Google Chrome - A re-thinking of the browser

When I heard that Google was about to launch their own browser, I definitely knew that they had something really cool, wacky and BIG in store for the world.But,it was only after I got hold of Google Chrome and tried it out that I realized how the traditional browser design could be revolutionized!

On the phase of it, it looks as if it is yet a Firefox underneath, but that is a mistake. The Chrome team has entirely built the browser from scratch with a host of performance enhancing steps. The main issue we had with our traditional browsers was the fact that the browser ran as one process in the Operating System and different threads handles the irrationalities. So, even with all the management, the user always had the risk of crashing the browser if something went wrong. This became more evident with the tabbed browsing approach since multiple web pages appeared under tabs in the same browser window. So, if a page got hanged in one tab, or got crashed, it was time to say 'good bye' to all the tabs and start from the beginning. Still it was a load of inconvenience despite the fact that there were recovery measures taken.

However, with the rethinking with the Chrome browser, they have taken things to another level by making each tab act as a separate process in the OS. When the browser starts up, it starts up two processes which I believe correspond to the parent process which done all the administrative tasks and the one corresponding to the active tab. Thereafter with each tab creation, you can see a new process being created. With this approach, the resource utilization is independent among tabs since they are now processes. So, at the worst case, only one tab would crash and vanish while the rest of the tabs will be 'merrily singing along'. This is just one major optimization in terms of the browser design.

In addition, what main swings it for me is the amazingly simple interface with just seven utility buttons, tab list and 'omnibox' which gives a nearly full screen view of a traditional browser.

The good stuff;

- Fully Open Source
- Chrome's own Task Manager
- A VM for Javascript
- 'Omnibox' for URL entry, suggestions and searching.
- Sandboxing for security
- Separate plugin processes
- Gears

The 'Google Book' which contains all the design decisions can be found here, and this is the most awesome technical walk through I saw after the 'Head First' series.It's just a simple comic book at a glance and yet has all the technicalities associated with this wonderful browser. So, it's time you spend some time and go through the Chrome Google Book if you haven't done alreadys :)

This link contains some cool tips to harness a considerable potential of Chrome. With all the breakthroughs, there seems t0o be room for some more improvements. Check it out...

The web is sure to be flooded with tricks and spins related to Chrome in the days to come by, and the browser market is sure to be full of hustle and bustle...

Glory all the way

"The University of Moratuwa (UoM) ranked as the best University of the country, and the 11th best University in the South Asian region, has made yet another significant achievement in the international arena, to add to its glamour.

The caliber of its students enabled the University to top the participation in the Google Summer of Code 2008 (GSoC 2008) programme, both in terms of proposal submission and acceptance of proposals among all participating Universities...."

...and the story goes on. My University became the global top in the GSOC2008 venture, and man!!! Am I not thilled of that?! So, I felt that it was my duty to do my part as a student of UoM, CSE and also a freelance writer, and did quite a comprehensive write up to the 'Sunday Observer', the State English Newspaper regarding this achievement.

>> http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/06/08/plus02.asp

And what's more? Right now the article appears as the first hit in Google for the search key 'GSOC UOM'!!! Now, shouldn't I be elated?!

I'm truly proud of all my buddies who became proud partners in this achievements, and quite happy about me for raising the application count from 89 to 90 though I could not contribute to add one to the 24 successful application count :)

Anyway, simply put UoM and CSE would rock forever!!!

Welcome to the ‘Virtual Barber Shop’

I got hold of this audio track – ‘Virtual Barber Shop’ and it was so awesome… !!!

This is one great piece of thinking by the creators of it. They have simply exploited the capability of the human brain to analyze and identify a considerably accurate location of the sound source by analyzing the tiny variations of the sound pressure level.

As it is mentioned in the track itself, the recording has been done by using two microphones, having them in an orientation similar to that of a human’s ears while taking in to account the sonic peculiarities of the way the ears perceive sound. This is known as 'binaural recording' and it differs from stereo since stereo do not factor in natural ear spacing or 'head-shadow' of the head and ears.

Just grab this clip, put on your earphones correctly (Generally, the correct usage is in small print on the earphone as L(Left) and R(Right)) , close your eyes and listen to the entire track as recommended below, and let it take you through the experience of being in a pretty weird barber shop (where they tend to put grocery bags over your head.. :) No more tips about the content than this… ;) )

Having earphones and having the correct earphone in the correct ear is a MUST…!

Recommendations for best experience:

* Use earplug earphones (Like the ones given for SE W series mobiles ;)) rather than ordinary FM stereo earphones
* Keep your eyes closed during the entire playback.
* Be seated in an orientation similar to what you’d have in a barber shop when you get a hair cut.
* Be in an environment free of vibrations and other sounds.

I haven’t tried this clip on a 4.1 or above audio system. I guess the surround effect would still be there, but the greatest and most realistic experience would be with a simple pair of earphones coz it gives the sounds of ‘near-ear-occurrences’ in such a realistic way.

The recommended method of perception gives the best experience... and it is guaranteed…

Try it out…!!! It’s going to be breathtaking…

Tip of the post :

It is really fun letting others listen to this and see how they react when they hear certain things. I really enjoyed letting my parents and little sister listen to it and observing them. Believe me… Some reactions are worth capturing on video and publishing in YouTube… :D

::DOWNLOAD::

UoM tops GSoC 2008...

The University of Moratuwa, as the premier establishment for tertiary education of the country, has made yet another significant achievement in the international arena, to add to its glamour. Being ranked as the best university of Sri Lanka and the 11^th best University in the South Indian region, it topped the list of successful applicants of the Google Summer of Code 2008 programme.

The programme which has become an icon as a global coding venture, has attracted a galore of students from all corners of the world including countries such as USA, UK, India, China and Canada which are in the pinnacle of programming expertise. The University of Moratuwa which took part in the first Summer of Code venture in 2005 with the participation of four students, has made few giant leaps over the successive years and made it’s name stand out as the institution with the highest number of successful proposals in this years endeavour. The list boasted a count of 24, leaving the Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland and University of Campinas, Brazil in a shared second place with a count of 10 successful proposals each to their credit. And what’s more? The University of Moratuwa also turned up to be the institution with the highest number of applicants with a staggering count of 93 whereas the immediate follower was the University of Campinas, Brazil with 29 applicants.

Google Summer of Code is a programme conducted by the Internet search-engine and open-source giant Google, aimed at inspiring young developers to contribute to the open-source software community while gaining valuable experience in real-world software development. Students from all over the world are invited to apply for the programme, where successful applicants are awarded stipends to write code for various open source software projects of renowned organizations. Google, in collaboration with several open source, free software, and technology-related groups identify and fund several projects over a three month period. Since its inception in 2005, the GSoC programme has brought together over 1,500 students from all parts of the world with over 130 open source projects to create millions of lines of code.

When this remarkable accomplishment is concerned, another noticeable fact is that the Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering has bestowed 18 out of the 24 successful applicants.

This success with the Summer of Code programme has avowed the fact that the Department of Computer Science and Engineering has been renowned as a trendsetter for its innovative approach to undergraduate education, aimed at producing not merely employable, but globally competitive graduates. Its efforts have resulted in maintaining supreme standards in academic activities while placing much emphasis on the soft skills development of undergraduates.

Days will pass, the sun will shine and clocks will always tick. But, with this feat, the Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering has added one more certainty that will be an unblemished tautology for the rest of the future. That is, the high calibre of its students geared by the inspiration of all professionals of the academia will keep on adding more world’s firsts to the UoM icon in the days to come by, while having itself as a key shareholder of the glamour.