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Google Releases Chrome V2.0

RadiusK writes "Google has released the second major version of the Chrome browser. This version features more speed improvements thanks to a newer version of V8 JavaScript engine and WebKit. JavaScript-heavy web pages will now run about 30% faster. Other new features include form autofill, fullscreen mode, and improved New Tab page. If you're already using Google Chrome, you'll be automatically updated with these new features soon. If you haven't downloaded Google Chrome, you can get the latest version at google.com/chrome." A version for Linux or OS X would be nice.

92 of 381 comments (clear)

  1. AdBlock Plus by MrMista_B · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does it have AdBlock Plus?

    As soon as it does, I'm ditching Firefox.

    1. Re:AdBlock Plus by Laxori666 · · Score: 5, Informative

      just get privoxy. works with anything! http://www.privoxy.org/ .

    2. Re:AdBlock Plus by EggyToast · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Agreed, although this is one reason why Firefox will likely still have a life -- it's unaffiliated with a company that makes money through advertising. Why would Google support a browser add-on that allows you to block their main revenue source?

    3. Re:AdBlock Plus by chrysalis · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Chromium is opensource.

      Fork your git branch
      Rewrite AdBlock plus for Chromium ...
      ??? ...
      Profit !

      --
      {{.sig}}
    4. Re:AdBlock Plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Fork your git branch

      Please watch your language.

    5. Re:AdBlock Plus by Goaway · · Score: 5, Informative

      They specifically listed AdBlock as one of the things they wanted to support through their extension API, which is still in development.

    6. Re:AdBlock Plus by swilver · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not ditching it before it also has NoScript. I seriously couldn't care less about JavaScript performance, I donot want applications in my browser.

    7. Re:AdBlock Plus by bruno.fatia · · Score: 2, Informative

      Not AdBlock Plus but close, its a user script called adsweep (from adsweep.org). It blocks some of the most common advertisement. Chrome is looking pretty good on my system right now, better than Firefox actually.

    8. Re:AdBlock Plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's been done: SRWare Iron.

    9. Re:AdBlock Plus by ghetto2ivy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      it's unaffiliated with a company that makes money through advertising

      You do know Google is the biggest sponsor of the Mozilla foundation?

    10. Re:AdBlock Plus by Photo_Nut · · Score: 5, Informative

      Go check out AdSweep. It works just fine in Chrome. Maybe it's not AdBlock plus, but it works in Chrome without much too fuss.
      http://www.adsweep.org/

    11. Re:AdBlock Plus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Except that Privoxy has occasionally murdered my girlfriend's ability to visit some sites on no basis at all. Multiple 403 errors and general page load failures. It's a nice concept, but it really does have its problems since it runs between the network connection and whatever is using it.

    12. Re:AdBlock Plus by sootman · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Gah. People who ask "does it work with AdBlock?" in every single thread about any browser other than Firefox (and asking rhetorically, rather than doing two seconds of research and posting an honest "Hey, I checked, and it doesn't work with AdBlock") are getting to be just like area men who constantly mention that they don't own televisions.

      Area resident Jonathan Green does not own a television, a fact he repeatedly points out to friends, family, and coworkers... According to Melinda Elkins, a coworker of Green's at The Frame Job, a Chapel Hill picture-frame shop, Green steers the conversation toward television whenever possible, just so he can mention not owning one.
       
      Elkins said Green always makes sure to read the copies of Entertainment Weekly and People lying around the shop's break room, "just so he can point out all the stars and shows he's never heard of."
       
      "Last week, in one of the magazines, there was a picture of Calista Flockhart," Elkins said, "and Jonathan announced, 'I have absolutely no idea who this woman is. Calista who? Am I supposed to have heard of her? I'm sorry, but I haven't.'"

      FFS, AdBlock is not the only solution to annoying ads. I spend 99% of my time in Safari on OS X because I like it a whole lot more than Firefox (for various reasons I won't bother going into here) and the combination of a custom /etc/hosts file and a flash blocker (can't find it right now... one was released, then discontinued, and now there's another, I forget the name, but I've got it at home; only works in 10.5; there seem to be several non-free solutions) make the Web pretty tolerable. (Plus that particular /etc/hosts file blocks many spyware and malware sites, so it's great to have on Windows--security in layers, and all that--and it works for all browsers on the system, with no additional configuration needed at all .)

      That said, as excited as I was when Chrome came out, the fact that Safari got pretty good, pretty fast (version 4) makes me not even worry that Chrome may never make it to the Mac. Every once in a while, competition really works. :-)

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    13. Re:AdBlock Plus by garphik · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I don't think Chrome will have Adblock+ ever.

