Google Presents “20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web”

The people behind Google’s Chrome browser have just “published” 20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web, a browser-based e-book that explains how the web works, from cloud computing and DNS to web browsers and HTML, and also outlines methods for maintaining your safety and privacy while browsing online.

“20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web” is a short guide for anyone who’s curious about the basics of browsers and the web. Here’s what you’ll find here:

First we’ll look at the Internet, the very backbone that allows the web to exist. We’ll also take a look at how the web is used today, through cloud computing and web apps.

Then, we’ll introduce the building blocks of web pages like HTML and JavaScript, and review how their invention and evolution have changed the websites you visit every day. We’ll also take a look at the modern browser and how it helps users browse the web more safely and securely.

Finally, we’ll look ahead to the exciting innovations in browsers and web technologies that we believe will give us all even faster and more immersive online experiences in the future.

The book is quite enjoyable to read, even if you’re not a technically minded person: it’s written in very clear, concise, and conversational language, and it’s dressed up with some delightful illustrations from Christoph Niemann. And if you’re using a modern web browser, such as Firefox 4 or the latest version of Chrome or Safari, the actual experience of interacting with it is quite enjoyable as well. (If you’re feeling particularly geeky, John Gruber delves into some of its more technical aspects.)

I love seeing stuff like this come out of Google. Over the years, they’ve developed a pretty spartan, minimal design aesthetic (for completely understandable reasons), so it’s awfully nice when they break out of that box like they do here. (Another example would be the comic they created to announce their Chrome browser.)