ĭevelopment of the browser began in 2006 spearheaded by Sundar Pichai. It also came shortly after the release of Mozilla Firefox 1.0, which was surging in popularity and taking market share from Internet Explorer, which had noted security problems. newspapers stated at the time that Google was hiring former Microsoft web developers among others. In September 2004, rumors of Google building a web browser first appeared. After co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page hired several Mozilla Firefox developers and built a demonstration of Chrome, Schmidt said that "It was so good that it essentially forced me to change my mind." He stated that "at the time, Google was a small company", and he did not want to go through "bruising browser wars". Google CEO Eric Schmidt opposed the development of an independent web browser for six years. 2.10 Release channels, cycles and updates.Because of this success, Google has expanded the "Chrome" brand name to other products: ChromeOS, Chromecast, Chromebook, Chromebit, Chromebox, and Chromebase. Īs of October 2021, StatCounter estimates that Chrome has a 68% worldwide browser market share (after peaking at 72.38% in November 2018) on personal computers (PC), is most used on tablets (having surpassed Safari), and is also dominant on smartphones, and at 65% across all platforms combined. WebKit was the original rendering engine, but Google eventually forked it to create the Blink engine all Chrome variants except iOS now use Blink.
Most of Chrome's source code comes from Google's free and open-source software project Chromium, but Chrome is licensed as proprietary freeware. The browser is also the main component of ChromeOS, where it serves as the platform for web applications. It was later ported to Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android, where it is the default browser. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. Proprietary freeware, based on open source components Lighter, simpler tools are available, but Adobe's free reader remains the one to beat.Beta / September 2, 2008 13 years ago ( )ġ.0 / December 11, 2008 13 years ago ( )
Clicking Tools toggles open the online extras.Īs we noted, Adobe Reader X is the standard for freeware PDF readers, none of which can match Reader's capabilities and extras. The optional online services include converting PDFs to Word or Excel documents and creating PDFs using Adobe CreatePDF online. Reader doesn't lack support, either, starting with the sort of extensive Help file you'd expect from an Adobe product. Under the Edit menu, entries labeled Protection, Analysis, and Accessibility let us manage security settings, check document accessibility, and analyze data using the Object Data Tool and Geospatial Location Tool. A Tracker tool monitors updates to Reviews and Forms. Reader has some extras that stripped-down competitors can't match, such as its Read Out Loud tool, which can read documents to you if you have sound capability. We could highlight text, add Sticky Notes, take a Snapshot, and attach Comments. We could also Print our document or e-mail it as an attachment or via Adobe SendNow. Clicking the Sign icon on Reader's toolbar let us digitally sign documents by adding text or attaching a signature via a wizard. Reader rendered each document with high detail and faithful color reproduction.
We clicked Open and browsed to a folder full of PDFs we use for testing.
Reader X's familiar interface opens with a quick-start file manager from which we could open a recent file or log in to an existing Adobe Online account. With it you can view and annotate all PDF files, sign documents electronically, and access optional Adobe Online subscription services directly from inside its interface.
We looked at the latest version of Reader, Adobe Reader X. Despite competition from simpler tools, Reader remains the standard the others are judged against. To open, view, and edit PDFs, you need a PDF reader - for example, Adobe's free Reader.
PDF, the file format that carries the business world on its back, is everywhere, from product manuals to legal documents.
Adobe developed the Portable Document Format to standardize electronic document handling.