      That would mean killing its own business. Thats probably the reason for creating the browser in the first place since firefox was harming its Advertising business with image block and ad block. The improvements on speed are remarkable though, but its not good enough to quit ad block :)

    14. Re:AdBlock Plus by dword · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You do know they are slowly backing off and Mozilla is looking strangely at Google?

    15. Re:AdBlock Plus by temcat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I used Firefox 3 (with AdBlock Plus) but recently switched to Chrome 2.0 when it still was in beta. And then I realized that ads don't bother me anymore, now that my browser is SO fast. I've been running Chrome 2.0 for a couple of weeks - not a single hiccup since!

    16. Re:AdBlock Plus by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Privoxy is GPL and opensource.

      If you're feeling paranoid, and can read C, please feel free to peer-review the code.

      Here, I'll make it easy for you. http://sourceforge.net/projects/ijbswa

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    17. Re:AdBlock Plus by brunes69 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And I never trust anyone who is a big enough tool to write comments on something without even looking into what it is.

      You run privoxy on your own local machine. No packets are being inspected by anyone.

    18. Re:AdBlock Plus by Lord+Ender · · Score: 2, Informative

      Swilver wants to use NoScript to remove javascript from his web pages. 1998 was an era when javascript was only used for "stupid browser tricks", as opposed to today, when javascript is essential to the functionality of a large percentage of web resources. He's living in the past.

      --
      A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
  2. Windows Only by imamac · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A version for Linux or OS X would be nice.

    This is incredibly sad. How hard can it be with their resources to include Mac and Linux?

    1. Re:Windows Only by Goaway · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It takes time to develop software. It doesn't matter what resource you have, beyond a certain point, it still takes lots of time.

      And they are working on both, you know. They're open-source. You can go look at them. You can go help out - isn't that what open source advocates tell you to do every time you complain about an open source app?

    2. Re:Windows Only by A12m0v · · Score: 2, Informative

      There are builds of chromium for GNU/Linux and Mac.

      I tried the Mac build and it works, but still rough around the edges.

      --
      GENERATION 25: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig on any forum and add 1 to the generation.
    3. Re:Windows Only by ogrisel · · Score: 5, Informative

      An experimental (daily snapshot) version for ubuntu is available here: https://launchpad.net/~chromium-daily/+archive/ppa

    4. Re:Windows Only by blind+biker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Google only targets the platform where IE is predominant - that is, Windows. On the other platforms, Firefox or Safari will do the job that Chrome is doing on Windows. Either way, it suits Google's strategy.

      --
      "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
    5. Re:Windows Only by rikkitikki · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I used to ask the same question. I now work for a small startup. Most of us develop on Linux, a couple on Windows, and a couple on Mac. If we could afford to do a linux-only version, we would. But in order to have any kind of marketshare on the desktop, we need to output a Windows version.

      The mac and linux versions mostly "just work" and simply need testing. But about a month before release, the entire team needs to stop what they're doing and get the Windows version fully working and tested. Windows development is a resource hog (in terms of people). In some ways, Windows is just different, but it seems in many ways, Windows is deliberately incompatable with anything else at the source code level. Windows makes it as difficult as possible to be cross-platform.

      As a result, we get the Windows version out and working before we have time to test the Linux and Mac versions. It kinda sucks to spend that much time and resources on a Windows version. It's either that, or re-route our development resources to Windows-only and ignore the other platforms. Of course, we don't want to do that.

    6. Re:Windows Only by grahamd0 · · Score: 2, Informative

      A version for Linux or OS X would be nice.

      This is incredibly sad. How hard can it be with their resources to include Mac and Linux?

      If you're on Mac, try Safari 4. They both use Webkit, it's pretty nice, fast, and is very similar to Chrome in the terms of the look and UI.

      Personally, I feel naked without Firebug.

    7. Re:Windows Only by DarthBender · · Score: 2, Informative

      Posting this from Chromium running on Ubuntu 9.04 64bit. It's alpha but seems stable and fast.

    8. Re:Windows Only by zuperduperman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      All that you say is true, but there is something not credible about the length of time that it has taken for them to get this done. It seems to have taken longer for them to do the linux port than it did for them to build the entire windows version.

      Having said that, I don't really suspect there's anything sinister going on here ... something tells me it is more to do with there being fundamentally more difficult challenges on linux than windows. When I compare Firefox across ubuntu and windows it is noticeably slower and uglier in linux - there's no two ways about it. I strongly suspect that Google is being a perfectionist here and are simply not willing to release something that doesn't meet the incredibly high bar they have set for chrome.

