

Chrome is Ready for Business - nswanberg
http://blog.chromium.org/2010/12/chrome-is-ready-for-business.html

======
ZoFreX
Awesome. Deploying Firefox is _still_ not simple for network administrators
due to their lack of official MSIs. If I still ran a network, Chrome would be
the default browser just due to the sheer convenience (and that's probably
what Google are hoping for).

~~~
rnernento
Agreed, as an Admin having alternate browsers available in in an environment
can be incredibly beneficial. Security/patch wise it's a real pain to maintain
Firefox so this is a big advantage for Chrome.

~~~
InclinedPlane
Applying updates is nearly painless in Chrome. Just hit "update google chrome"
and the update is applied, the browser is restarted in a matter of seconds
with all your previously open windows and tabs are retained. The only downside
is youtube videos you had open might automatically restart. Firefox has a
similar update process but it's so much clunkier that it eats up far more time
and effort. IE's update process is a joke in comparison to both (sometimes
requiring a full restart of your system).

~~~
ZoFreX
I think he is specifically refering to updating it in a managed environment.
Applications set up correctly (e.g. Microsoft Office) can have updates pushed
out over the network to all users, automatically. This isn't so easy with
Firefox, but it _should_ now be easy with Chrome.

------
rodh257
The thing holding our organization back from adopting Chrome over IE is
file:// links. A small thing, but we use it to quick link to shared project
directories. Chrome considers these a security threat and disallows them. My
boss used Chrome for a week but when I couldn't get a solution to the file
links he swapped back.

~~~
Thangorodrim
You can create a custom protocol and protocol handler to process file links
including UNCs.

This recently allowed me to deploy a web application into an enterprise space
with extensive dependencies on creating and editing word and excel documents
(as well as pdfs).

The web application generates highly customized rtf from user submitted forms
and provides links for users which, when clicked, will open word with the rtf
loaded and its working directory properly set within their network file
system. Therefore, the user can modify the rtf, simply press save and exit.

This is vastly superior to download / edit / upload schemes or replicating the
functionality of word through this web application.

The users can access the files through UNC based methods they already
understand and through the new web application. Its glue to wean the
enterprise from windows binaries and UNC paths everywhere towards a unified
web application.

It also very simple:

1\. Name the protocol and generate links using it: myproto:/path_to_file

2\. Modify the windows registry to handle the protocol
<http://kb.mozillazine.org/Register_protocol>

3\. Write a tiny handler as a binary, or even batch file, to be called by
chrome when it parses the custom protocol

In the situation referenced above, the handler application just truncates out
the protocol from the link and calls the shell with the resultant string. That
means it properly handles all windows file associations. So, .rtf -> Word,
.xls -> excel, .pdf -> acrobat, / -> file explorer.

To the user its actually quite seamless.

You do have to touch client machines once to setup the handler, but in this
context its fine. This is not over the internet, but inside the enterprise.

------
nswanberg
I'd just noticed the other day that "Integrated Authentication" works on
Windows out of the box in Chrome while testing a client's internal app. That's
very helpful.

~~~
nopal
That's the NTLM support the post talked about. And you're right, it's very
helpful!

------
thisisblurry
This is fantastic.

I'm thoroughly impressed with the Chromium authors. From their continuous
build cycle (<http://build.chromium.org/buildbot/waterfall/console>) to their
very active developer community, it's clear that they are driven to make a
better browsing experience for everyone. By getting themselves into the
business world, the footprint they've created in the browser market can become
even larger.

~~~
sid0
Why are you so impressed about a continuous build cycle? I think continuous
integration (including full build and test runs for roughly every push) should
be a given for a non-trivial and widely-used desktop application, especially
one that is released on multiple platforms. I don't see how that's something
to be "impressed" about.

~~~
bobf
He's probably impressed because while that _should_ be "a given for a non-
trivial and widely-used desktop application", in reality it rarely is.

~~~
ootachi
All major browsers do this.

Firefox: <http://tbpl.mozilla.org/> Safari:
<http://www.publicsource.apple.com/>

------
drdaeman
There are still (long-standing) issues, which may prevent some businesses from
using Chrom{e,ium}.

"NOTE: SSL client authentication with personal certificates does not work
completely in Linux, see issue 16830 and issue 25241."
(<http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxCertManagement>)

~~~
gecko
Businesses that are using Linux for their desktops are already in a different
situation, since corporate updates and lock downs can be managed through a
custom apt repository easily anyway.

------
bobf
From a personal and business perspective, the thing I find most appealing
about Chrome is that it feels so much faster than other browsers. In practice,
this means you can extend the life of old hardware which is primarily used for
browsing the web, and save money from having to upgrade.

------
RexRollman
I wish Google would allow for downloading the installer via FTP like Mozilla
does this with Firefox. I like it because it keeps me from ever having to
launch Internet Explorer.

------
ditojim
this is the free crack to get em hooked before they drop chrome os on the
enterprise.

in all reality, i have been on google apps deployments where chrome was being
adopted and there was no easy way to push it to 1000s of users, let alone
configure and manage. this will really make life easier for admins
transitioning to google apps who choose to adopt chrome as well.

not to mention google is providing support for chrome to those who have google
apps for business.

