Google Chrome for Ubuntu

Firas is a staff writer on Mike’s Life, and you can find out more about him here.

As some of you may have noticed, I am an Ubuntu user and I am very loyal and in love with it. I only use Windows machines when I need to get graphic jobs done on either Illustrator or Photoshop. When Google launched Chrome for Windows based machines, I gave it a go and really liked how fast and light it was at the same time. Since then, I submitted my email in Google's notification list for when a Linux compatible version becomes available.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Google informing me that a Beta version of chrome that is Linux compatible is available for download. I directly downloaded the package and installed it. Simply, I just love it and guess what, now Chrome supports extensions! When I tried it on Windows there weren't any extensions, but a couple of JavaScript hacks.

So far it's running very smoothly without facing any obstacles, exactly the same as if it was running on Windows but faster and lighter. I downloaded a few extensions, one for SEO purposes, one to show you how many new updates you have in Google Wave, another which keeps your passwords and saves them and so much more. I only have 2 comments regarding the extensions and they are; the first is that not all extensions are compatible with Linux, the second is that there are a couple of very important extensions that are not there or at least I couldn't find, such as Alexa, a FireBug alternative and others that make any developer's or Internet Marketer's life much easier.

Let's go a step backwards and talk about installing the package. The package is a bit large - it is over 12MB which shocked me a bit. The installation process went smoothly, extremely smoothly actually. What I liked most about it, is that it imported ALL my Firefox' settings to Chrome after asking me to do so. The import included browsing history, bookmarks, passwords and other settings.

I would really like to thank Google for having Chrome available for Linux users, it really increased my Internet Browsing experience. One more thing; I love how it makes me get the feeling that my screen is bigger :D

What is your favorite browser? Which OS do you prefer to use?

As well as being a staff writer on Mike’s Life, you find Firas at his own blog Steitblog and on Twitter @steityeh