    9. Re:Windows Only by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      isn't that what open source advocates tell you to do every time you complain about an open source app?

      For a volunteer project, yes. Google Chrome is a free, open source, commercial project. It's a professional, corporate-planned, -managed, and -funded product.

      They've now released Windows v2, after originally claiming the Linux version will be ready "as soon as possible" eight months ago during the original hype & release of v1. Google is due for some flack about this. Not to mention the lack of Mac version.

    10. Re:Windows Only by KasperMeerts · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I doubt it. Have you looked at the Chrome code? It's littered with hard-coded windows-only bullshit. It's just very unelegantly designed, that's why it's taking so long.

      --
      As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.
    11. Re:Windows Only by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I used to ask the same question. I now work for a small startup. Most of us develop on Linux, a couple on Windows, and a couple on Mac. If we could afford to do a linux-only version, we would. But in order to have any kind of marketshare on the desktop, we need to output a Windows version.

      The mac and linux versions mostly "just work" and simply need testing. But about a month before release, the entire team needs to stop what they're doing and get the Windows version fully working and tested. Windows development is a resource hog (in terms of people). In some ways, Windows is just different, but it seems in many ways, Windows is deliberately incompatable with anything else at the source code level. Windows makes it as difficult as possible to be cross-platform.

      As a result, we get the Windows version out and working before we have time to test the Linux and Mac versions. It kinda sucks to spend that much time and resources on a Windows version. It's either that, or re-route our development resources to Windows-only and ignore the other platforms. Of course, we don't want to do that.

      Just develop your applications using a Qt/C++/gcc framework.

      Fast, native code, easy, powerful, free (LGPL) and cross-platform.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(toolkit)

      http://www.qtsoftware.com/products/developer-tools

      VLC, Scribus and VirtualBox are good examples of cross-platform applications developed using Qt and Qt creator:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualBox
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribus
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_Media_Player

      If that doesn't appeal, then use Lazarus

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_(software)

      Only potential problem with that is that you would have to write in Pascal. For me personally, that would be a bonus not a problem.

      Peazip is a great example of cross-platform software developed using Lazarus.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peazip

      AFAIK all of these examples of cross-platform applications bring out versions for Windows, Linux and Mac at the same time.

    12. Re:Windows Only by socsoc · · Score: 2, Interesting

      All the webcasts I have participated in have them using Google products pretty much exclusively, with what appears to be their personal desktops. Some could be using a customized Ubuntu, but many of the outward facing employees know to pimp Google properties, even if they aren't overt about it.

      I just don't understand why they use WebEx instead of some Google version

    13. Re:Windows Only by drizek · · Score: 3, Informative
    14. Re:Windows Only by radarsat1 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yup, I've been following the PPA build too, and I have to say it's come a long way! I've been using it regularly.

      It no longer crashes all the time, though still does so once in a while (but hell so does firefox). These are usually repeatable so I'm sure they'll be fixed in the not too distant future.

      One thing I've noticed recently is that one of the first things I tried when first installing it was to check whether the Chrome Experiments would work, and unsurprisingly it crashed immediately when I tried to start any of them. However, a few days ago I tried it again and they all worked!

      All in all it's definitely usable now (if you're into trying alpha software). I've kept it open for long periods of time and had up to 15 tabs open at a time. It's noticeably faster than Firefox 3.0.1. (This may change with 3.1, which contains the tracemonkey jit engine.. i'm looking forward to making a comparison.)

    15. Re:Windows Only by hanwen · · Score: 5, Informative

      I am using the Linux version on a daily basis. It is usable, and the speed blows FF3 firmly out of the water, to the point that I don't want to go back to FF. Of course, it does crash every once in a while, and there are many rough edges.

      --

      Han-Wen Nienhuys -- LilyPond

    16. Re:Windows Only by amorsen · · Score: 4, Interesting

      When I compare Firefox across ubuntu and windows it is noticeably slower and uglier in linux - there's no two ways about it.

      Your issue with Firefox probably is actually with Pango. IMHO, Pango renders text far more beautifully than any version of Windows does, but it IS a lot slower. You used to be able to disable Pango when building Firefox; I'm not sure whether that is still possible.

      --
      Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    17. Re:Windows Only by Waccoon · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Windows is deliberately incompatable with anything else at the source code level. Windows makes it as difficult as possible to be cross-platform.

      While I sympathize, I must ask at what point the world turned into only two major OSes: Windows and UN*X.

