Tag Archives: Chrome 5 beta
Chrome 5 – Bigger, Badder and Faster
Posted on 05. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 
2 Comments
No doubt that it has been big news about all of the new features included in the new release of Chrome 5, which is a beta yet should be going stable quite soon. Some of the biggest features include integrated Flash, a revamped V8 JavaScript engine and geolocation. Also: an overhauled HTML based bookmarks manager, an extension-capable Incognito Mode and the ability (finally) to organize your extensions the way you want them.
Let’s also not forget the fact that although Chrome has been known for its speed, this element has been amped up even more for the newest realease. Look at how much faster Chrome has gotten since its inception in 2008.
With all of the new elements in Chrome browser, one has to start to wonder what Mozilla, Microsoft and Apple will do with their respective browsers. Quite frankly, I’m not sure that these other companies are going to be able to keep up with all that Google is doing to build the best browser available, especially since it is available for all of the major operating systems. This coupled with the fact that Chrome also has its own open source community, Chromium, certainly lends itself even more credit.
Let’s also not forget slick marketing. The ads that have been released touting Chrome are thoughtful and very original. Who else is trying to sell you their browser technology this way, or even at all?
Linux Chrome 5 Beta is a Go
Posted on 03. Feb, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 4 Comments
Although Chrome 5 Beta has been available for those using Windows and Mac for a little while already, Google held back its release of the Linux version of their beta browser. That’s no surprise, as the initial developer version of Chrome for Linux users has only been out since June and has a much smaller user base than the other two platforms. Regardless, Google announced yesterday that the 5.0.307.1 Beta for Linux is now available.
Some of the new features being released with this version include support for notifications, a different directory for loading plugins and improved text support for various languages.
It’s important that Google keeps the Chrome browser for Linux up to speed with Windows and Mac. An ever-increasing amount of users are turning to open source, and all of the solid OSs are based on Linux. In terms of netbook operating systems, platforms such as Ubuntu Netbook Remix, Moblin and Jolicloud are all based on Linux. This helps drive the cost of netbooks lower, as these OSs save money on the overall product price when compared to Microsoft’s licensing fees that are required for every device that ships with Windows.
At the same time, when Google eventually comes out with Chrome OS, it will be essentially competing with these machines, but will still have a leg up on overall browser competition because Linux does not support the closed-source Internet Explorer. Opera and Firefox currently are some of the most popular browsers for Linux. Safari is also available as well.
You can get Linux Chrome 5 Beta from the download page here.
Chrome 5 Beta Released
Posted on 31. Jan, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 11 Comments
Now that Chrome version 4 has been officially released as a stable browser version, Google has now given users a chance to check out the Chrome 5 beta (Mac users must follow this link). Javascript performance has improved in this version, as I ran a SunSpider test for my previous Chrome 4.0.249.78 version and overall benchmark speed has increased when compared to this new 5.0.307.1 version. For those of you interested, I advise you to try this benchmarking test yourself to check out the speed with which this browser as well as any others you may use can render pages.
According to the developer changelog, there are a few new features (more sure to come):
- Use of the default downloads directories in Windows 7 and Vista
- Better plugin stability for Mac
- A fix for tab dragging in Mac that used to cause Chrome to crash
Also, in the Under the Hood tab for Chrome Options, there is a new Content section for fonts, language and Google Gears settings:
Both Windows and Mac is supported for this developmental build. For those of you interested in making some money finding flaws in Chrome browser, you probably want to have the latest and greatest version. Just keep in mind this is a beta, and therefore it is a version that Google deems unstable. If you experience issues you can report them here.
UPDATE: For Mac users, there’s a different download link – thanks to the commenter who pointed this out!
