When Google unleashed the beta version of its new Chrome browser two days ago, it probably expected there to be a few issues. It's a beta, right? Things go wrong. That's why it's a beta. You fix it, you move on, and eventually a shiny new version 1 is ready for the masses.But what if it's not a technical glitch? What if it's a rather explosive error in the Google Chrome user agreement that states Google's ownership of everything users submit through the browser? Can that be attributed to a bug in the system? The bug that made this blunder seems a little different to one that stops a page reloading.
The user agreement - which has now been amended by Google - originally stated that the Mountain View giant could claim rights to "any content which you submit". It won't come as a surprise that this seizing of freedom wasn't met with party poppers, sparklers and cake.
Suffice to say, Google sheepishly rectified the issue, possibly realising that, as much as it wants to possess the world, it should at least wait until Android comes out. Then with Android/Chrome integration connecting the mobile and desktop web with Google as the ties, it could certainly claim to own most of the internet.
However, not all is doom and gloom over at Mountain View - just ten hours after Chrome's beta release, it had already captured one per cent of market share. The browser is currently hovering around this figure which, though it sounds unimpressive, actually constitutes a whopping 14 million downloads of the 1.46 billion internet users across the globe. It's a figure not to be sniffed at - especially after just ten hours.
Chrome may not be perfect yet, but its launch has shown how huge it has the potential to be. The results are no doubt being celebrated by Google and will be eagerly followed by hungry bigmouths as the browser takes it's first steps in the big, bad world of the web.