      I remember back in the 80's when there were a dozen OSes that were all radically different, and people just sucked it up and wrote software for each platform. Each OS (and the hardware) really stood out and had its own special advantages and quirks. Those were the days of real competition and innovation. These days, if it's not UNIX-ish, it's not "standards compliant" or some crap like that. Nobody is interested in going beyond UNIX. Nobody wants to be different... except for niggling things that make source compile on one Linux distro and not another. Real innovation at the OS level is hard to come by these days.

      Of course Windows is deliberately incompatible with everything else. It's not UNIX. It's pretty much the only non-UNIX OS left outside of the proprietary commercial market. Complaining about it being bad is one thing, but complaining about it being deliberately incompatible is rather silly.

  3. No plug in support by NitroWolf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No plug-ins, not usable.

    Needs to support an Adblock function at the bare minimum before it would be even marginally accepted by the masses. Mouse gestures would be nice. Those two things would go really far towards the acceptance of Chrome.

    1. Re:No plug in support by zoips · · Score: 4, Informative

      Chrome has plugins (Flash, etc). You mean add-ons.

    2. Re:No plug in support by Goaway · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "By the masses"? You honestly think the masses use Adblock?

    3. Re:No plug in support by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Way ahead of you.

      http://adsweep.org/

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    4. Re:No plug in support by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Needs to support an Adblock function at the bare minimum before it would be even marginally accepted by the masses.

      You only say that because it's how IE became so popular.~

    5. Re:No plug in support by Marcika · · Score: 4, Informative

      Chrome will have proper extensions in the next 1-2 months. (They already work in the bleeding-edge dev version.) Adblocking extensions already exist (like AdSweep), but it'll take at least half a year to have the comfort and functionality that Adblock for Firefox has (extra blacklisting/whitelisting without editing arcane JavaScript files, easy installation, easy updates, choice of filter lists...).

    6. Re:No plug in support by basementman · · Score: 2, Informative

      Really? On the high end maybe 1% of the internet population uses some type of adblocking software. Not to mention there are ways to block ads and still browse with Chrome, not as well as Adblock, but it gets the job done.

      Personally I have no problem without adblocking software, if it means I don't have to run the bloated piece of shit that is Firefox (sorry guys, just being honest).

    7. Re:No plug in support by Ohio+Calvinist · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'd consider calling a browser without addins "unusable" a little over dramatic.

      I'd conjecture most users don't even know about addins, and quite a few in addition would consider them as glue-and-bandaids over a browser shortcoming; not that as an inherently virtuous platform "feature."

      Most people will choose Chrome for performance and the Google name that they trust, if they change their browser at all.

      --
      Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
    8. Re:No plug in support by MarkvW · · Score: 4, Funny

      I've got adblock plus, but I dont' go to masses anymore. Too preachy. I like to limit the ability of other people to tell me what to do.

    9. Re:No plug in support by chrysalis · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If the masses were blocking ads, what would happen?

      1) The web would become a marvelous place without any ad anywhere.
      2) Tons of web site would just close
      3) Tons of web site would require you to pay per view
      4) New, more intrusive, difficult to block, kind of ads would go mainstream. (similar to spam filters vs spammers).

      To tell the truth, 1) would only happen in a fairy tale.

      --
      {{.sig}}
    10. Re:No plug in support by Drafell · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's called GodBlock Plus, or atheism, by the masses.

    11. Re:No plug in support by Itninja · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think he meant "by them asses". When you read it that way it makes WAY more sense.

      --
      I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
    12. Re:No plug in support by ion.simon.c · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't click on ads, ever. (Not even AdSense ads.)

      How does my Adblock/NoScript usage hurt the websites that I vist?

    13. Re:No plug in support by Omestes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I like how you write
            its like modern
      Poetry, sweet
      broken
          And slightly insulting

      This whole adblocking movement is just by a bunch of whiny "kids".
      You all expect free things, but you block the very tiny things that let them be free.
      Totally a childish mentality.

      No. I'm sick of ads, even tasteful ones. How you keep your website up is your problem, not mine. I don't have to go to it, there is a replacement out there, probably even a better site that I haven't found yet. If you charge me for your page, I'd be happy to pay IF (and only if) you make it worth my time and money. If it isn't worth paying for, no one will, and you will either be forced to have something worthwhile, or you will go away. I'm fine with this.

      The web will not die, the internets will survive. If worse comes to worse 10% of the total population will ever figure out how to use an ad-blocker, and this 2% segment of the population is probably not the market your looking for anyways. If I'm so sick of ads that I will go out of my way to find a way to get rid of them, I'm probably a nasty, penny pinching, curmudgeon, and you don't want me to buy your stuff anyways.

