Google Chrome Browser

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Windows has been updated to 4.1.249.1030

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:42:00 +0000

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Windows has been updated to 4.1.249.1030.

This release fixes a few UI and installer issues:

Installer [37410]
UI [36879]

More details about additional changes are available in the svn log of all revision.

--Orit Mazor, Google Chrome Team

Google Chrome (Beta) 4.1.249.1030 Offline Windows Installer

View Maps and Get Directions in Google Chrome

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Every so often we all need to look at a map for reference purposes or to get directions. If you are looking for a great quick reference app then join us as we look at the Mini Google Maps extension for Google Chrome.

Mini Google Maps in Action

While this may look like a rather basic map extension there is more to it than meets the eye at first glance. Here is the default view when you open Mini Google Maps for the first time. Things that we really liked about this extension were:

Three different aerial views available (Map, Satellite, & Terrain)
Three different viewing sizes available (and the extension remembers your chosen size)
The ability to get directions in combination with a map

We decided to try each of the viewing sizes available…here you can see the “Medium Setting”. Notice that the scale stays the same but you get more territory included to view.

Then the “Large Setting”…which we infinitely preferred to the others. Once again look at the amount of territory included by default…very nice.

Switching over to the “Satellite View”…

Followed by the “Terrain View”.

For our first example we decided to peek at Vancouver, British Columbia. After zooming out a little bit we had a very nice looking map.

For the next test we asked for directions from Vancouver to Toronto. Both the directions and map turned out very well.

And just for fun we looked up Paris, France with the “Satellite View”.

Conclusion

If you find yourself needing to view a map or get directions often then the Mini Google Maps extension will be a very useful tool for you.

Links

Download the Mini Google Maps extension (Google Chrome Extensions)

Go Google Chrome, Because Every Millisecond Counts!

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:11:10 +0000

Google Chrome is a superior browser to any i’ve used in the past 10 years or so, simply based on its performance. Firefox is great, but i’m not interested in all the add-ons and such that slow a browser down.

What I’m interested in is performance. As i scower through the web with my many tabs open i want to be able to interact with them quickly as i cycle and rearrange tab by tab.

No other browser has yet given me the ability to browse the web the way Google Chrome has. Firefox doesn’t even come close when it comes down to the tiniest little details. Lets talk about those details, see if you agree with me?

1. Tab / Memory Management:

Chrome uses much less memory and system resources than many other browsers out there. This is because of the Multi-process Model built into Chrome.

Tabs in Chrome: are easy to drag and drop from screen to screen. You can pop any individual tab out of its parent browser window, rearrange the order and even pop it back. Sure Firefox and other browsers give you the same functionality, but Chromes experience is far more pleasurable and functional. Try opening up different tabs and playing around with them, then try Chrome tabs.
Closing Tabs: When i want close tabs i can right click and close all tabs in Chrome. That’s a normal option in pretty much any new age browser, however Chrome’s intuitive interface really understands the needs of the user. For example say i have 10 tabs open and i wanted to close them one by one starting from the right. In Chrome all i have to do is start with the last one on the right and the others move into place for me to cancel without having the user reposition the mouse cursor.
Multi Threaded Tabs: If one tab crashes it won’t affect the others. Google Chrome will allow you to close the tab that is causing problem and switching to other tabs is easy. This is achieved by the multi-threading as each tab has it’s own memory process.

2. Speed / Performance:

Boot Up: When you start chrome it loads up in about a second or two. I’m on a Windows XP, with about 3 GB ram and it’s start-up speed is just awesome! Far far better than Firefox’s or any of the other browsers out there.
Speed: Chrome renders pages much faster than any browser out there, which helps the user get to what he/she wants to read in the quickest amount of time, even with many other tabs open.
Extensions: Chrome extensions like Googles url shortener, Google Reader install without any fuss or having to restart the browser.

You know the engineers over at Google have tested other browsers and spotted their flaws. It’s easy to see that they have taken into consideration every little detail into their version of the best browser in the world.

After all every millisecond counts, don’t you think?

