Web Geek's Guide to Google Chrome

by Jerri Ledford, Yvette Davis

Overview

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

&nb

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789739735
Publisher:	Que
Publication date:	06/23/2009
Pages:	249
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

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.

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