      Though I really kind of like the pay-to-play idea for webpages, it would kill a ton of content free crap. But, luckily, that is just my opinion, just like your opinion is only yours, and both of our opinions are equally valid.

      --
      A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
    14. Re:No plug in support by Omestes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Funny thing, I was setting up my fathers computer, and threw ad-block on Firefox. He never noticed.

      To me this says that ads aren't as powerful as people think they are. I don't watch much TV, nor browse the web without adblock+, and when I actually do turn on network TV, or use a friends computer (that I didn't set up) I'm shocked. I don't think thats because there is too many ads, but because I haven't been exposed to them for 8 years. To other people, their normal background noise that they subconsciously block.

      Sure, they're going for unconscious exposure, but 99% of them are completely irrelevant to anyone.

      Unless there really is someone out there that thinks drinking crappy domestic beer will make them sexy, and the life of the party. This is the person I fear.

      --
      A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
  4. I could live with no Adblock/Noscript by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 4, Informative

    But I can't live with the invasion of privacy. Sorry :(

    1. Re:I could live with no Adblock/Noscript by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 2, Funny

      Chrome is a trap! This is why there is no version for Linux...

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re:I could live with no Adblock/Noscript by pwnies · · Score: 4, Informative

      But I can't live with the invasion of privacy. Sorry :(

      So why not get Iron?

    3. Re:I could live with no Adblock/Noscript by AMSmith42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not sure I buy into "usage tracking is an invasion of privacy" mantra. It seems to me this is a modern day "taking your photograph will steal your soul" sort of superstition. Is the internet not a public place? I'm not sure what kind of privacy people expect while using it.

    4. Re:I could live with no Adblock/Noscript by harryandthehenderson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not sure I buy into "usage tracking is an invasion of privacy" mantra.

      Good for you.

      It seems to me this is a modern day "taking your photograph will steal your soul" sort of superstition.

      Actually it's more like I don't want them collecting data on me that they sell later for money without my express permission.

      Is the internet not a public place? I'm not sure what kind of privacy people expect while using it.

      So then you would be perfectly fine with your bank, for example, having you do transactions over unencrypted connections? I mean the internet is a public place, right?

    5. Re:I could live with no Adblock/Noscript by AMSmith42 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually it's more like I don't want them collecting data on me that they sell later for money without my express permission.

      Fair enough. Do you avoid security cameras in stores as well?

      So then you would be perfectly fine with your bank, for example, having you do transactions over unencrypted connections? I mean the internet is a public place, right?

      If my bank required me to do that, then no, I would not be fine with it. I don't nail my deposits to the side of their building either. And I don't expect any sort of implied privacy when surfing the internet. If I want to do anything private, I'll keep as many hands and eyes off it as possible.

  5. Still waiting... by viyh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'd really love to try this hyped up browser but I don't seem to have a Windows machine at my disposal. Throw us (linux/Mac people) a fricken bone, Google.

    --
    "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." --Mark Twain
    1. Re:Still waiting... by Goaway · · Score: 2

      You know that it takes time to develop software, right? It doesn't just spring into existence by itself?

    2. Re:Still waiting... by harryandthehenderson · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So a smaller company like Mozilla can magically develop for 3 platforms simultaneously but a much bigger company can't? I call bullshit.

    3. Re:Still waiting... by Bogtha · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The first beta of Chrome was released about six months ago. Mozilla's codebase is about 15 years old. You do understand that Mozilla have had a substantial head-start, right?

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
    4. Re:Still waiting... by harryandthehenderson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Now, I agree that they should have began the development of the three branches in parallel from day one, but they are a for-profit company, so it makes business sense to give priority to Windows.

      That would make sense if they were selling it, but it's a product they are giving away so other than sheer laziness there is no reason they shouldn't have been doing cross-platform work from the start.

    5. Re:Still waiting... by Bogtha · · Score: 3, Interesting

      hat does that have to do with the lack of development for anything other than Windows?

      Lack of development? There is development happening for OS X and Linux. It's just not ready for end-users yet.

      What does Mozilla's head start have to do with the fact that they are apparently able to do cross-platform development better than a company who has vastly more people and money at their disposal?

      Because development isn't simply a matter of money. It takes time to develop software, and organisational/human/communication factors impose an upper limit on how fast development can move. Mozilla have a codebase where 15 years have been spent in development. No amount of money can compensate for that head-start. Mozilla aren't developing any faster than Google, they are further ahead because they've been doing it longer.