Google Chrome Extension chromeTouch, touchscreen and inertia scrolling

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:12:02 +0000

Just a short demonstration of a Google Chrome extension called chromeTouch. It enables touchscreen and inertia scrolling in Google Chrome, similar to that of the Grab and Drag extension from Firefox. You can find chromeTouch in the Google Chrome extension gallery

Chrome Corner: extensions to keep Google Chrome in sync on multiple computers

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:30:00 +0000

Since you last saw an edition of Chrome Corner, we've done some re-thinking about what it should be. Instead of trying to force together a weekly update when there's sometimes just not enough news to justify doing it, the Corner will now crop up whenever the crew at Download Squad has a nice haul of of Chrome-y goodness to post about.

Today's topic: syncing across multiple computers!

Google Chrome can sync your bookmarks, but what about all the other bits and pieces that you want available on all your machines? Passwords? Form data? Notes?

The Extension Gallery has plenty of awesome options that can help you keep all your Google Chrome installs marching in step -- read about eight useful ones after the break!

Passwords and form data: LastPass, RoboForm
Apart from not having the same set of bookmarks available on every machine I use, nothing irks me quite as much as having to recall and re-enter all my passwords manually. LastPass and RoboForm both handle the task admirably, and they have other benefits as well. LastPass, for example, includes a strong password generator which makes creating hard-to-crack passwords easy.

Both extensions can also auto-fill form data for you with your pre-entered information (name, address, phone number, etc.).

Tabs and Sessions: TabSync, FreshStart
FreshStart is a fantastic session manager and synchronizer (which I wrote about before), with the ability to restore sessions from machine to machine. It's also great at recovering from crashes. TabSync is more minimalistic in its approach. Set it up to auto-sync or press the button to do things manually, and your current window's tabs are locked in so you can restore them again later.

Notepad: Chrome Notes
Opera has a handy, built-in notepad that I've gotten quite used to on version 10.50. Chrome, of course, doesn't include one -- but Chrome Notes fills in nicely. It's very basic, but it'll let you keep

Text Snippets: ChromeCuts
Got some text you want within easy reach all the time like signatures, email addresses, or canned responses like 'That's what she said'? ChromeCuts is for you. Click the icon to drop down your menu of stored snippets and copy them to the clipboard with a click. Sync support is now built in: set your Cuts up on a single computer and then access them anywhere!

Bookmarks: Built in, XMarks, Chromelicious
This one, of course, Google has tucked into Chrome's utility belt. Built-in bookmark syncing is fast and reliable and it won't chew up the additional RAM an extension will.

If you already use another bookmarking service, however, an extension is the way to go. XMarks users can grab the official extension, while I recommend Delicious users grab Chromelicious -- it's much more fully-featured than the official version.

* * *
If you're a developer, the Chrome bsync class sure looks simple enough to utilize. Got an extension which uses it to sync data across machines? Share it with us in the comments, or email me -- lee(at)downloadsquad(dot)com!

Chrome Corner: extensions to keep Google Chrome in sync on multiple computers originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 22:30:00 EST.

Session Buddy is a killer session management extension for Google Chrome

admin — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Google Chrome has basic session recovery and can load a specific set of URLs upon launching, but it's nothing too exciting. If you're after a more powerful alternative, check out the Session Buddy extension.

Once installed, you can save and restore tabs and windows from previous browsing sessions. You can also remove specific tabs or windows prior to restoring -- just in case there are pages you don't need to reopen. By default, Session Buddy restores windows exactly the way you had them, but you can also choose to open everything in a single new window or in the currently active window.

You can also create new sessions by manually entering a list of URLs in Session Buddy's options screen. It's a handy way to set up windows and tabs for news reading forays, time wasting on your favorite LOL-worthy sites, or getting right down to business with your favorite web apps.

You're not just stuck with a list of timestamped sessions, either: Session Buddy lets you specify names for easy recall.

Clicking the "update snapshot" link quickly saves your current Chrome session, and you can also export (to plain text or CSV) and import sessions -- useful if you want to pick up where you left off on a different computer.

I'd love to see the developer plug Session Buddy into Chrome's sync framework as the Fresh Start extension does. With that added, Session Buddy would easily be among my top 5 Chrome extensions.

Session Buddy is a killer session management extension for Google Chrome originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 06 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST.

Google Chrome isn’t a Spy!

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:40:30 +0000

Google's Chrome browser has been heavy hit by people claiming it has serious privacy issues.

