As everyone on planet Earth is aware by now, Google released a Web browser two days ago, called Google Chrome. It’s open source and based on Webkit (the same thing Apple’s Safari is based on), but right now only runs on Windows. Chrome adds a few under-the-hood enhancements that the tech-savvy will appreciate—it’s a multi-process browser, which means that if your YouTube window crashes, the whole browser won’t crash, just that window. It doesn’t look half-bad, either, and has the whole “Google” esthetic going for it.

But is it worth switching out of your Firefox or Internet Explorer habit for?

Well, if you use a Mac (or Linux), then no, it’s not, simply because you can’t use it. For whatever reason, Google saw fit to only release a Windows version for now. Yeah, Mac and Linux versions are coming, but you’ll have to wait a little bit longer.

Windows folks have an actual choice on their hands. Those of you with a totally tricked out Firefox, with extensions and themes and so on, you’ll probably want to skip it. Google Chrome is very much a bare bones browser, its minimalist stylings very much jarring at first use. It blocks pop-ups and everything, but many of the functions carried out by Firefox extensions aren’t replicated in Chrome.

No one should be using Internet Explorer if they don’t have to.

The technical benefits are there, but probably not something you’ll notice right away. Google wrote its own Javascript engine of sorts, so Web sites that use a lot of Javascript (not coincidentally including Gmail, and the new Facebook) will perform really, really well. If you’re not the type of person who even notices that type of thing, you can probably skip Chrome pretty safely.

Keep in mind, the browser is still in beta, so there’s bound to be some bugs. (We haven’t run into any just yet, knock on wood.) So if you don’t like the idea of using “experimental” software, again, you can safely steer clear.

It comes down to this: if you use Windows and aren’t too particular about your Web browsing, you might want to think about switching. With Google’s resources, Chrome should mature into an excellent browser rather quickly.

Google’s plans for world domination vis-a-vis the browser are a discussion for another day.