No, the Google boys aren’t rolling through the Valley in a 7-series BMW with some 20’s on it, though they may just be.  I’’ve never seem them.  The bling I am referring to is the new Web browser they unveiled earlier this month called Chrome.  

The Mac user in me hasn’’t had a chance to really explore it because Google hasn’’t released a version for us Windows defectors.  However, since I use Windows at work, I’ve had a chance to use it and all I can say is Bill Gates should send over a bouquet of flowers thanking them for this new browser.

Why?  Chrome will not be a threat to Microsoft for some time but will pose a more immediate threat to Firefox.  Chrome is faster, has better security options in my opinion and the tab function allows you to end a frozen tab without killing the entire window.  But the biggest threat to Firefox is the fact that it’’s an open source application, meaning developers that might have worked on Firefox to make it better may now choose Chrome.  With the stacks of money Google has, Chrome can only get better.

If the Web browsing wars are truly back all I can say is Firefox get ready because you’’re at the OK Corral gunfight and Google’’s being represented by Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp and Doc Holiday.

With the recent release of Google’s Chrome browser, most web developers I know had the same reaction: “Oh (insert expletive).”

I feel your pain. The majority of books on my shelves and favorite places I have online consist of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) hacks so the pages I build in Internet Exloperer 7 (IE7), Safari and Firefox maintain a desired layout.  Thankfully, Chrome was built using WebKit, a do-it-yourself open-source browser. If you want a preview of how your CSS will compile, simply view your webpage in Safari. Yup, Safari uses WebKit too.

As a web developer, I’m constantly trying to keep up to speed with new or updated web technologies. In fact, sometimes releases are so frequent that I feel keeping up to speed is ALL I do. I know I’m not alone. The fact of the matter is we work so hard to be as innovative and current as possible that we may be creating usability issues for our most valuable clients or customers.

At Brodeur, we’ve built information-based blogs with a purpose to raise awareness of various topics and establish a sophisticated dialogue with visitors. About 80% of our visitors use either IE or Firefox. More than 16% of our visitors use a browser that is IE6 or older. Up until December of 2007, more than 55% of all businesses were still running on IE6, and up until this Summer, Windows XP SP2 was still on the market with IE6 as a default browser.

Think about your users. Think about your target audience.  Think about the technologies they use.

It’s a tough task. In his book Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions, Tim Ash explains that our most intelectual visitors may have JavaScript disabled for security purposes, allowing for things like inaccurate or empty form submissions. Have you ever been so caught up in the presentation of your site that you forgot about creating an RSS feed?  You may have just created a Meatball Sundae, omitting the opinion leaders most important to your online strategy.

Have you been mindful of your user’s technologies? When was the last time you tested your website for IE6? Stop worrying about how your JavaScript-fired popups like facebox/lightbox look on Playstation 3 and start testing in the technologies reported used.