After an interesting discussion with people who are, “relevant to my interests”, the topic of Google Chrome soon came up. Most predictably what was mentioned was the privacy issues raised with it. As a believer in the open-source vetting process, I heavily disagree that Google could be doing anything subversive to our personal data.

To settle this argument in a non-subjective way I decided the best course of action would be an experiment. Essentially, what I wanted to test was the difference in packets between Google Chrome on first boot-up and search term “test123″ and a comparable browser with similar conditions. This way, we test Chrome against a vetted control browser. A few conditions before we get started:

Experimental Browser: Google Chrome Beta for Linux (Ubuntu Karmic 9.10 x64) with experience reporting disabled.
Control browser: Midori 0.2.3 (Ubuntu Karmic 9.10 x64), a WebKit browser licensed under a similar permissive license as Chrome.
Analysis Method: A tcpdump, sudo tcpdump -w testbrowser.pcap -s 1550 dst www.google.com, command and Wireshark analysis.
- This tcpdump commands monitors all traffic going to the Google domain (216.239.32.0 – 216.239.63.255)
- Wireshark was to make the dump look pretty.
Procedure: Start the dump, load up the browser and enter a search term to Google for “test123″. Stop the packet dump after this and monitor the results.

What I found:

The results actually surprised me in a very positive way. Not only did the two browsers communicate on exactly the same ports but Chrome also used around 60 less packets in the final dump. A cruel twist of irony that a third-party browser communicates with Google over 100% more than Chrome does. Anyway, without further hesitation, here is the dump from the different conditions.

The results from Google Chrome. The column on the left shows connection details (ports) and the column on the left shows packet contents.

The results from Midori. Note the extra packets. The column on the left shows connection details (ports) and the column on the left shows packet contents. The columns on the right after this is arbitary information.

Before I get flamed for a really subjective experiment, I would like to carry on the “armchair-science” theme: Why the hell would Google want to monitor everyone’s information anyway? Google, as a company, are openly liberal, against censorship and has only ever given information away about users when the law forced them to. Second of all, their mission is to pull all the information of the world into one place, not to control it or control people.

A little sense is a good thing.

Anyway, the tests I did convinced me Google isn’t eavesdropping and so does my basic common-sense. I hope anyone not using Chrome because of privacy issues really does reconsider their stance as the reality behind it is even more subjective than this crude experiment. Anyway, now that this little matter has been cleared up, have a good day!

Google Chrome Beta channel for Windows has been updated to 4.1.249.1025 including fixes for few UI and stability issues

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:09:00 +0000

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Windows has been updated to 4.1.249.1025. This release fixes a few UI and stability issues:

Cookie Manager [34886, 35589, 36310]
Translate infobar [36895, 36066]
Pref improvements [36929]

More details about additional changes are available in the svn log of all revision.

--Orit Mazor, Google Chrome Team

Google Chrome (Beta) 4.1.249.1025 Offline Windows Installer

Friday Fun: Play 3D Rally Racing in Google Chrome

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:00:00 +0000

Are you a racing fan in need of a short (or long) break from work? Then get ready to enjoy a mid-day speed boost with the 3D Rally Racing extension for Google Chrome.

3D Rally Racing in Action

This is the opening screen for 3D Rally Racing. You can start game play, view current best times, and read through the instructions from here.

The first thing that you should do is have a quick look at the instructions to help you get set up and started.

Click on “Play” to start the process. Before you can go further you will need to choose a “User Name”. Once you have done that click “Select Track”…

Note: The extension will retain your name for later use even if you close your browser.

When you first start out you will only have access to two tracks…the others require reaching a certain score/level to unlock them. Once you select a track you will be taken to the next screen.

After you have selected a track you will need to choose your car and car color. All that is left to do afterwards is click on “Go Race”.

Note: You will be competing against three other vehicles in the race.

Here is a look at the “Desert Race Track”…

And a look at the “Snow Race Track”. This game moves quickly and it is easy to fall behind if you are not careful!

You can have a lot of fun playing this game while you are waiting for the day to end.

Conclusion

If you love racing games and want a fun way to waste the rest of afternoon at work, then you should definitely give 3D Rally Racing a try.

