Slashdot Mirror
Google Upgrades Chrome To Beta For OS X, Linux
wkurzius writes with this nugget from Mac Rumors: "As anticipated, Google has finally released an official beta version of its Chrome browser for Mac. The initial beta version, termed Build 4.0.249.30, requires Mac OS X Leopard or Snow Leopard, and is only compatible with Intel-based Macs."
And hierofalcon writes with word that Chrome has also been made available as an official Linux Beta.
Support for extensions is currently in development ...
I have been running one of the Chrome nightly builds on Leopard for several weeks and I am extremely impressed with its speed and stability. I have never had a single tab crash on me. I'm sure that people will complain about the lack of support for extensions compared to Firefox, and rightly so. But if you don't need many extensions, I highly recommend trying out Chrome.
In my limited testing with it this morning... I think it is very promising... but I won't quite be switching from Safari on Snow Leopard just yet.
My main gripe? Scrolling smoothness. It's a small thing... but the jarring scrolling of Chrome is enough to keep me on Safari.
Other than that I really like the tab tear off system (much better than Safari since you can _reattach_ tabs back into the main window) and the integrated search / location bar (which seems to be able to read my mind...).
Other than that they are very similar... can anyone spot big differences somewhere? I mean, these days, most browsers are the same. I used to use Firefox for the plugins... but now Firefox, Safari and Chrome all pretty much include the stuff I was using plugins for... so I go with Safari for how well integrated it is with OS X.
I am glad Google is building a good browser... it will keep everyone on their toes (especially since Microsoft has pretty much bowed out of the next-gen browser market with their unwillingness to implement standards in a timely fashion).
... and per-tab processes for Firefox are also currently in development.
I don’t think I’ll be switching any time soon, since I see per-tab processes as a nicety and adblock as a necessity.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
Beware that the first time you run Chrome, it will install their Keystone auto-update facility, with which Google feels free to update whatever they want, whenever they want and however they want. Even when you're not running the browser, as the Keystone agent will launch itself automatically at system boot.
You have been warned.
On my computer, Chrome just auto-updated today to 4.0.239.30(Windows Version) and in the "new tab" display, it advertises at the bottom that extensions are now available. No reliable ad-blocking solution yet(just a couple with dodgy reviews), but I imagine its only a matter of time. There was one specifically to remove the ads on Facebook profiles, which does seem to work quite well so far.
If you don't want to be spied by google every second, download the Iron browser. It's based on Chrome code base, but has spying disabled.
The main big issue, is how the company doesn't have an official policy towards local app development.
When it comes to Google's web apps, you can expect AJAX, DHTML, clean and simple look, etc. OTOH, they local apps all look developed by different companies. They are developing apps in .net (which doesn't make any sense considering where google is standing right now, specially towards microsoft). Their so called "ports" are pathetic. All they do is recompile their apps with the WINE libs. Picasa is an example. And they didn't even test it before releasing, or at least disable the functions that don't work in wine. For example, on Picasa for GNU/Linux, when you click on "make movie" it throws the error "function not available on Windows 2000". They didn't even bother to disable it. If I wanted to run Picasa on Wine, I would just do so. If you provide a port, provide an actual port.
What really doesn't make sense to me is ... why write applications in non-portable languages/frameworks, and then port them? Why not just go GTK or QT and port it everywhere?
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
Because SRWare only releases updates to Iron every now and then. I don't think there's even an auto-update.
It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
Or just don't go to sites that have advertisements you don't want to see. That seems a bit more fair than using resources of a site you clearly want to visit while denying them income...
Not to mention Google's latest comments about people that don't do anything have nothing to hide.
Link:
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/08/0127219/Google-CEO-Says-Privacy-Worries-Are-For-Wrongdoers
Software should update itself when it runs. It should not rely on a separate boot-time updater.
The only software that should update itself by a boot-time updater is the OS itself.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
I'm not a big fan of their comments either, but I do think that their opinions on privacy and their actions on them are two different things. In my view they haven't crossed into the evil camp, and still have a better record with peoples' privacy than most companies. As always, we should keep an eye on them ...
Wine? What does wine have to do with it? Chrome for linux is a GTK-based (for better or worse) native linux app.
Hey -- I use SRWare Iron, too. However, I've also got Chrome installed -- I like the auto-updating. Give me that in Iron, and I'll uninstall Chrome. I'll even get my relatives to use it!
As is, however, I can't in any confidence give them Iron -- if so, the next time I happen to check their computers, a year from now, they'll still be running the same version, even though many updates and security fixes might have been released by SRWare since then.
It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
Then as soon as you see those flash adverts, leave the site, and don't come back. If everyone with AdBlock did that, then the flash adverts would go away, as alternate non-annoying revenue streams are found. You are perpetuating the situation, and rather selfishly at that.
This one's a show-stopper for me (and, I suspect, others). Chrome offers to save your passwords but gives absolutely no protection on the saved password database. The discussion threads I've seen about this suggest that the Chrome devs don't even understand why this is such a serious problem. Chrome has a lot to like, but I'll be sticking to Firefox for now.