Today, Google released Google Chrome Frame, a plugin for Windows XP / Vista users to take advantage of richer javascript experiences. After installing a the plugin, you can specify a separate meta tag on your website, so users with the plugin installed can indentify themselves, and take advantage of the functionality.

I haven’t given Chrome Frame codes a go yet, but as much as I am excited about the possiblity of the new functionality, I also know in the back of my mind how long I’d have to wait for advanced web technologies like this to reach even 1% of a website’s audience (that especially if you are expecting a non tech savvy audience).

Back in 2005, Seth Godin posted about “stats that cannot be true“, and he mentions that its “inconceivable to me that 40% of the audience knows how to use their browser to erase their cookies.”

And what he says is true today, 4 years down the road.

Today, I see people in Singapore (a country with one of the highest Internet Penetration Rates in the world), still using Internet Explorer 6, Windows 98/95, and not knowing the difference between Microsoft Windows (the OS) and Microsoft Office (the applications suite).

So much for advanced web technologies.