Links

Download the 3d Rally Racing extension (Google Chrome Extensions)

Latest Google Chrome Dev Release Crashing on Offline Gmail [Annoyances]

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:00:00 +0000

Tipsters like theworldisasheep saw it, this editor confirmed it, and Google even mentioned it in their blog post, at the very end: the latest release of their Chrome browser often crashes when loading Gmail with Offline enabled. It will likely get fixed in a small new update coming soon, but in the meantime, if you're desperate to get back into Gmail without your browser dying, you can create a temporary bookmark to the no-labs version of Gmail. If you want a more surefire solution, head to your Options, switch to the "Under the Hood" tab, click "Gears Settings," and click the "Remove" link next to Gmail and Google-related items. You may lose your offline data for now, but you'll be able to re-synchronize it when two of Google's best products finish duking it out. [Google Code]

Google Chrome Becomes Location Aware

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:31:57 +0000

Google just launched the latest developer version of Chrome, which now includes preliminary support for Google's geolocation API. Google's Geolocation API allows developers to pinpoint your computer's location by looking at the WiFi networks around you,

similar to SkyHook's technology that is part of Apple's OSX and iPhone OS. For now, this new feature is still hidden behind a command line toggle and only available in the developer builds for Windows and OSX Leopard (it doesn't work on Snow Leopard yet).

To enable these built-in geolocation features, you have to run the browser with "--enable-geolocation." It's typical for Google to first hide these features behind a command line toggle before exposing them to a wider group of testers. The Chrome team also notes that the geolocation UI is still incomplete and that Chrome will forget the permissions you set.

Preparing for Chrome OS?

It makes sense for Google to enable geolocation for Chrome, especially given the impending release of the Chrome OS, which will also benefit from these new features. Mozilla already offers a built-in location API for Firefox and withGeosense for Windows, Windows 7 developers can now also make use of Google's Geolocation API in their native apps.

Location for Every Browser

Thanks to the current efforts by most browser developers, location APIs will soon become ubiquitous and hopefully more developers will make use of them. While a number of mobile apps for the iPhone, for example, now make use of the location feature in the mobile version of Safari, only a small number of browser-based apps are currently aware of your location. While using WiFi location isn't quite as precise as using a GPS, the precision is usually much better than relying on a user's IP address.

The Dev channel has been updated to 5.0.342.1 for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms and 5.0.342.0 ChromeFrame

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:46:00 +0000

The Dev channel has been updated to 5.0.342.1 for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms and 5.0.342.0 ChromeFrame

All

Extension content scripts no longer run multiple times after fragment (ie #hash) navigations (Issue:35924)
Early version of Geolocation API now available with following caveats:

To enable, run the browser with --enable-geolocation
Wifi based location is only supported on Windows and Mac (not OSX 10.6 for now)
Permissions are not persisted (will re-prompt every time) and associated UI is incomplete.

Mac

Improved plugin stability (Issue:35081,36928)
AutoFill Preferences UI Updates
Translate infobars are now implemented (Issue:34466)
Mac History menu now has favicons andno longer lists duplicates of Recently Closed sites
(Issues: 20464 and 21314)
Added HTML5 databases to the Mac cookie manager (Issue: 35191)

Chrome Frame

Fixed crashes and improved cookie behavior (Issues: 34687, 34687, 36985, 36510, 34151)

Known Issues

Linux
- Chrome crashes when setting prompt for cookies/data (Issue: 37426)
- The "Show details" link on cookie/data prompt doesn't work (Issue: 37428)

More details about additional changes are available in the svn log of all revisions.

You can find out about getting on the Dev channel here:http://dev.chromium.org/getting-involved/dev-channel.

If you find new issues, please let us know by filing a bug at http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/entry

Karen Grunberg

Google Chrome

How To Get Google Chrome OS

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:43:46 +0000

This video shows you two different ways for installing Chrome OS by Google without harming your current computer settings. The links below are used in the video:
Win32 Image Writer - https://launchpad.net/win32-image-writer/+download
ChromiumOS Cherry - http://chromeos.hexxeh.net/
VirtualBox - http://www.virtualbox.org

Google Chrome Developer Update: 3000 Extensions, Events on 4 Continents and More

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:37:00 +0000

This is the first issue of Google Chrome Update for Web Developers. In these regular updates, we'll inform you about new features enabled in Google Chrome and announce updates of Google Chrome related developer events. We will also be sharing samples and highlighting cool extensions and HTML5 apps written by the developer community.

