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Google Chrome Is Out of Beta

BitZtream writes "This morning Google announced that Chrome is out of Beta, and showing improvements for plugin support, most notably video speed improvements. It also contains an updated javascript engine, claiming that it operates 1.4 times faster than the beta version, and work has begun on an extensions platform to allow easier integration with the browser by third parties."

24 of 444 comments (clear)

  1. Addons by kinocho · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am sorry, I can not conceive the internet any more without add-block...

    1. Re:Addons by LingNoi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Great, however "going to" isn't "already support".

    2. Re:Addons by windsurfer619 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Please stop telling everyone about it! I want slashdot to remain free.

    3. Re:Addons by fyleow · · Score: 4, Insightful

      My experience is the opposite. I discovered adblock and never looked back at Privoxy. The user friendliness differences are just staggering. Adblock is a one click install affair while you have to edit text based configuration files for Privoxy.

    4. Re:Addons by trawg · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Weird, why was this moderated Funny?

      I assume all you guys that run AdBlock realise that ads keep these websites free. I'm happy to absorb a few ads in the interests of getting free content.

      Yes, sometimes they slow page loads, yes, sometimes they're annoying, but they keep sites free.

  2. OEM deals by javacowboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sure Google is trying to work out deals with OEM's to bundle Chrome on Windows PC's. Obviously, they can't do this while the browser still carries the "beta" tag, which is akin to a scarlet letter.

    It's interesting they chose to drop out of "beta" before they implemented one of their supposed top features, namely, cross-platform compatibility.

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  3. Re:Credit where credit is due by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We are also developing an extensions platform along with support for Mac and Linux.

    Bingo. When it reaches the functionality of Firefox I'll be the first to get it. It will give FireFox a run for its money.

  4. Neat - Mac OS X ? Linux? by HaloZero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Call me when I can get it in .dmg format, or just sudo apt-get install GoogleChrome

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  5. Don't forget the WebKit team by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The WebKit team and anyone who ever contributed to it should also get praise. Without it Chrome would never have seen the light of day. Google Chrome is essentially Google's chrome around the rendering engine and any tweaks they provided to WebKit.

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    1. Re:Don't forget the WebKit team by chrysalis · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Before anyone else, thanks to the KDE team. It looks like Apple and Google names shadow the developpers behind KHTML, but WebKit would probably never have existed as it is now without KHTML.

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    2. Re:Don't forget the WebKit team by onefriedrice · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nobody said WebKit should get all the praise...

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  6. No Linux support? by IGnatius+T+Foobar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sorry Google, but if you're looking to finish what Netscape started -- namely, making the Internet an application delivery platform that does an end-run around Microsoft's monopoly -- you had damn well better make Linux, Macintosh, and appliance-embeddable versions available before you remove the "beta" label.

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  7. Re:just what we need by Anthony_Cargile · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I still don't understand why Google and Sun are offering the same software under different names. Google is backing the Mozilla Foundation while supporting their own Chrome (read: they didn't write Firefox, just back it), and Sun is distributing both OpenOffice and StarOffice. Can somebody please tell me why and how companies can do this?

    I would have expected somebody to stand up at a meeting and go "Hey, lets merge the products and save money!" at some point, especially in this growing economic hole (didn't Sun just do a huge layoff, too?)

  8. Meanwhile Gmail is still in beta by genner · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Someone had to say it.

  9. Re:What Chrome still needs by ducomputergeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm sure that someone will make a plug-in to block the advertising, but considering that Google is an advertising company that sells web ads as their life blood, I can't see them offering ad-blocking in their own product out of the box. Unless it blocks all ads save for the ones from Google.

    It isn't going to replace Opera on my desktop anytime soon, but then again, they'd have to release versions for Mac, Linux, and FreeBSD for it even to run on any of my desktops.

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  10. Re:Attn: Network admins Security issue by rtfa-troll · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If your security policy relies on users not being able to install software but the users can install software, you have a problem; not Google.

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  11. Re:just what we need by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Then let me explain: GM is one company, but releases two virtually identical yet differently-branded trucks with similar names. For example, the Chevy Silverado 1500 and the GMC Sierra 1500.

    But, as your parent stated, that is very redundant and dosen't make much sense, especially as the companies are clearly suffering(Sun's layoffs vs. GM's bailout).

  12. Re:Attn: Network admins Security issue by BitZtream · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, you mean, it was written properly and doesn't require admin rights. So assuming you've properly configured your PC and network this software is not a major threat since it never needs to elevate itself to admin status. It can still damage files and network resources your user has access to, but thats generally far less damaging than taking over the entire PC and effective any user that logs into it or any network resource it has access to.

    Your comment is extremely ignorant and indicates that you have no clue about being a network or systems admin. You can run firefox on any windows machine that has a writable directory on it, same for almost all properly written software. Good luck running a windows PC without a writable directory some where, you'll break to many legitimate apps.

    So if your idea of 'security' is because the 'installer' doesnt write to any other directory than the 'program files' directory, then you have no security at all. What do you do about the people who install software on their own PC at home then just copy the files to a USB drive, bring it to your network and copy those files to the %TEMP% directory, or their %USERPROFILE% or %APPDATA% directories, all of which you will typically have write access to?

    Google isn't going to 'fix' this 'issue' because the 'issue' is with the person who thinks a flaw, no amount of complaining to anyone is going to help you, all the people you would be complaining to have about a billtion times more of a clue than you do about the 'issue'.

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  13. Re:just what we need by glittalogik · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Vauxhall Astra
    Opel Astra
    Chevy Astra
    Saturn Astra
    Holden Astra

    QED

  14. Re:Out of beta? by Khuffie · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I read somewhere a reasoning for this: that google wants OEMs to bundle Chrome with their browser, and OEMs don't want to bundle software marked as 'beta', hence, magically, Chrome comes out of beta!

  15. Re:just what we need by markkezner · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They never planned to make money directly from the browser, or to dominate the browser market.

    They use it as a vehicle to implement web standards, under a license that allows any other browsers to adopt the improvements. Thus the web improves, which directly benefits Google (as well as others)

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  16. Re:Credit where credit is due by Vectronic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "That must be why I keep killing that friggin process"

    Indeed, im generally "ok" with an application that has some background nonsense I have to kill, but "GoogleUpdate.exe" refuses to go away until you delete the damn thing, there seems to be no way of disabling it via Chrome itself.

    Pointless comment, but for me its a major reason why I don't use it, the only thing I give them credit for about it, is not naming it some obfuscated nonsense like guu.exe

  17. Re:Credit where credit is due by spyrochaete · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have a few browsers installed for when I need a secondary browser for whatever reason, but thanks to the persistence of GoogleUpdate.exe I uninstalled Chrome a long time ago. Can't the browser update when it's running? Well, of course it can, but Google published Chrome to increase its overall face time with its customers so that's why they'll cram as much down our throats as possible.

  18. Re:just what we need by Alpha830RulZ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Think about the Monty Hall paradox. It's a loose comparison, but work with me. If your customers are just comparing between Ford and Chevy, and your products are equal, you get 50% of the market, all things equal. If you introduce a new brand, let's call it GMC, some of the customers who might have chosen Ford might choose GMC. Since all you have to change is the 1 dollar name plate, it's a good deal.

    This is how GM has run their business for 75 years.

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