Can't figure out the difference between Chrome, Chromium & Iron

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by beethoven, May 19, 2010.

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  1. beethoven

    beethoven Registered Member

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    I cannot quite figure out the difference between the three browsers and despite googling, I am still unclear.

    I can see that Chromium is free source code and google is built on that with their modifications (that some users don't want to see). However, the descriptions of chromium and iron seem identical to me. I cannot find any clear explanation about the difference between chromium and iron. So if I want to wear my tinfoil hat and try the browser without google's privacy issues, does it matter if I go for chromium or iron?
     
  2. whitedragon551

    whitedragon551 Registered Member

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    Chromium and Iron are based off the Chromium open source code. They have removed Googles privacy issues with its EULA and they have some features added in that normally wouldnt come built into Google Chrome. ChromePlus for example has AdBlock Plus built into it rather than needing to download the addon.
     
  3. guest

    guest Guest

    Chromium

    Chromium is the name given to the open source project and the browser source code released and maintained by the Chromium Project. It is possible to install the latest snapshots for Windows or download the source code and build it in Windows, Linux or Mac.

    Chromium should not be confused with browser products that draw their source code from it, like Google Chrome, SRWare Iron and Chrome Plus.

    Chromium x Google Chrome

    Google Chrome is based on Chromium but adds some more features.
    Examples: Google name and logo, an auto-updater system called GoogleUpdate, an opt-in option for users to send Google their usage statistics and crash reports as well as RLZ-tracking which transmits information in encoded form to Google, for example, when and where Chrome has been downloaded.

    Chromium x SRWare Iron

    SRWare Iron is based on Chromium but adds some more features.
    Examples: latest version of the WebKit rendering engine and built-in ad blocking.

    Chromium x ChromePlus

    ChromePlus is based on Chromium but adds some more features.
    Examples: mouse gestures, link dragging and IE tabs.

    Google Chrome x SRWare Iron

    Made by different companies, based on Chromium but have different set of features that they added to the base code of Chromium.
    For details of what are the differences between Google Chrome and SRWare Iron, have a look at this page: http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron_chrome_vs_iron.php

    Google Chrome x ChromePlus

    Made by different companies, based on Chromium but have different set of features that they added to the base code of Chromium.
    For details of what features ChromePlus has, have a look at this page: http://www.chromeplus.org/product.php

    SRWare Iron x ChromePlus

    Made by different companies, based on Chromium but have different set of features that they added to the base code of Chromium.

    Source / More information:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_(web_browser)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRWare_Iron
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome
     
  4. beethoven

    beethoven Registered Member

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    Thanks SirPeter, very comprehensive.

    I just checked - my download on ubuntu was for Chromium 5.0.342.9 straight from the download centre. Interesting to see that chrome plus has mouse gestures - for someone used to Opera that is a very popular feature:D
     
  5. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    Well, I've just realised that it has been exactly a year to the day that I first installed SRWare Iron. If I remember it was the #2 series release. I'd never used Chrome then. I liked Iron straight away & also liked the fact that it was similar in some ways to Safari 3 for Windows, which I liked once upon a time (also WebKit).

    I managed to break the buggy spell-checker almost instantly & even now at 5.0.381 it still has a problem with the back-button & what appears to be a broken 404 page on some sites. Overall though, the ability to use Google extensions has hugely improved it as a browser, but in the main Chrome is a bit more stable.

    Its internal adblocker isn't perfect either & requires a re-boot & the disabling of the UAC (on Vista/Seven) to update. I have ABP as well on Iron as the internal adblocker misses some ads sometimes. However, I have discovered that I can watch some Channel 4 (UK) TV programs with ABP disabled & the TV show will run minus adverts! Enabling ABP precludes me from watching some shows.

    Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 for effort. :thumb:
     
  6. vasa1

    vasa1 Registered Member

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  7. Fiat_Lux

    Fiat_Lux Registered Member

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  8. the Tester

    the Tester Registered Member

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    Mildly interesting but not for me.
    The Chromium based category is crowded already.

    FWIW
    I have found that there is a bookmark button that works for SRWare Iron.
    Wish I would have bookmarked the source, but if you look around there some nifty add-ons for Iron.
     
  9. Daveski17

    Daveski17 Registered Member

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    AFAIK all Google Chrome extensions work with Iron.
     
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