer channel which releases nightly builds which are known to be unstable. I don't see the point in only allowing extensions in that and not releasing a stable version with extensions. Too much hassle for the average user, and that is where Mozilla Firefox shines.
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Only if...
wayne62682 8th Dec 2009
I love Chrome but I won't use it until it has extensions for the following:

1) The ability to open files instead of downloading them (FF: OpenDownload)
2) A way to block ads (FF: AdBlock Plus)

The best thing about Firefox is the fact that I can quite literally use ONLY it; I have addons for IRC Chat, FTP Client and other things; Firefox is literally the only other thing I need on my computer besides stuff I use to work (e.g. Visual Studio). Until Chrome can offer that, I'll stick with FireFox.
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AdBlock Plus
wright_is 9th Dec 2009
was in the list...

I'm waiting for NoScript.

I stopped using ad blockers a couple of years ago. NoScript and FlashBlock are much more effective.

If a site runs ads, I'll see plain text or image ads, but script based or flash based ads get blocked.

That way, if a site is run off of ads, they can gain some revenue from me, as long as they aren't trying to p*ss me off...
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Interesting development...
wright_is 9th Dec 2009
Give me a NoScript extension and I'll give it a try - FlashBlock is already there, so it is halfway to being a possible replacement browser.
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Chrome marketshare rise and extensions
samzbest@... 9th Dec 2009
I love chrome i hope it beats IE as a browser and raise its marketshare i am sure extensions would be making a big difference added that developers love open source chrome OS as well
http://thetechnologycafe.com/its-alive-finally-google-chrome-for-mac-is-here-video/
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RE: Extension support could bolster Google Chrome's market share
rparker009 9th Dec 2009
Look at the info that chrome is sending to Google. I used snooping software and it send all my trafficing info to them.. It is non of the busuiness where I go on the net and what I look at..
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Do they have a font settings extension?
bhartman36 9th Dec 2009
This might sound petty, but one of the main reasons I don't use Chrome as my browser (except for Google Wave) is because it doesn't give the same kind of control over fonts that Firefox does. I don't want to have to rely on the aesthetic sensibilities of whoever codes a page. (Often, the fonts they choose are less than optimal for me.) Firefox lets you choose font settings, and override the page's coded fonts. That's one thing that's been sorely missing in both Chrome and IE.

Yes, yes...I know people spend a good deal of time coding pages to look the way they want them to look, but I don't want layout to get in the way of content, and it often does, unless you take matters into your own hands as a user.
0 Votes
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WebKit
bhartman36 10th Dec 2009
After reading up on it, it seems that this is a flaw in WebKit, so until WebKit is fixed to allow for it, there's not much hope that Google Chrome will improve in this regard.

This has implications for Chrome OS. Do you really want to be running an OS (if Chrome can legitimately be called that) in which you can't even adjust the display fonts to your liking?
0 Votes
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Who needs Chrome
jorjitop 15th Dec 2009
Any speed advantage is minimal. And, you are just adding power to the Google spyware botnet. Google is the biggest botnet ever and people are jumping over themselves to be used and abused. Crazy!!!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: Extension support could bolster Google Chrome's market share
dsfwrryd39-24353606884083056179624163738940 Updated - 5th Nov
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