Google chrome is becoming internet explorer 6 ??

Google Chrome is currently the most popular browser on all devices, both computer and mobile devices thanks to Android. Thanks to Chrome's domain, Google has obtained the possibility of promoting other proprietary services such as the search engine, Gmail or YouTube itself. In its day, the company was a strong defender of Internet standards that worked in different browsers. But, for a while now, users have been "forced" to use Chrome.

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Is Google Chrome becoming Internet Explorer 6?

This causes Chrome to be starting to be used in the same way that Internet Explorer 6 was in the early 2000s. Since nowadays most web developers optimize everything thinking of Chrome, while leaving other browsers aside. In order to analyze the source of this problem, it is important to first know why Internet Explorer 6 was such a problem.

Internet Explorer 6: Market Dominator

Windows has historically been the clear dominator of the market in computers. In the late 1990s and early 2000s this was possibly the time when this domain was greater than ever. Back then there was no Gmail, YouTube and Google was not yet a rival either. This assumes that Microsoft could do whatever it wanted back then.

Internet Explorer 6 came with Windows XP. Many of the characteristics between the two were closely linked, so the popularity of one helped the other and vice versa. Also, Internet Explorer 6 came just at the moment when the “.com” web bubble burst. So it is a time when Internet consumption grew a lot. At its best, this browser dominated 90% of the market.

Therefore, Microsoft controlled the way in which millions of people in the world had access to the Internet. The advancement of the Internet led to the emergence of new pages, new standards for developers to create websites or programs that work on various devices or browsers. But, Internet Explorer 6 made a big mistake and ignored those standards in its day. A decision that undoubtedly had many consequences . Since ignoring these standards caused developers to start coding their websites around Internet Explorer, and recommended visitors to use this browser. But, although this situation lasted for five years, the rivals began to arrive.

In 2004 Mozilla released Firefox 1.0. A new browser that included functions like a pop-up blocker. In addition, his own fans paid for an advertisement about the browser to appear in the New York Times. Many saw it and it was announced as the browser that was going to end Interner Explorer 6. A couple of years later, in 2006, Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 7. They added new features like tabbed browsing. But, things did not improve much since Microsoft did not support web standards. Something that was widely criticized.

Google also reaches the market

At this time, Google was already growing at great speed. At that time they were not developing their browser, but were already preparing the Google toolbar. A feature that was introduced in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Thanks to which the Google search engine could be easily accessed. The company promoted its search engine a lot and the pop-up blocker was very popular in Internet Explorer 6.

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At the same time, the popularity of Firefox continued to grow. Finally, in 2008 Google Chrome hit the market. Google was very mindful and focused on web standards and respected HTML5. Surpassing Microsoft in these aspects. This meant that developers began to prefer Chrome, because it allowed them to build websites according to web standards. So the market began to divide between the three browsers.

But, with the passage of time Chrome has become the most popular of the three. Although it has never had a 90% share like Internet Explorer in its day. It is said that its market share is around 60%. While Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari lag far behind with a share of 14% each. But, it is clear that Google Chrome currently has a domain similar to what Internet Explorer had in its day.

Works best with Chrome

In 2017, a message was seen with relative frequency that many did not expect. There are websites that mentioned that their website works better with Google Chrome. In this way, users are also caused not to visit certain websites using Firefox or Edge. Since the experience may not be the same. Additionally, Google Meet, Allo, YouTube TV, Google Earth, and YouTube Studio Beta block Microsoft Edge, the Windows 10 browser.

This decision by Google has not been without controversy, as many comment that it is a strategy that seeks to destroy its competitors in the market. In addition, other non-Google websites have also started using the message "Works better with Google Chrome." Among others Groupon, Airbnb or Seamless.

Although it is true that the majority of users and companies make use of services such as Gmail, Google search engine and Chrome, the movements of the company leave much to be desired. Since in many cases it does not give the impression that they are looking to favor optimization for Google Chrome, but they hardly give developers any other option.

Also, if you enter Google using a browser other than Google Chrome, you will often get various prompts asking if you don't want to download the browser. A strategy that Microsoft is now copying with Edge. But, the mistake Google makes is that it starts making some of its services exclusive to Google Chrome. Something that is leading them to make serious mistakes and whose consequences can be multiple.

The same mistakes may not be made in Google Chrome as in Internet Explorer 6. But, it is clear that when someone dominates the market, they can lose sight of what users really need. The mistakes Chrome may make may not be that serious, but they can certainly affect the popularity of the browser in the future. What is your opinion?

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