Google has continued to experiment with the http:// prefix in the latest developer build of Chrome, as the company looks to simplify the browser.
The http:// prefix typically appears before web addresses in the browser's address bar and indicates the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. However, as Google explains, most people aren't even aware of the alternative File Transfer Protocol, making the information somewhat redundant.
To that end, Google hid http:// in the previous developer build of Chrome. Unfortunately, this meant that when people copied a web address from their address bar and posted it elsewhere - say Tweetdeck - they were greeted with a broken link.
Google has rectified that in developer build 5.0.396.0, which again hides http://, but appears when users copy the link.
While the change may seem minor it swiftly provoked a storm of debate on the forums, with commentators split down the middle on the usefulness of http:// - an argument succinctly summed up by Jonas N.
"I love how passionate we're about that change," he said. "It's the minimalists against the perfectionists, pitted in an epic comment battle on the internet."
If that's the case, the minimalists have an ally in Sir Tim Berners-Lee, widely considered the father of the internet, who admitted the // was "a mistake".
