Exciting news in the browser wars:  Google is releasing has released a beta version of a web browser that it is calling Chrome.

Why does this matter?  The open-source browser will feature:

1. Every tab running in isolation from the other tabs – if something goes kablooey, you only lose that one particular tab.
2. Streamlined code designed for efficient running of online software, which translates into faster speeds and greater stability.
3. A new Javascript engine designed with future web applications in mind (and optimized versions of Google Apps, I bet).

Even if Chrome doesn’t become a contender (and you won’t catch me making that bet) these and other features will certainly set the stage for advancements in other web browsers.

Google has released a 40 page comic book (web version) (Pdf version) detailing their reasons for creating Chrome and highlighting its features.

Why should this excite libraries?  Just remember that the most exciting integrated library system out there, Evergreen, uses the XPCOM framework from the Mozilla project, and Chrome can likely be used in similar ways.

Here is a screen capture of Chrome’s logo (which reminds me a bit of the alien camera thingy in the 1953 version of War of the Worlds).

thanks to CNet News for reporting the leak…

None of this is new, but I encountered a reminder of how quickly online software is becoming more and more useful:

Zoho Writer (part of the Zoho collection of online tools) has been updated, and now supports saving in the new .docx format (nothing about opening, however), as well as a thesaurus, and improved support for end/footnotes.

Don’t forget about Google Docs, which also has an impressive collection of tools available.

Also, there is Zamzar, which converts many, many file formats into many, many others.

These tools, taken as a combined whole, could very well mean that we are close to only needing a broadband connection in order to have an office suite at our fingertips.

reminded by TechCrunch