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Your second point is such a lost gem of history. I still remember it well and remember how upset it made me. But it seems the world has forgotten, and just assumes that Chrome just meteorically shot up in usage just on its merit.

Did you just update Java? Looks like a new browser you've never used is your default now.

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Just like you've seem to have forgotten just how much lighter and faster Chrome was that people took to preferring it without looking at Java installers.

It had to compete against the default interenet icon on both major operating systems and the OSes themselves were marketing themselves loudly as well.

Neither of those things would necessarily keep users using Chrome, however.

Once exposed to it, many people chose to continue using Chrome because Chrome offered a better experience than browsers like Firefox and IE did at the time.

Early on, Chrome felt faster and sleeker than its competitors, without sacrificing functionality.

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