      Even the original releases of Netscape were cross-platform

      The original releases of Netscape were far, far simpler products. I could write "Hello, World" in 30 seconds that would run on more platforms than Chrome - does that make me better than Google? No, because the task of writing a modern web browser is substantially greater than writing "Hello, World" - and substantially greater than writing an early 90s web browser.

      So basically even at the start when they had even less resources they were somehow able to do better cross-platform development than a multibillion dollar, multinational company.

      Yes, because they had less to do. If your codebase is a fraction of the size and has only a handful of features, of course it's easier to port it to other systems. By the way, have you tried running those early Netscape versions on Linux and OS X?

      --
      Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  6. Re:i would try chrome with wine by viyh · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you really wanted to do this, you could find it. But, it's really slow under wine anyway.

    --
    "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." --Mark Twain
  7. Here we go again by Jamie's+Nightmare · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh great, another post about Chrome. Brace yourself for a wave of 3 general responses:

    "No Linux version, so it sucks." - The Jealous Bitch

    "It doesn't have (feature from Firefox), I refuse to use it." - The High and Mighty Prick

    "I'm all out of tin-foil, you can't trust Google." - The Stallman Worshipers

    --
    "When you see a unixer brainwashed beyond saving, kick him out of the door." - Xah Lee
    1. Re:Here we go again by qtzlctl · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm here to use browsers and wrap tin-foil ass and I'm all out of tin-foil.

  8. js rendering is not the bottleneck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    for me, most of the lag I experience is latency related. Once the webpage gets to me, I'm fairly happy if it takes under a few seconds to render.

    Then, I'd like a stable connection, and working webpages (ie without bugs).

    Next, I'd like more intelligent tabbing: one which tracks my current surfing location as a whole, and bookmarks that. (I'm thinking a tree structure for tabs, with parents and children and all that; and a dynamic bookmark, that would follow me clicks, for when I'm reading online documentation, or any multipage document.)

    Ok, after all that, now I'm interested in js performance. Sorry :(

    [a question for those who want adblock in this browser. You realize that while Google makes themselves out to be a search and indexing company, that they are really a very high tech advertising company, don't you? For them to implement adblocking, that would undercut their entire business model. If they did it anyway, and left their ads unblocked?, well, that would just be illegal, under antitrust laws.]

    1. Re:js rendering is not the bottleneck by boshi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Google also serves image ads, and I'm pretty sure I've even seen some flash ads, though I could be wrong about the last one.

      I also think you are confused about how google ads work, or adblock works, because it is quite simple in adblock to block all google text ads.

      Abblock for me is necessary, not because I have an aversion to seeing advertisements, but because I block content which distracts me from the page I am reading. I use adblock, but I do not subscribe the massive "catch-all" lists it tries to get me to install. I simply use it as a tool to remove content that annoys me as I browse.

      --
      Blog
  9. I still prefer Chrome. by lwsimon · · Score: 4, Funny

    Say what you want, but Chrome is my default browser in Vista, and has been since it came out. I don't visit a lot of random sites, and ads aren't that big a deal.

    The reason I like Chrome? Its topbar is thinner and more elegant that Firefox's by default. Really, that's it.

    Otherwise, I'm your typical nerd. I run ArchLinux, use Firefox+Firebug for development, and I doubt I could get a girlfriend if I tried (I married the girl who dated me in highschool, before she realized what she had done, so that's okay)

    --
    Learn about Photography Basics.
  10. Re:i would try chrome with wine by viyh · · Score: 3, Informative

    Version 1 was slow, I haven't tried version 2 under wine. I have no motivation to run Chrome unless I can run it in my native OS.

    --
    "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." --Mark Twain
  11. Chrome without Privacy Issues by basementman · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those of you concerned about the privacy issues surrounding Google Chrome, there is a virtually identical FOSS alternative that Google can't farm data from. See, http://www.srware.net/en/software_srware_iron.php

    1. Re:Chrome without Privacy Issues by mqduck · · Score: 3, Funny

      $ aptitude search chromium
      p chromium - fast paced, arcade-style, scrolling space shooter

      Now that's the browser for me!

      --
      Property is theft.
  12. No, but you can load Slashdot and not wait forever by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Apparently the Slashdot developers use Chrome on a mighty fast machine; otherwise they'd realize the shame they've brought onto themselves by writing that horribly slow Javascript code and commit hara-kiri.

  13. Re:Provokes an Interesting Question by Phroggy · · Score: 3, Informative

    If Google, an open source project, sends out all sorts of data that you might consider an invasion of privacy, is the open source community free to fork it?

    Chrome is not an open source project. Chromium is an open source project, and yes, you're free to fork that, as per the terms of the licenses.

