MAKE THE MOST OF THE WORLD’S HOTTEST NEW BROWSER, GOOGLE CHROME!
Finally, there’s a web browser for today’s Internet, and today’s user: you! It’s Chrome. (From Google—of course!) Now, there’s a book that reveals how you can use all of Google Chrome’s built-in power and speed—and extend Chrome to do even more! Jerri Ledford and Yvette Davis start with a quick, practical tour of Google Chrome’s stripped-down, hot-rod interface —including its do-everything, know-everything Omnibox. You’ll be using Chrome like a pro in minutes, but that’s just the beginning. You won’t just learn how to customize Chrome: You’ll dive under the hood, tweak its code, and transform it into the browser of your dreams. Bottom line: If Google Chrome can do it, this book will help you do it smarter, faster, better! Covers all this, and more...
• Improving life on the Web: what’s new and different about Chrome, and why you care
• Getting from Chrome newbie to power user—fast!
• Browsing more safely in the Web jungle
• Spit-shining Chrome: making a good-looking browser look spectacular
• Optimizing your own web site to make the most of Google Chrome
• Tweaking tabs, and more: customizing Chrome to your heart’s content
• Saving time with Google Chrome keyboard shortcuts
• Troubleshooting problems with Google Chrome, step-by-step
• Learning about Chromium (the foundation on which Google Chrome is built) and its components, WebKit, WebKit Core, WebKit Port, and
WebKit Glue.
Jerri Ledford has been a freelance business technology writer for more than ten years, publishing more than 1,000 articles, profiles, news stories, and reports. She develops and teaches technology training courses on topics ranging from security to customer service. Ledford also helps optimize websites for Google and writes about technology topics ranging from search engine optimization to consumer security and identity theft. She has written 18 books, four of which are about Google applications: Google Analytics, Google Analytics 2.0, Google Powered: Productivity with Online Tools, and Google AdSense for Dummies.
Yvette Davis is Managing Editor for Brighthub.com’s Google Channel and Contributing Editor for its Linux Channel.www.WebGeeksGuide.com
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1: Google Chrome and Browsing the Way It Should Be
Chapter 1 Web Interactions Past and Present 9
The Theory of the Web-Based Operating System 10
A Star Trek-esque Society 10
Web-Based OS Is for the Future 10
Mobility Must Come First 11
Openness Is the Key to Mobility Is the Key to… 12
Browsing in an Application-Driven World 13
Chaos, Fallen Orderly 13
Web-Based from the Ground Up 14
Closing the Door 15
Chapter 2 What Google Chrome Brings to the Browser 17
NOT Your Momma’s Web Browser 18
Comparing Chrome to Other Browsers 19
Internet Explorer 19
Firefox 22
Opera 24
Speed Depends on How You Handle the Code 26
Share and Share (Resources), Alike 31
Taking Out the Trash Keeps the Browser Moving Cleanly 32
Searching for the Right User Experience 34
Tabbing Through Life 34
Surfing Without Being Seen 36
It’s About the Right Amount of Chrome 37
Closing the Door 38
Chapter 3 Getting Started with Google Chrome 39
A Quick and Easy Download 40
Chrome and Your Privacy Concerns 42
Download and Install Chrome 43
Initial Chrome Customization 44
Everybody Has a First Time Once 46
Chrome Grows with You 46
Chrome Page Controls 47
Point and Click, or Type 49
Bookmark Manager 50
Your Browser, Your Way: Basic Customization 52
Closing the Door 55
Chapter 4 It’s Everything: The Omnibox (Plus Some) 57
If It Is Everything, You Should Use It for Everything 58
The Usual Address Bar Duties 58
Security Indicators 59
A Few Other Functions 60
And Then There Are Page Controls 61
More Customization and Controls 64
The Basics Tab 65
The Minor Tweaks Tab 67
The Under the Hood Tab 68
Closing the Door 69
Chapter 5 Stability on the Net 71
Consequences of a Crash 72
