Google Chrome is my browser of choice

Internet Explorer has been a dominant force in web browsers for over a decade. It is the only web browser bundled with the most widely used OS in the world, Windows. The fact that people don't have to download it makes it the obvious choice for most people. Many websites require that you be on a certain version of Internet Explorer in order for them to display properly. Corporations use it almost exclusively because network administrators don't need to download and install it on thousands of computers. It is just convenient! However, convenience doesn't make it the best web browser and since the introduction of HTML 5 the need to have IE for certain sites is almost gone. So I decided to check out the different browsers available, try them out, and see which one I like best.

I have two laptops: a PC and a MacBook Pro. On both of them I have replaced the built in web browser with Chrome. There are three main reasons why I use Chrome: speed, simplicity, and security.

Speed
Chrome is the fastest browser, period. It has hardware acceleration which helps render graphics in webpages much faster than a standard browser. Internet Explorer 9 is a huge improvement over previous versions when it comes to speed. In fact, it beats Chrome in several speed tests. However, Chrome still has the edge, but IE 9 comes close. Chrome will load web pages considerably faster than other browsers regardless of how fast your internet connection is.

Simplicity
The most convenient thing about Chrome is the simple user interface. There is no fluff and the menus are straightforward. If you want to expand the functionality of Chrome, you can download extensions which give you new features. One of my favorites is AdBlock which can remove ads from web pages. The extensions are automatically added to the browser window next to URL bar. Speaking of the URL bar, now it is also the search bar. Google eliminated the search bar and consolidated it into the URL bar. Now you can just start typing and it will automatically search using the Google search engine. You can change your default search engine if you prefer something different.

Security
Until recently, Chrome was the most secure web browser. However, IE 9 does beat Chrome in this category. But, with the advent of extensions you can help your security by downloading web page ratings and more. The security for Chrome is very tight and it serves my purposes just fine. I use online banking and use online shopping sites like Amazon.com and Ebay. You should feel comfortable doing the same with this browser.

So there you have it. My reasons for why I love Google Chrome. IE 9 is a great browser and I will probably switch to using IE 10 when it is released, but until then I will speedily surf the internet from Chrome.