CNET - The browser update includes the ability for users to slide their hands across the browser go backward or forward.
Google's Chrome Canary, the version of its browser currently under
development, is hinting that more touch-friendly features are coming to
the software.
Google's latest Chrome Canary build has added touch features, according to The Verge.
The browser now includes a slide-to-navigate option that will allow
users to swipe across the display to either go forward or back. More
PCWorld - Who needs Windows? Soon, you'll be able to use Chrome-based standalone apps
to communicate with a Fitbit, sort through an iTunes music library, and
pay for in-app purchases via Google Wallet. Google recently announced a
slew of updates and additions to the APIs (application programming
interfaces) available to developers making packaged apps for Google’s
browser.
You may not have heard of
packaged apps, as they're currently still in the development stages.
Packaged apps are built on top of Chrome using Web technologies such as
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The big difference between packaged apps and
regular Chrome apps is that packaged apps are standalone programs that
operate in a separate window and can—crucially—run offline.
They are
also stripped of all the typical browser “chrome” such as the URL
address bar and tabs, to more closely resemble a typical PC application.
The developer preview of Chrome's packaged app launcher running in Windows.
Packaged apps will give Google the ability to invade the traditional desktop with its own selection of Chrome-based apps that aren’t dependent specifically on Linux, OS X, or Windows. More
Yesterday, Google brought a few more worthwhile features to its mobile browser:
support for AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, and full-screen browsing.
Version 26.0.1410.50 also lets you save any Web page as a PDF to your
Google Drive account.
Full-screen browsing works just like in
Safari:
When you scroll up, the Omnibox (i.e., address bar) disappears to give
you a bit more viewing area. When you scroll back down (or tap the top
of the screen), it reappears. Simple, but effective. The feature is good
for video and Web-based games, where you don't want distracting
user-interface "chrome" getting in the way of what you're seeing.
Engadget - When Google staffer Paul Wilcox started throwing pebbles at his
girlfriend's office window, he never expected to be confronted by an
angry giant Android made out of chrome. But crazy things happen at
Mountain View all the time and Wilcox was quick to recover his composure.
"What have you done with my girlfriend?" he cried. And then, "why, of all things, are you made out of chrome?!"
PCWorld - When Tim Berners-Lee invented the first Web browser in 1990, it was
just an application made to read HTML pages passively. Fast-forward to
today, and the modern Web browser has become a powerful platform in
itself—almost a miniature operating system, capable of running complex
JavaScript code and interacting with Flash plug-ins.
Indeed, Web pages have evolved into Web apps, to the point where we
can do much of our productivity work in a browser window without ever
having to invest in traditional desktop software.
But how much work can you really do from a browser? Could
you replace all of your desktop apps with Chrome extensions, and be none
the worse for wear? After testing a bunch of Chrome apps, I found mixed
results: Web apps simply aren’t designed to be complete replicas of
their desktop counterparts. Although these apps have gotten a lot better
in the past couple of years, you might encounter a few peccadilloes,
and desktop software may still be the better choice for your unique
needs.
That said, if you haven't been keeping a close watch on the growing
power of Chrome extensions and Web apps, you might be pleasantly
surprised by our top alternatives to popular desktop software.
Word processing: Google Drive Documents
No matter what you do for a living, you've probably spent some time
using a word processor in the past week, probably even in the past 24
hours. Unless you're doing some very complicated work, you could ditch
your word processor for Google Drive
right now without missing a beat. Sure, the interface is different:
You'll find no Ribbon of commands and functions at the top of the
screen, and you'll see far fewer buttons. But Google Drive's Documents
let you do all of the important things, such as format text, create
titles and lists, embed images into your documents, and more.
With its powerful collaboration features, Google Docs is ideal forworking on documents with friends and colleagues.
If you often find yourself emailing Word files back and forth, Google
Drive might be even better than its desktop counterparts: You can just
invite another person to view your document, and you can both edit the
document at the same time, watching each other’s cursors at work. Add
Skype to the mix, and it's just like working in the same room, even if
the other person is a continent away.
Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from Computerworld. The original version of this story can found here.
Google has moved a step closer to making good on its promise to support "Do Not Track" in Chrome by the end of this year.
Chromium, Google's open-source project that feeds code into Chrome,
released a build last week that includes the Do Not Track (DNT) privacy
setting.
It's unclear how quickly the setting will be moved to the multi-channel
build structure of Chrome itself. Google maintains three versions of
Chrome: Dev, Beta and Stable, each succeeding version more polished than
the last.
The Stable branch of Chrome is due for an upgrade: Google last updated
the browser on July 30, when it shipped Chrome 21. The company usually
upgrades Chrome every six to eight weeks, putting Chrome 22 on the
horizon and Chrome 23, which is now in the Dev channel, up for delivery
sometime in November.
In February, Google said it would add DNT support to Chrome after the White House said it would introduce new online privacy legislation in Congress.
The new tab page in Chrome is nice, but it could be a lot better -- and
more useful. ANTP aims to create a Windows 8-style tab that makes it
easy to launch apps and services.
There are many ways to get started when you fire up your computer,
but the Chrome browser makes it easy to stick with one. Most of us use a
browser for daily business anyway, and the default Chrome new tab page
gives quite a few options for launching useful pages and apps.
ANTP
(short for Awesome New Tab Page) is a Chrome extension offering a
Windows 8-style launch page that is lovely and handy. Here's how to use
it:
Open
a new tab in Chrome. It's fruitful to check out the tour in the upper
left of the screen, but I'll cover the basics in this post.
Step 2: Check out your new default new tab page.
(Credit:
Rob Lightner/CNET)
Click the gear icon in the upper-left sidebar to open the
configuration screen. This mostly just lets you change the appearance of
ANTP, but also lets you choose your country for the default Amazon
shortcut and reset all prior changes.
Engadget - Many moons ago, Google made it quite clear
we wouldn’t be seeing its browser-based OS on any tablets or phones,
but it never said Chrome OS wouldn’t run on devices powered by similar
silicon. In fact, the issues tracker at the Chromium OS project shows
that work’s being done to get Chrome OS compatible with ARM
architecture, and in particular a Samsung Exynos 5250 chip. More
CNET - The winner, Sergey Glazunov, was the first to submit an
entry in Google’s Pwnium competition to find security exploits in
Chrome.
Less than two weeks after Google launched Pwnium, a competition for
hackers to find security exploits in Chrome, the search giant has
announced its first winner.
In an interview published yesterday by CNET sister site ZDNet, Justin
Schuh of the Chrome security team said that Glazunov was able to
execute “code with full permission of the logged on user.” Schuh called the feat “impressive,” and said that it deserved the $60,000 bounty. More
EFF - This week EFF released a new version its HTTPS Everywhere
extension for the Firefox browser and debuted a beta version of the
extension for Chrome. EFF frequently recommends that Internet users who
are concerned about protecting their anonymity and security online use
HTTPS Everywhere, which encrypts your communications with many websites,
in conjunction with Tor,
which helps to protect your anonymity online. But the best security
comes from being an informed user who understands how these tools work
together to protect your privacy against potential eavesdroppers.
Whenever you read your email, or update your Facebook page, or check
your bank statement, there are dozens of points at which potential
adversaries can intercept your Internet traffic. By using Tor to
anonymize your traffic and HTTPS to encrypt it, you gain considerable
protection, most notably against eavesdroppers on your wifi network and
eavesdroppers on the network between you and the site you are accessing.
But these tools have important limitations: your ISP and the website
you are visiting still see some identifying information about you, which
could be made available to a lawyer with a subpoena or a policeman with
a warrant.
Protecting your security and anonymity against real-time government
wiretapping is considerably more difficult. In a country where ISPs are
controlled by the government or vulnerable to government bullying,
Internet users should be especially aware of what kinds of information
is still visible to ISPs and may be subject to government surveillance.
