Google Chrome is great browser. It has really caught the fancy of the people. Whereas around a year back, whenever I asked anyone what browser they were using, the answer would invariably be Internet Explorer, now most people’s answers have changed to Chrome.

However, that doesn’t mean that Google chrome is the perfect browser. There are still a few things that need to be fixed. Some of these are things that always keep me away from Chrome. Believe it or not, I have tried using Chrome as my secondary browser a number of times, but eventually leave after trying for a couple of days. If only these few things were fixed, I could use it as my second browser after Opera.

Here is a list of 5 things that, in my opinion, Google needs to fix to attract more people towards chrome from Firefox (and me from Opera):

1. Addons should be allowed access to all tabs. I particularly notice this with the Smooth Gestures addon. I use mouse gestures all the time. So every time it just stops to functions, I have to first look for the reason before I realise that it won’t work on this tab. Often when I perform a gesture to close a tab (L), it is left incomplete (I) and opens a new tab. I perform the gesture again to close this tab, but it doesn’t work on the default new tab. So I end up performing a useless gesture every time.
2. Installers for both normal and portable versions need to be made available. Guaranteed online installation is easy, but it is not always feasible. If I have 2 computers, I have to download it once on each. If I want to view and HTML page on a PC without internet connection, it also becomes difficult to do so.
3. The toolbar needs to be made customizable. I like to move the toolbar buttons around and arrange them according to my preference. And for some reason, I always like the refresh and stop button on the right side of the address bar. I do that manually in all browsers, but can’t do that in Chrome.
4. Sidebar – I love a sidebar. I use AIOS addon for sidebar in Firefox and use it all the time. One of the reasons I prefer Opera over other browsers is the sidebar. I can access bookmarks, history, notes etc. from the sidebar itself. The lack of sidebar means I need to open a new tab for these. There’s not even an addon for Chrome to add a sidebar. This also means that a lot of space on my widescreen remains unutilised.
5. Open the files I download directly without first saving them. I often come across PDF and Word files which I open and take a look but never save them. However while using Chrome, I first need to save them, always. This is particularly annoying when I download a zip file.