Tag Archives: Chrome 6
Standard Hardware Acceleration Features Pushed to Chrome 9
Posted on 13. Oct, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 
1 Comments
CNET is reporting that although hardware acceleration can be enabled in current versions of Chrome available, it won’t come standard to the browser until at least Chrome 9. Jason Kersey, a Program Manager for Chrome at Google, announced on the Chromium development discussion list recently indicating that version 8 is going to soon be pushed to the Canary and Development builds.
That means we can expect Chrome 7 to move to stable very soon. It was about six weeks ago when 6 went stable, so an announcement should be just around the corner.
Chrome 8 Launches
Posted on 07. Oct, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 5 Comments
The newest version of the Chromium builds are now at version 8. This is very much in line with the communications from the Google team about new Chrome releases coming every six weeks. Any download of the newest versions of Chromium will present users with a dialog box looking something like this.
As we have seen in the past there really isn’t much to write about when it comes to new versions of Chromium. That’s because it’s an incremental deal where new features are quietly added day by day. We’ve seen a number of new features presented within the Chrome Labs feature recently, and there’s no doubt that will continue.
The current stable version of the Chrome browser is at version 6; developmental builds are at 7 right now. It’s possible that 8 may be the version that we will see in Chrome OS devices but it’s probably more likely that we will see 6 or 7 features in netbooks or tablets before the end of the year simply because they are tried and true versions that will be auto-updated at a later date when they have been put through their paces.
Video: Chrome 6 vs Chrome 7 with Hardware Acceleration
Posted on 31. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Just so that we all know that hardware acceleration in Chrome 7 isn’t some fancy pipe dream, I decided to test it out using Microsoft’s FishIE Tank test which measures the frame rate that a browser can load a tank full of fishes.
I used the latest beta of Chrome 6 and the latest Canary version of Chrome 7 with the command line switch “–enable-accelerated-compositing” which turns on GPU processing. Neither of the browsers had any extra extensions installed.
It’s interesting to see how wacky the hardware acceleration causes the framerate to be in Chrome 7. It suggests to me that there is still some work to be done on this early version. While it’s clear that Chrome 7 has a better frames per second rate, Chrome 6 is able to provide a more consistent level of performance even though the rate is much lower.
Of course, it’s been warned for some time that Canary will always be less stable, and using command line switches within it are even less so. You can do your own browser testing if you’d like to with all of Microsoft’s tests here.
Video: Chrome 6 vs Firefox 4 vs Opera 10.6 vs Safari 5
Posted on 21. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 6 Comments
Here’s another installment of browser comparisons with some of the newest generation browsers tested. Sadly, Internet Explorer is not included. I guess I’ll have to find some time later to weep about that fact.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 8/20/10
Posted on 20. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Features that are in Chrome 6 lend themselves to what would be needed on tablets, says PCWorld.
Here’s a look at how domain verification in the Chrome Web Store will help users.
There is a new build of the Chromium updater utility available.
Google has released a Prediction API that allows application developers smarter ways to handle incoming data.
Qualcomm’s mobile Snapdragon processor will soon be dual-core, allowing for high definition video on portable devices
Chrome 7 Surfaces
Posted on 17. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
It looks like the Chromium folks are wasting no time after getting a release of Chrome 6 out in beta. The newest builds of Chromium now are at version 7.
As Softpedia points out, there really isn’t much different from previous Chromium releases that were are part of version 6, rather a part of the stratgey to get new stable versions out every six weeks.
This means that Chrome Canary builds will likely soon get the newest version, further supporting the fact that Google will start running up the numbers in terms of Chrome versions as we hurtle towards the release of Google TV and Chrome OS. That’s the two major ones among other service launches expected this year including Google Music, Google Me and the Chrome Web Store.
There sure are a lot of things on the horizon before the end of 2010.
Chrome 6 Beta Release Today
Posted on 11. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
The Official Google Blog has announced that Chrome 6 will see a beta release today. That comes the day after I discovered that Chromium development for version 6 was tightening up.
There are some serious increases in speed here, JavaScript performance has been upped by 15% as shown by these benchmark graphs below.
Autofill, a feature that is common in most modern browsers, now makes an appearance in Chrome 6. Google wants this to be known, so they have posted a short little clip educating people about AutoFill.