What's New in Google Chrome?

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Mac and Linux has been updated to 5.0.307.7 and the extensions gallery now offers more than 3000 extensions for users to choose from.

For Google Chrome extensions, we've just released a couple of new experimental APIs, including a history API. Since these are experimental APIs, the extensions gallery won't allow you to upload extensions that use them. However, we'd like to encourage you to read the documentation, give it a try, and send us your feedback.

Last but not least, the new Google Chrome stable release has many new HTML and JavaScript APIs including WebSockets, Notifications, and Web SQL Database. We are interested to hear how you've been using these APIs. Please share with us the cool applications you are building.

Samples and Tutorials

We've been working on creating samples to help you implement certain functionality in your extensions. You may be interested in viewing the source code for extensions that:

Merge all of the open tabs into a single window.
Use OAuth to connect to web services.
Make cross-domain XMLHttpRequests from a content script.
Display page actions based on the current URL or the current page's content.

Upcoming Events

We are pleased to announce that we will host a series of Google Chrome developer events over the next month in the following cities (dates in local time):

Sydney, AU - Mar 5th
- Google Chrome Extensions Hackathon (sign up here)
Tokyo, Japan - Mar 11th
- DevFest Japan, Google Chrome extensions, HTML5
Austin, TX - Mar 14th - Mar 15th
- South by Southwest, advanced extensions and HTML5 101
London, UK - Mar 16th
- Meetup, HTML5 and Google Chrome extensions (sign up here)
Madrid, ES - Mar 18th
- Google Chrome hackathon @Universidad Complutense de Madrid (sign up here)

We also plan to hold events in Germany and will be announcing more information about those soon, so stay tuned!

Let Us Know What You Think

This is just the first post of the many Google Chrome developer updates, let us know what you would like to see in future updates and follow us on Twitter at @ChromiumDev.

Posted by Vivian Li, Developer Advocate

Google Chrome tip: fast, easy access to extension options screen

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:30:00 +0000

Not every extension in my Google Chrome browser action area (the chunk of space where all the buttons go) includes quick access to its options screen.

While it's certainly not all that difficult or time consuming to click through the wrench menu, then extensions, then click the options button next to whatever it is I want to configure, there's a more direct route.

Like many tasks in Windows, you can speed things up with a simple right-click.

Chrome has a built-in context menu (pictured above) which appears when you right click an extension button. As you can see, it's two-click fast to get to the Chromed Bird (or any other configurable extension) options this way!

Bonus: there's also a disable and uninstall option, making it a really fast way to get rid of those unimpressive extensions you test.

Google Chrome tip: fast, easy access to extension options screen originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST.

Automatic Translation in Google Chrome (BETA)

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:53:26 +0000

Automatic Translation in Google Chrome (BETA)
Instantly translate webpages into your language with Google Chrome. Get the latest Chrome beta at www.google.com

From: googlechrome
Views: 11714

38 ratings

Time: 01:31
More in Science & Technology

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browsers, Privacy and You

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:43:22 +0000

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browsers, Privacy and You
Learn about the features in Google Chrome that help protect your privacy. Download Google Chrome at www.google.com

From: googlechrome
Views: 10945

61 ratings

Time: 02:48
More in Science & Technology

Android-inspired theme for Google Chrome is pure robo-fun!

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Once the official extension gallery opened, it didn't take long for unofficial themes for Google Chrome to start appearing. The problem -- as with Firefox's Personas -- is that many of them are just plain awful.

Every now and then, however, a nicely done theme appears. If you're an Android fan using Google Chrome for your desktop web browsing, the Robot Theme has been crafted just for you! The Android mascot and printed circuit background is well done. The darks aren't too dark and the green doesn't punch you right in the face the way many green-heavy themes do.

Chrome's minimal interface doesn't give theme designers a lot of room to pull off something fun and interesting, but I'd say Roman Nurik has done just that with Robot.

Android-inspired theme for Google Chrome is pure robo-fun! originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST.

