There's not much for me to say about Google's new Chrome browser that hasn't already been said but prompted by Walt Mossberg's commentary I decided to try the latest version of Microsoft's competing browser - Internet Explorer 8 beta 2.
And two small 'incidents' right after installation said a lot about why Microsoft should fear the Googlezilla breathing down it's neck. Firstly I needed to reboot my PC to complete installation, whereas with Chrome I did not. Secondly I was then alerted with the following message -
"A program on your computer has corrupted your default search provider setting for Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer has reset this setting to your original search provider, Live Search (search.live.com)"
A reboot is a minor nuisance, I'll get over it Microsoft. But don't mess with my trust!
Yes, it's like buying a new car then having to figure out how to fix something in the electronic ignition system to get it to work.
Found solution at:
http://blog.kirb.us/2009/03/20/a-program-on-your-computer-has-corrupted-your-default-search-provider-setting-for-internet-explorer/
"Update with possible fix for XP computers: Brad has emailed me with a solution that fixed the problem for him. I’ve not got a chance to try it myself as my computers are working properly. Your results may vary. Please post a comment if this fix worked for you.
1. Make sure IE 8 is closed then navigate to registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders
2. Add a new “Expandable String value” inside the above mentioned key with a value name of “AppData” and a value data of “%USERPROFILE%\Application Data”.
3. Reopen IE 8 and see if you still get the error message.
"
Posted by: A | March 27, 2009 at 03:27 PM