    --
    $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
    $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
  14. Re:No, but you can load Slashdot and not wait fore by glennpratt · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is why I switched to the Chrome beta almost full time.

    It doesn't lock up on bad Flash sites, it just kills flash (good riddance), it doesn't fail to load JavaScript on Slashdot (Firefox), it doesn't sit on 1GB of my RAM for no apparent reason (Firefox) and it doesn't crash for no apparent reason (Safari).

  15. Does it have "No-Adblock"-Block? by IvyMike · · Score: 4, Funny

    You know, the plugin that blocks the endless comments from people asking "does it have Adblock?"

  16. Re:Not fixed in 7 years: The Firefox CPU hogging b by MrEricSir · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have that problem as well, but then only on the machines where I've installed every add-on I could find. So something tells me it's more my fault than Mozilla's.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
  17. Consistency Fail by nemesisrocks · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why do certain companies insist on changing making their applications look inconsistent with the rest of the operating system?

    The main reason I don't use Chrome (and abhor iTunes) is that Ultramon doesn't work with them. And that makes working with dual monitors painful.

    1. Re:Consistency Fail by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why do certain companies insist on changing making their applications look inconsistent with the rest of the operating system?

      I don't know about OS X, but on Windows, from Vista on, there isn't really anything to be consistent with to speak of. Office 2007 uses window chrome for its toolbars (which isn't that far from Chrome using it for tab bar), and did you see the screenshots of Expression Blend or VS2010 beta (no, it's not a custom color scheme - they really look like that by default)? Heck, what about IE7+ and Windows Explorer extending the transparency effect (which normally marks the window chrome) to their toolbars / address bars?

  18. FYI by SBrach · · Score: 2, Informative

    2.0 works by default on Win 7 x64 RC1. No need for the "--in-process-plugins"

  19. Linux version not far away by murp · · Score: 2, Interesting

    From: http://code.google.com/p/chromium/wiki/LinuxWeeklyNotes

    mmoss: release channel setup, first official build

  20. I'm always amazed by cries for more adblocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Most of the worthwhile content on the web is paid for by ads. If all ads are blocked that revenue source will dry up and those sites (including Slashdot, YouTube, Digg, Yahoo, and even Google itself) will become extinct. Then you can enjoy ad free surfing of corporate sites, government sites, paid subscription sites, and sites owned by suckers willing to offer free bandwidth... but at least you won't be bothered by ads.

  21. Re:Not fixed in 7 years: The Firefox CPU hogging b by atmurray · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Once there are plug-ins for Chrome, Firefox probably will die but then people will load up Chrome with plug-ins and it will go slow too. Then the cycle will continue... Disclaimer: I like both Firefox and Chrome (but I use Safari 4)

  22. Passes Acid3 by WebManWalking · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just got 2.0 and went straight to http://acid3.acidtests.org/: Passed 100/100.

  23. AdBlock Plus - And normal UI! by pinkfloydhomer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Chrome is a killer browser. Because it is _very_ fast and renders correctly most of the time.

    The problem is that they insist on ALSO breaking a lot of UI conventions and inventing their own. That's nice, but one should have the choice to use a "normal" UI. Firefox with the Chrome engine, or Chrome enginge with Firefox UI would be a killer.

    1. Re:AdBlock Plus - And normal UI! by Allicorn · · Score: 5, Interesting

      On Windows, Chrome's window decorations are always in a horrible bubbly Fisher-Price style that somewhat mirrors the default XP/Vista themes. The application does not honor system-wide windowing theme settings. This is stupid. You've kinda come to expect media players to do this (it's still annoying, but it's become the accepted convention) but serious applications like a browser that I'm going to be looking at all day should not lock themselves out of the OS's visual theme system. I'm stuck with one app which seems like an alien on my system because all the colors and widgets are completely different to everything else. It's as bad as bloody Apple!

      Another thing I suspect the GP is talking about is the menu. Oh, I mean the toolbar button. Or do I mean menu? Who knows. Take any normal application on Windows that has a menu - press ALT. Now you can navigate the menu option with the cursors or with menu shortcut keys. Google decided that I didn't need this ability and hacked out the well understood, standard concept menu and replaced it with a little popup off of two toolbar buttons. And for a cherry on top, put those icons at the opposite side of the window from where you'd go hunting for a missing menu anyway.

      Ooo lessee... how about allowing the application's controls (in this case, the tab bar) to impinge upon the applications titlebar and moving the apps title from the left to the right. This is just more of the kind of utterly pointless "gloatware" interface decisions that often characterises Apple software on Windows. "Our scrap of software is the single most important thing you'll ever use on your computer so - obviously - it's important that it break established visual style and usage conventions to remind you how important is is!". Gloatware.