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browsing Safely

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:46:55 +0000

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browsing Safely
Ian Fette, Product Manager, explains Google Chrome's safebrowsing technology. Download Google Chrome at www.google.com

From: googlechrome
Views: 492

10 ratings

Time: 03:01
More in Science & Technology

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browsers Search and Suggestions

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:46:55 +0000

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browsers Search and Suggestions
Brian Rakowski, Product Manager, explains what happens when you search from the Google Chrome omnibox. Download Google Chrome at www.google.com

From: googlechrome
Views: 405

8 ratings

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browser Cookies

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:46:55 +0000

Google Chrome & Privacy - Browser Cookies
Jeff Chang, Product Manager, explains the cookie controls in Google Chrome. Download Google Chrome at www.google.com

From: googlechrome
Views: 631

15 ratings

Time: 01:46
More in Science & Technology

Google Chrome & Privacy - Keeping Browsers Updated

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:37:26 +0000

Google Chrome & Privacy - Keeping Browsers Updated
Ian Fette, Product Manager, explains Google Chrome's security updates. Download Google Chrome at www.google.com

From: googlechrome
Views: 513

13 ratings

Time: 00:57
More in Science & Technology

A polyglot Google Chrome beta, with new privacy features

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

[via Google Chrome Blog]

Whether you're catching up on your favorite Arabic gameshow, getting up to speed on the latest Korean mobile gadgetry, or researching the local perspective for a dream trip to Machu Picchu, we're all constantly reminded that the internet is an amazingly multilingual place. The Google Chrome team is excited to introduce a new beta feature to help our users navigate the multilingual web: instant machine translation of webpages, without the need for any browser extensions or plug-ins.

How does it work? When the language of the webpage you're viewing is different from your preferred language setting, Chrome will display a prompt asking if you'd like the page to be translated for you using Google Translate.

Here's a demo of the translation feature by Jay Civelli, one of the engineers who developed it:

For more on how automatic translation in Chrome works, read on in our Help Center article. We hope that the development of online translation tools like this one will help make all the world's information universally accessible in an easy, frictionless way – imagine reading a diversity of foreign language news sources in your mother tongue, or easily conducting online commerce across borders and languages.

With today's beta release, we're also excited to introduce new features that will give you even greater choice and control over your privacy as you browse the web. We realize that many users have questions about privacy in browsers, so we've produced a short video to help users better understand privacy in the browser:

In addition to Chrome's existing incognito mode – a handy way to browse the web without leaving traces of website visits on your computer or downloads in your browser history – you can now manage your privacy settings in the new "Privacy" section of Chrome's Options dialog. From these settings, you can control how browser cookies, images, JavaScript, plug-ins, and pop-ups are handled on a site-by-site basis. For example, you can set up cookie rules to allow cookies specifically only for sites that you trust, and block cookies from untrusted sites.

You can read more about these features, or watch videos explaining how your privacy is handled in Chrome's various features including search and suggestions, browser cookies, Safe Browsing technology, and automatic security updates.

Try out all these new features for yourself in today's beta release. For those of you already on the beta channel, you'll soon be updated automatically. And for those of you on the stable channel, we'll be making Chrome's new translation and privacy features available to you in the coming weeks. Till our next update, auf Wiedersehen!

Posted by Wieland Holfelder, Engineering Director, Google Munich

Windows Beta Update: Translate and content controls

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:54:00 +0000

The Windows Beta channel for Google Chrome has been updated to 4.1.249.1021. This update has some new features that we wanted you to be able to try before Chrome 5 is ready, so we created Chrome 4.1.

The new features are

Automatic translation of web pages
More content settings to let you control whether web sites can store cookies, load images, use plug-ins, run JavaScript or show pop-ups. You can find these new settings in under Options > Under the hood > Privacy.

The changes in Google Chrome 4.1 Beta are explained in more detail on the Google Chrome Blog.

Orit Mazor

Google Chrome Program Manager

Google Chrome (Beta) 4.1.249.1021 Offline Windows Installer

Experimental Extension APIs

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:27:00 +0000

You might have already noticed this, but we now have some APIs that we’re referring to as experimental. The idea is that we can add new APIs to the platform that may not be ready for prime time. This allows you to play with these APIs and give us feedback before they’re final, which in turn helps us get them out to everybody more quickly.

