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Chrome gets Mac deadline, extensions foundation

Showing signs that it's working to meet requests for new developments to its Chrome browser, Google on Friday said it hopes to release versions for Mac OS X and Linux by the first half of the year, and it released a new version Wednesday that paves the way for the most requested feature: extensions.

Google has high hopes for Chrome--in particular, the Internet giant wants better performance, so browsing the Web is faster and Web-based applications are more powerful. Now Google is filling in some missing pieces Chrome needs in order to attain wider usage.

Brian Rakowski, Chrome's … Read more

Google maps out Chrome's RSS support

My biggest day-to-day gripe about Chrome is its missing support for automatic discovery of Web pages that offer RSS or other subscription services. But Google now has published a document detailing how it plans to address that weakness, though.

"We will autodetect RSS and Atom feeds using the standard autodiscovery tags," according to the developer document about Chrome support for RSS and Atom, a similar technology for letting people sign up for update "feeds" such as new blog postings. "When a feed is available for a page, we will display an RSS icon in the … Read more

Chrome developer version bashes Street View bug

Google on Wednesday night released the new version 0.4.154.31 of its Chrome browser to bash a bug that bit me by blackening the new big-screen version of Street View.

Indeed, I no longer get the problem. Now if the company could get its Google Earth browser plug-in to work with Chrome, it would look more like Google's right hand is cooperating with its left hand.

According to Chrome Program Manager Mark Larson, the new version also fixes "trackpad scrolling on more laptops (and the) Sogou Pinyin Chinese input method editor skipping the first letter typed.&… Read more

Google reveals Chrome extensions plan

Google has published its plan to build into Chrome what is arguably its most requested feature: the ability to accept extensions that can customize how the open-source Web browser operates.

And guess what? Google's dependence on advertising notwithstanding, one of the extension examples the company points to is the ability to block advertisements.

The Chrome extensions document, spotlighted Saturday by Google programmer Aaron Boodman, doesn't include a timeline, but it does shed light on why the project is a priority for Chromium, the open-source project behind Chrome.

"Chromium can't be everything to all people," according … Read more

IE8 coming in 2009, but will it be late to the Firefox party?

CNET's Ina Fried reports that Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 won't surface until 2009. With a release candidate not scheduled until the first quarter of 2009, the final release won't hit until the second (or possibly even the third) quarter. Microsoft released a beta of IE8 back in March 2008. Roughly a year later, we should see the full release in action.

By that time, will anyone care?

Yes, Microsoft continues to dominate the browser market with 71.3 percent market share, according to Net Applications, so, the majority of Internet users will continue to use IE. But … Read more

Bookmark management comes to Google Chrome

Google has released a new developer-oriented version of Chrome that brings better bookmark management to the Web browser.

People could import bookmarks to the earlier versions of the browser, but version 0.4.154.18 adds the a bookmark manager. "You can search bookmarks, create folders, and drag and drop bookmarks to new locations," said Chrome Program Manager Mark Larson in an e-mail announcement.

It's a developer release, so only those who've subscribed to the Chrome developer channel will get the new version.

Another change comes to the browser's pop-up blocker. Previously, it "just … Read more

Third Chrome beta due in days, Google says

Updated 2 p.m. PDT to clarify details about indexing secure pages.

Google will soon begin distributing a third beta version of its Chrome Web browser, a release that takes on bugs, performance, and security weaknesses.

"You will automatically get updated in the next few days," Chrome program manager Mark Larson said in a mailing list post Wednesday night announcing the new version. People can check if a new version is available by clicking the wrench menu and selecting "About Google Chrome."

On the security front, Google Chrome version 0.3.154.9 stomps a security … Read more

Google update stomps Chrome browser bugs

Google released a developer-oriented update to its Chrome Web browser on Wednesday that fixes some crashes and video playback issues.

Chrome is still in beta testing, and for those who have an even higher tolerance for rough-around-the-edges software, Google also offers developer versions. Chrome 0.3.154.3 is the latter; see our earlier post on how to subscribe to the Chrome Dev channel.

"Release 154.0 (the most recent publicly released Chrome developer build) had a few browser crashes, including a crash on startup on tablet PCs running Windows Vista. We fixed the new crashes, and 154.3 … Read more