If you’re already part of the Beta Channel, you’ll get Chrome 6 automatically. Otherwise, click here to get it.
Google TV Has a New Logo
Posted on 11. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments
ReadWriteWeb is reporting that Google TV has a revamped logo ahead of its much anticipated launch. DISH Network is the service provider, and Logitech is supplying the set-top boxes. Sony will be integrating the technology in some of its TVs. It’s supposed to have a fall release – that’s pretty soon, when are we going to get an actual date?
As RWW points out, this is following in the footsteps of similar Google projects that don’t specifically label the product as the company’s own by just using text and then the name of the service. For products like Android, Chrome and now Google TV, that’s probably a smart idea.
Google TV will run Android 2.2 and use Chrome 6 for the web. Developers will be creating applications for it, presumably being available in the Chrome Web Store, which should be launched soon, maybe around the same time as Chrome 6 in the next few weeks.
Chrome 6 Close to Stable Release
Posted on 10. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 3 Comments
While it has been speculated for a while, it’s clear that Chrome 6 for widespread release is coming very soon.
In a recent Chromium Development Group discussion Jason Kersey, a Technical Manager at Google, makes note that developer features not expected to be a part of Chrome 6 are going to be tightly controlled in certain development channels for the near future. “We have closed out all our release-block beta bugs, and we are on the path to stable“, he said.
I have to admit, I’m surprised that it is not out yet, given that the Chromium team has said recently that the pace of versions would be speeding up. This is likely in an attempt to pack as many solid features within the browser prior to the Google TV release coming this fall as well as Chrome OS, expected in November for the holiday season.
For a look at some of the changes that make up Chrome 6, take a look at my series I wrote titled “Inside Chrome 6“. Enjoy!
thechromesource Daily: Links for 7/28/10
Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
One billion devices are a legitimate possibility for Android; at least that’s what Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes.
The dev channel of Chrome browser has been updated; the release includes some UI tweaks and stability fixes.
Apple has released an extensions gallery for its Safari browser creatively called – Safari extensions.
You can’t just throw out an OS like Windows because people are connected to the local applications says GigOM’s Sam Dean.
Is Facebook Questions a legitimate contender in the search market or will it just simply be an annoyance?
Speed is a Big Deal, Measuring it is in Chrome 6
Posted on 28. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
The Chromium blog today has a post up about the importance of load times for a web page. In fact, it is so important that Chrome 6 will offer developers the ability to test load times on the fly while they are doing their thing. It’s actually a standard being worked out across all browsers called Web Timing. Developers can see it under window.webkitPerformance. Not a bad idea, since Google has made it clear in the past that speed is a big factor in search rankings.
Consider the case in point by the Google Research blog that points to “more usage, as measured by number of searches, reflects more satisfied users”, meaning that controlled tests on this very subject prove the point that speed makes people happy. This continues to reiterate their insistence on emphasizing a fast-loading web, and for good reason. It’s what the people want out of their user experience.
That explains why I’m always unhappy when I’ve got to use this Windows 7 machine.
You Want Sidebar Tabs in Chrome? Here’s How
Posted on 26. Jul, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 10 Comments
Many people have asked for the ability to move their tabs to the side in Google Chrome. This is a feature that first took off in Firefox, and fortunately the Chromium team has graciously put them into the early builds. Now, if you’re using Chrome 6 in the form of the development or canary builds, you can have sidebar tabs as well.
The first thing you need to do is add “–enable-sidebar-tabs” to your Chrome shortcut like this.
Open up Chrome again, and you can now right click on a tab and choose Use side tabs.
When I chose Use side tabs, my tabs simply disappeared, a strange sight for sure.
But when I hit Ctrl+T to open a new tab, they appeared on a sidebar to the left.
To revert to regular tabs, right click on an open tab and uncheck the Use side tabs option.
Once again, you’ll need to open a new tab to make them appear at the top – a little quirk that shows this feature still needs refinement.
I’m not sure what to think about sidebar tabs – I’ve never used them, so I am accustomed to using regular tabs on the top. I think the feature also need a bit of UI polish as well, but if you’re using Firefox just for the sidebar tabs, you might want to grab yourself the development build of Chrome and give it a shot.