Our first two experimental APIs — chrome.experimental.history and chrome.experimental.processes — are available on the dev channel. The history API lets you query and modify the user’s browsing history. When it’s finalized, we’ll also allow you to replace the history page with your own, just like you can replace the new tab page today. The processes API allows access to information about Google Chrome’s process model, including process IDs and the CPU usage of individual tabs. The processes API is incomplete, but you can see upcoming features in its design doc.

These APIs have a few major limitations. First, to use an experimental API you must add a command-line flag when you start Google Chrome (--enable-experimental-extension-apis). Second, you can’t upload extensions that use experimental APIs to the Google Chrome Extensions Gallery. Finally, these APIs will change in incompatible ways, so the code that you write today isn’t guaranteed to work tomorrow.

What this really means is that these APIs are only useful for you to play with. You won’t be able to share extensions that use these APIs with a lot of people. However, we’d really like you to try them out and give us feedback. Doing so will help us release the APIs more quickly and make sure they do everything you need. Playing with the experimental APIs is also a way for you to get experience with them before most other developers.

We expect to add more experimental APIs over time, so keep an eye out for future announcements.

Posted by Erik Kay, Software Engineer

URL Shortening/Expanding Extensions for Google Chrome

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:02:35 +0000

URL stands for abbreviation of Uniform Resource Locator which is the global address of web pages, documents or other services. It consists of two main parts: one is protocol identifier and second is document address in from of domain name or IP. They are separated by a colon “:” and two forward slashes “//”. URL needs to be unique which may result in a longer URL as the World Wide Web is growing at an exponential scale. Also there is a tendency to pass descriptive attributes in the URL to forward different kinds of information. This may result in awful situation where URL looks ugly and can’t fit in Human Memory.

The solution produced to tackle the problem is URL Shortening which takes long URL addresses as input and outputs a unique and short URL. This short URL actually redirects you to the original web page. The URL shortening services became even more constructive with the popularity of micro blogging service known as Twitter which imposes a limit on maximum messages in a character. bit.ly is by far the most popular URL shortening service. The convenience of URL shortening services has pushed Google to launch goo.gl and youtube.be while Facebook to start fb.me.

It solely depends upon you which one you prefer for URL shortening. During web browsing on Google Chrome, you may need to shorten URLs quite often. Instead of moving to service’s webpage, you can use following extensions in Google Chrome for time saving.

ChromeMUSE
This extension serves the both purposes.

Shortening long URLs
Expanding short URLs

It supports many popular URL shortening services. By default, goo.gl is enabled which can be configured from extension’s options. A favicon appears at the end of address bar. A click on the icon will short the URL according to preferences. This short URL is automatically placed in clipboard and can be pasted anywhere. The notable URL shortening services which can be chosen are bit.ly, is.gd, and TinyURL.

If you browse to a web page where shortened URLs are present, this extension will involuntarily expand the URLs. The titles and destination are shown when you move mouse cursor over the short URL.

You can configure ChromeMUSE to show a list of desired URL shortening services when you click the icon. Besides, the extension can be set to replace the short URL with actual URL after expansion.

URLShortener
This is another extension which allows URL shortening along with support to post on Twitter directly. It means that it is a kind of mini twitter client for Google Chrome. You can use popular URL shortening services like bit.ly, goo.gl, tinyURL, and is.gd. The services can be selected from extension’s options. If you want to link it with Twitter, the credentials have to be provided in options.

Untiny
If you are only interested in expansion of short URL to avoid any harmful effect like Phishing then this extension is for you. You need paste the short URL in the extension input box then the URL will expanded and will show you the destined web page.

If you are happy with only one popular URL shortening services then you can stick with Bit.ly or goo.gl URL Shortener extensions. The decision is up to you which extension meets your needs in Google Chrome although I prefer ChromeMUSE.

Google Mail Checker Plus extension for Google Chrome adds desktop notifications

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:30:00 +0000

If you don't need notifications for every Google services under the sun (as provided by One Number) and you're just looking for a solid GMail notifier for Google Chrome, have a look at the Google Mail Checker Plus extension.

I haven't encountered many Chrome extensions which utilize the desktop notification functionality, but what better place to put it to good use than a mail checker? Install GMC+, wait patiently for new messages to arrive, and you'll get slide-up notifications whenever a new message arrives in your inbox.

GMC+ also includes a long list of customizations via its options menu including audio alerts, ten different icon sets, and more languages than you can shake a stick at. Google apps accounts are also supported.

