Small things done well~

    If you ask me what kind of software do people use the most. I will regard the browser software as the answer. In the past years, I used Maxthon to be my browser. Of course I also have tried other browsers, such as Opera, Firefox, Avent, GreenBrowser, but Maxthon is the most "simple" browser for me. Why do I use "simple" to be my criteria? For me, I really need some extra functions but not too much. Everything should be done smoothly, quickly, and effectively. Maxthon is a good choice, and at least it can satisfy my need. But due to some reasons (IE core, stability, etc...), I decided to find another browser to replace it, and the best alternatives are Opera and Chrome.

    First of all, I mention that it's just for my experience, and you probably have other totally different demands. Second, I won't show you lots of data to compare those browsers. If you would like to see a "quantity research", it will let you down. Finally, the stability of browsers may be various depending on the computer hardware. 

    My request function list is as below:

1. enable to use mouse right click and use copy & paste function at some locked websites. 
2. Bugmenot extension to let me enter some websites just for temporary need.
3. IE tab to visit some IE only websites.
4. simplified to traditional characters since it's uncomfortable to see the simplified characters for long time.
5. mouse gesture
6. restore closed tab's complete history. I really need this one to avoid the accidental closing tabs.
7. weather plug-in to know the current weather condition.
8. New York Times, CNN, BBC, or other international media news resource plug-in to know what happened in the world.
9. Gmail notifier.

    Although many people use Firefox, I still have no interest in such browser monster! Due to the reason I mentioned, I like simple way to handle things. Therefore, I would like to compare Opera with Chrome. According to my request, Chrome can't satisfy no.5 and no.6, while Opera can't satisfy no.9. But I think the biggest problems of Chrome are the security concerns and installation. 

    Chrome can't allow us to choose what location that we want to install. The default location is in your C driver's hidden folder, but it's so inconvenience to install in other driver. The official reason for this problem is let tyros install Chrome easier or bypass some administrator limits. But I think the better way is to let people can choose. Don't regard everyone as a beginner. Moreover, Chrome don't have internal mouse gesture. Although I can download extension for that, it doesn't work at all "https" websites, such as official Chrome extension website. For this, the official reason is to ensure the security. here I don't oppose this security concern, but I still think it should be selective for users themselves or tell the users the risk and let them make the final decision. Similarly, Chrome can't remember the closed tab's history if you restore it. It only show the last web page and if you really need to know what site you visited at this tab before, go to the big history pool and dredge it up by your own memory. I don't know the reason about this design but maybe security concern again. All in all, those features make me feel that Chrome seems a parentalism in some way. 

    Besides, Chrome needs lots of RAM. Although pure Chrome only needs small amount of RAM, many people use chrome with lots of extensions instead of the pure one. Every extension has its own process, so you can see lots of "Chrome.exe" on your windows task manager depends on the number of your extensions. For my situation, I use about 10 extensions, but not every extension I installed is needed from the beginning. However, Chrome execute all extensions you installed when you launch the program. it's so RAM needed and if I open about 10 tabs, it will need more than 400mb RAM!! 

    Honestly, Chrome is still a great browser and I do love some extensions such as Google Mail Checker Plus, AutoPager, Hover Zoom, TabJump, WOT, etc. Maybe I will introduce some next time if I still use Chrome sometimes. I admitted using Opera now. But why do I choose Opera for my browser now? How about the performance of Opera? It's another story that I will share it next time.....