      These seem like trivial things but interface conventions are of huge value to users who lack confidence in front of a computer. Once you've learned that there's always a Menu and it always has File, Edit, View and Help on it - you've got a huge head-start on getting to know any new bit of software.

      There are other things that annoy me about Chrome like that stupid is-it-or-isn't-it-status-bar; curiously referring to its SSL preferences as "computer-wide" in the options page (it's going to change SSL behaviour across all apps and OS?); Bookmark interface; yadda yadda AdBlock, NoScript, yadda.

      I feel better now XD

      --
      OMG!!! Ponies!!!
    2. Re:AdBlock Plus - And normal UI! by gnarfel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I actually thought that the Chrome UI was designed pretty decently...when you maximize the program, the title bar becomes the tab bar. Why do you still need a full title bar when the window is maximized? It has a dedicated restore button after all.

      Another thing, the colors in the UI are much more pleasing than the default XP Luna theme. They're much more pastel, much softer. They don't distract from the content, unlike the large full-color icons Firefox uses. In Chrome, the icons are all a darker shade of the overall color for the scheme.

      I guess Chrome seems like a browser that is polished enough for the masses, while still being incredibly fast and powerful enough to deliver the JavaScript heavy pages we've all come to expect.

      --
      Local music(to upstate NY). http://gnarfel.com/ radio.
  24. FAQ by Vexorian · · Score: 4, Funny
    Q. Will chrome ever work in OS/X / Linux / *BSD like real browsers tend to do?

    A. Not really. However, in order to make it up to you, we are allowing you to download an install a chrome-themed webkit window that doesn't have any of the features, is unstable and does not integrate with your OS at all. Of course, as a precondition you first need to find it through a huge maze of links. Please ignore your OS currently got much better native browsers using webkit anyway...

    Q. Is it true Chrome is open source software like some articles said?

    A. No, Chrome is not open source software. It does not provide you any of the basic reassurances Open source software actually gives you. To make up for this, we invented Chromium, which you can find after diving to another maze of links and compile yourself. We designed Chromium as just a way to selectively get free code. Please, don't use it as it will give you the basic FOSS freedoms and we do not want that for our browser.

    Q. Is it true that other non-IE browsers like Firefox, Opera and Safari are also working on javascript speed making the only important chrome feature worthless?

    A. Definitely, as a matter of fact, since some of their new versions actually beat Chrome in memory usage and they have no problem in working in many platforms -integrating correctly with the OS, even windows' themes - , there's really no point in using Chrome unless you want a porn tab or want to follow hype. Ok, to be fair those browsers' new versions do have something like the porn tab and each have always had their fair amount of over-hyped fans... Of course, chrome might still be faster, but this is due to the fact we implemented the javascript VM using as much crazy, unmaintainable windows hack as possible. But don't worry, the only web site in which you might actually notice the difference is one we made in which we placed a bunch of demos designed to stress test javascript...

    --

    Copyright infringement is "piracy" in the same way DRM is "consumer rape"
  25. FAIL! by fulvioc · · Score: 2, Insightful
  26. Re:Mod Parent Up by damaki · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I strongly disagree. Yeah, it's easy to set up but it's a pain in the ass to extend and the default filter sucks. The selling points of adblock plus are the fantastic default filters and the easy click and ad to block list.

    Chrome needs an adblock plus.

    --
    Stupidity is the root of all evil.
  27. Re:Not fixed in 7 years: The Firefox CPU hogging b by koiransuklaa · · Score: 3, Informative

    Firefox, the laptop killer: 200 CPU hogging bugs [slashdot.org].

    Either you don't know how bug databases work or you're just using the numbers to push an agenda. The important idea to take home here is: The number of reported bugs is a really poor indicator of anything.

    The above is the only thing needed to make your statement useless, but I can point some other problems with it as well: Mozilla has ~50 different products in their bugzilla, you searched them all (including things like websites). Also, the vast majority of the bugs in your list are unconfirmed (from experience I can tell you most of those don't have enough info to reproduce or even to mark them duplicates: I'm guessing there are a _lot_ of scrolling related reports that are actually the same bug).

    Note that I'm not saying that Firefox is efficient or that it doesn't have major problems with e.g. scrolling. I'm telling you to stop bringing that "200 CPU hogging bugs" figure up whenever there is a browser discussion: it has no meaning. Either do your homework and find the actual important bugs or shut up.