It's well worth adding to your Google Chrome install if you're a GMail user.

Google Mail Checker Plus extension for Google Chrome adds desktop notifications originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:30:00 EST.

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Mac/Linux has been updated to 5.0.307.11: fix package dependencies

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:03:00 +0000

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Mac and Linux has been updated to 5.0.307.11 to fix a few more issues:

[Linux] Fixed the dependency problem that caused extra packages to get pulled in for installing Google Chrome. (Issue 35639)
[Mac, Linux] Fixed an issue where an error resolving a proxy server would not try a direct connection. (Issue 32316)
[Mac, Linux] Fixed an extensions bug that could crash the entire browser. (Issue 34778)
[Mac, Linux] Fixed an issue in the cross-site scripting auditor that could prevent Google translate from working on sites. (Issue 33115)

--Mark Larson, Google Chrome Team

The Dev channel has been updated to 5.0.336.0 for Google Chrome Frame

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:03:00 +0000

The Dev channel has been updated to 5.0.336.0 for Google Chrome Frame

[r38145] Add support for the IE File->Save As command. (Issue: 24039)
[r38962] Fixed an IE7 crash caused when ChromeFrame would pass keystrokes to be processed as accelerators. (Issue: 35355)
[r39208] Add support for accelerators like BackSpace, Shift+Backspace to navigate back or forward. (Issue: 35629)

More details about additional changes are available in the svn log of all revision.

You can find out about getting on the Dev channel here: http://dev.chromium.org/getting-involved/dev-channel.

If you find new issues, please let us know by filing a bug at http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/entry

Anthony Laforge

Google Chrome

Add Google Dictionary Power to Chrome

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:00:00 +0000

Would you like a “built-in” same tab dictionary reference function in Google Chrome? Today we look at the Google Dictionary extension which easily allows you to find word definitions from your browser.

Installation & Setup

You will need to confirm the installation while adding the extension to Chrome…click “Install” to complete the process.

Once the installation process has finished you will see a new “Address Bar Icon”, a quick message explaining how the extension works, and how to manage your extensions.

There are three methods for accessing the options for the extension. The first is using the “Chrome Extensions Page”…

And the second is right clicking on the “Address Bar Icon. Please keep in mind that in certain instances the “Address Bar Icon” will not be visible (i.e. Speed Dial, Chrome’s special pages for extensions, etc.). The third is in the “Address Bar Icon” drop-down window itself (shown below).

These are the options for Google Dictionary. Choose the desired dictionary language, how popup definitions are (or are not) activated, and if you would like to use the “Address Bar Icon” or not.

These are the available dictionary languages…

Google Dictionary in Action

When you are on a page where Google Dictionary can be used this is what the drop-down window for the “Address Bar Icon” looks like. Notice the third way to access the options for the extension in the lower part of the drop-down window…

For our example we left the default setting for popup definitions unchanged. We chose a word, double clicked on it (auto-highlights the word), and the popup definition immediately displayed. If you are wanting more than what is shown in the popup click on the “More >> Link” in the lower right corner.

Clicking on “More >>” will open a new tab with additional information such as additional definitions and synonyms. If you are really interested in learning more about a particular word then this will definitely provide the best viewing venue.

Remember how the word “auto-highlighted” when we double clicked on it? The word will be automatically pasted into the drop-down window’s text field and you can view expanded information in this manner (if you prefer to avoid opening a new tab).

If you were curious you can view both the popup definition and use the drop-down window at the same time for a quick look at additional information (if needed).

Conclusion

The Google Dictionary extension is an extremely useful and efficient way to find reference information for words while browsing. If you are always looking for definitions then you might want to add this extension to your browser.

Links

Download the Google Dictionary extension (Google Chrome Extensions)

Google Chrome Browser

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Windows has been updated to 4.1.249.1030

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2. Speed / Performance:

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​Experimental Extension APIs

URL Shortening/Expanding Extensions for Google Chrome

Google Mail Checker Plus extension for Google Chrome adds desktop notifications

The Google Chrome Beta channel for Mac/Linux has been updated to 5.0.307.11: fix package dependencies

The Dev channel has been updated to 5.0.336.0 for Google Chrome Frame

Add Google Dictionary Power to Chrome

Experimental Extension APIs