Tag Archives: Chromium
Chrome Dev Hits Version 7; Native Client Part of Release
Posted on 26. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 
4 Comments
While Chromium has been perched at version 7 for about a week or so, it was only today that the development channel of Chrome was updated to version 7.
So what’s new? Along with the typical release fixes, Native Client is getting closer to reality in Chrome 7. That means webapps are going to be able to directly use a computer’s hardware resources to run processes, making them working like native applications.
As DownloadSquad’s Lee Mathews points out, you can check out a couple of Native Client demos right here if you’re using version 7 with the switch “–enable-nacl”. You can see it here in the Task Manager of my browser.
Note that Native Client is still experimental, on my machine it ran the above applications very slowly. But hey, it’s the first release.
Flock Brings Organized Social Networking to the Browser
Posted on 24. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
You’ve got your Facebook, you’ve got whatever you use to push out tweets. There’s Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon for crowdsourcing the news you want. These, amid countless other social networking sites, pose an interesting question.
Is the browser really built for the social web?
The company Flock doesn’t seem to think so. That’s why they have built a browser based on Chromium (formerly, they used Firefox) that takes into account all of the various social networking sites. Instead of having twelve tabs devoted to all these sites, Flock simplifies the whole deal.
Where to Find Command Switches For Chrome
Posted on 22. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 4 Comments
If you want to enable the most bleeding edge features in Chromium, you’ve got to master the art of the command switch to be able to do so. The best example of this is via the post I did for enabling apps. If you’re interested in trying out other switches, you can also use this resource here at the Chromium site to find a directory and descriptions.
There is also a list of debugging-type switches here.
Note that some of these switches will also work in Chrome; it just really depends on the phase of development that your specific build is in. For example, the enable apps feature works in version 6 right now.
Some of the most interesting on this list are “–enable-gpu-rendering”, which “Enable(s) experimental GPU rendering for backing store and video”. Then there’s “enable-aero-peek-tabs”, a switch that “Enables AeroPeek for each tab (This switch only works on Windows 7)”. That would be useful.
Or, how about “enable-speech-input”? I don’t think I need to describe that. Anyways, I think you get the point. If you find any other cool switches, as well as some that you manage to get working, let us know.
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
Developer Preview of Chrome Web Store Available
Posted on 19. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
The Chromium Blog just posted that a developer preview of the Chrome Web Store is now available. It’s incredibly important to get development folks on board with this app environment, and it looks like everything is being carefully detailed here from resources to get started as well as payment and authentication infrastructure.
There’s been a lot of concern what the Chrome Web Store will actually be, and it’s clear here that it will be the defacto place to get your Chrome extensions and applications all from one central secure place. Judging by this video, there’s been a lot of thought put into defining how these webapps are going to work.
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.
Chromoting Appears in New Chromium Builds
Posted on 14. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 3 Comments
A while back it was reported that Chrome OS would feature a remoting system that would allow users to be able to access their favorite native applications that are on traditional operating systems. This would be similar to a remote desktop-type of situation.
Now, it appears as if that will become a reality now that “Chromoting” as a feature has shown up in the most recent Chromium (and Canary) builds.
When you click on the menu option, it leads to a resource called chrome://remotingresources/setup but it does not load right now.
If you want to see Chromoting as an option for yourself, get a new build of the Chromium browser and at the switch “-enable-remoting” to your desktop shortcut.
UPDATE: Changed this post to reflect that you can also do this with Chrome Canary as well.
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!
Using the Chromium Updater to Stay Current on Your Builds
Posted on 04. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
Until now, those who wanted the latest and greatest that the Chromium open source browser had to offer needed to check the nightly builds and then download the newest version. The browser does not update itself like Chrome does. Fortunately, someone has decided that they wanted to automate this process to make it a bit easier for everybody.
The utility is called Chromium Updater, and it is a Windows application that you can run to see if you have the latest version on your machine.
Be warned, the installation of this is in German, but when you run the application it will be in English.
While Chromium is different in that there are no plug-ins like Flash or PDF support, you do get to take a look at what is happening every day with the browser. The Dev build is usually updated every week, and Canary is supposed to be updated as new experimental features arrive. Chromium will give you a look at a totally open environment with which developers themselves can build off of.
App Support Turned on in Chromium by Default
Posted on 03. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
DownloadSquad’s Lee Matthews is reporting today that the switch once required to use webapps as tabs in Chromium has been turned on off and is now standard in the browser. This pretty much means the same feature is going to start trickling down through the rest of the browser channels sometime soon.
This is a pretty cool feature; tabs have been transformed from simple web pages into something more “application-like” complete with icons. There are currently apps for Facebook, Dropbox, Reader and more. If you want information on how to do this right now, here is my article on it.
We should see these features in stable builds very soon. The pace of Chrome development is starting to speed up as we hurtle towards the fourth quarter when Chrome OS tablets/netbooks are slated to arrive from major manufacturers.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 8/2/10
Posted on 02. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 2 Comments
The Chromium Blog has officially announced the emergence of the Canary version of Chrome browser.
Google’s strategy to thwart Bing is apparently to use its best features in its own search engine.
Digitimes is reporting that many PC manufacturers are looking to ARM-Android combinations for new devices.
TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington reports that Facebook has secured copies of Google’s social strategy documents.
The market share for Google’s Mobile Search is almost at an astounding 100% according to data collected from StatCounter.
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.