Crash Management 72
Chrome’s Task Manager 73
Stats for Nerds 74
So Why Won’t It Crash? 76
Isolated Tabs Equals Increased Security 76
Using Memory More Efficiently
Extra Precautions: You Can Never Be Too Safe 78
There’s No Little Black Box in the Browser 82
Weaving a Multithreaded Web 84
Closing the Door 86
Chapter 6 Safe Browsing on a Threatening Web 87
It’s Not If, It’s When You’re Attacked 88
Chrome Saves the Day? 90
Secure Sockets Layer 91
Security Certificates 93
What Threat Level? 95
Viruses 96
Spyware 97
Trojans 97
A Phishing Reminder 98
Got Sand? Sandboxing Slows Attacks 98
Closing the Door 100
Part II:Tinkering Around Under the Hood
Chapter 7 Open Source Overview 103
Everyone Can Participate 104
Cost 107
Turnaround time for bug fixes and software improvements 107
It Takes a Village: Open Source Is Collaboration 109
Putting the Chromium in Chrome 112
Kits 113
Threads 116
Processes 117
Libraries and Scripts 118
Ensuring a Flawless Application 120
Closing the Door 120
Chapter 8 Developing Sites for Chrome 121
Is This Part of the WebKit? 122
I Should’ve Had a V8 127
Shifting Gears: How Gears Works with Chrome 131
Closing the Door 134
Chapter 9 Spit-Shining Chrome 135
Chrome Better Faster Stronger 136
...Extended Chrome’s Functionality 137
Gears 138
Bookmarklets 140
exe Tools 142
Themes and Theme Editors 143
Greasemonkey 144
Greasemetal 147
We Have the Tools 148
Libraries 148
C++ 152
JavaScript 155
Closing the Door 155
Chapter 10 Making It Yours 157
You Gotta Have a Theme 158
Viewer 159
Settings 160
Theme Creator 160
Just a Little Bookmarklet 163
And a Bit of Grease 165
Closing the Door 168
Part III: Chrome for Power Users
Chapter 11 Chrome Hacks for the Power Users 171
Skinning Google Chrome 172
Taking Control with Bookmarks 175
Increase the Capacity of the Bookmarks Bar 175
Changing Bookmark Icons 177
Adding Bookmarklets 181
Print from the Bookmarks Bar 185
Creating Profiles in Google Chrome 186
Creating Multiple User Profiles in Chrome 186
Command-Line Switches 190
About…Chrome’s Special about: Pages 196
Closing the Door 198
Chapter 12 Troubleshooting Google Chrome 201
Part IV: Appendices
Appendix A Google Chrome Shortcuts 213
Navigation Shortcuts 214
Address Bar Shortcuts 215
Chrome Feature Shortcuts 215
Web Page Shortcuts 216
Text Shortcuts 216
Appendix B Chrome for the Non-Windows User 219
CrossOver Chromium 220
Linux 221
Mac OS X 224
Appendix C Glossary 229
Index 237
Jerri Ledford has been a freelance business technology writer for more than 10 years. During that time, more than 1,000 of her articles, profiles, news stories, and reports have appeared online and in print. Her publishing credits include Intelligent Enterprise, Network World, Information Security Magazine, DCM magazine, CRM magazine, IT Manager’s Journal, and dozens more. Jerri also develops and teaches technology training courses for both consumer and business users. Some of the course topics she’s been involved with include security, customer service, career skills, and technology for companies such as IBT Financial, Writer’s Village University, Beacon Hill Financial Services, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and CNET. She is the author of 17 books including Google Analytics, Google Powered:Productivity with Online Tools, Google Analytics 2.0, The Search Engine Optimization Bible, Google AdSense for Dummies, The Search Engine Optimization Bible, Second Edition, and The Web Geek’s Guide to the Android-Enabled Phone. In her time off, Jerri travels extensively and enjoys hiking, writing fictionnovels, and soaking up the positive ions at the beach with her children.
Yvette Davis writes on a variety of topics, but her passions are all things open source and alternative medicine. Yvette is the managing editor for the Google Channel on Brighthub.com, and she is a contributing editor for the Linux Channel on the same site. She also writes alternative health articles.