To a lesser degree, websites may be subject to the same kinds of
government bullying and may be compelled to give up information about
their customers. More
When a user visits a page that Chrome thinks is asking to set up an
account, it will place a key icon in the password field of the
registration form. If the person clicks on that key, Chrome will ask the
user whether he or she wants it to create a password. If the user says
yes, Chrome will generate a password that includes letters, numbers and
characters that make it difficult for a hacker to crack and impossible
for the user to remember — and ask the user to approve it.
Chrome asks the user to approve the password because it may not jibe
with the rules established by the site for a proper password. That means
a person may have to modify the password manually before accepting it.
Once the password is accepted, Chrome will sync it with the user’s
other devices running the browser — provided the sync feature is
activated for the person’s Chrome account.
Google thinks its idea is a good one because if a person doesn’t
remember his or her password, then it can’t be given away to phishers
and other Net lowlifes.
Google’s ultimate goal
is to have browsers authenticate a user’s identity. That would be done
through a browser sign-in and something called OpenID. “While
implementing browser sign-in is something that we can control, getting
most sites on the Internet to use OpenID will take a while,” it said in a
company blog. “In the meantime it would be nice to have a way to
achieve the same affect of having the browser control
authentication.” More
Computerworld - After years of unexplained separation, Google’s Chrome browser and Android operating system are finally joining forces.
Google officially launched Chrome for Android on Tuesday. The app, available for any Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
device, functions separately from the stock system browser — and offers
plenty of advantages over it, too. In fact, Google says it expects the
new Chrome browser to eventually replace the stock Android browser,
becoming the platform’s default program for mobile Web access.
The reason Chrome for Android is only available on ICS devices, by
the way, is because of the browser’s dependency on hardware acceleration
— something earlier versions of Android don’t support.
But enough chit-chat: Let’s dive into the new Chrome for Android browser and see what this bad boy’s all about.
Chrome for Android: The User Interface
The first thing you notice about Chrome for Android is how different
its interface is from the stock Android browser. Chrome for Android
looks like, well, Chrome. The app has a clean, simple design with a
light gray color scheme. It also has a handful of nice animations, like a
pleasant slide-in effect when you open a new tab.
The app’s similiarity to the Chrome desktop browser is even more
noticeable on a tablet than on a smartphone, thanks to the extra screen
space and the way the app adjusts to fill that form. More
Google has plugged a number of serious vulnerabilities in its Chrome browser and paid out $6,133.70 in bug bounties.
One of the vulnerabilities is classified as “critical” by Google. It
involves a use-after-free flaw in Safe Browsing navigation. Chamal de
Dilva was paid a hefty $3,133.70 for finding that bug (not sure what the
70 cents were for). That flaw was actually fixed in the previous update
but was not included in the release notes. More
Whether you want to stay on top of your to-do list, find out who is tracking you online, or sling a few birds at pesky pigs, here are 20 apps that are well worth your time.
Make Your Browser More Useful and Fun
Remember when you used your browser exclusively for surfing the Web–visiting websites, reading articles, and maybe watching a video or two?
Those days are long gone. Your browser is now a source of apps for games that you can play for hours, services that will keep you safe, and simple utilities that can be useful or fun. Read on to learn more about our choices for the 20 best browser apps of the year.
Ghostery
As you surf the Web, you’re not alone. Chances are, you’re being followed by tags, tracking cookies, Web bugs, beacons, and more. Ghostery helps you find out when and how you’re being tracked, and gives you the power to put an end to it. Ghostery is available for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari.
LastPass
I review a lot of software for PCWorld. And after I’m done with the review, I uninstall most of the apps I test. But not LastPass.
I would be lost without this free password manager. With its ability to remember and generate secure passwords, LastPass may not be a flashy product, but it’s one of my personal favorites. LastPass is compatible with Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and several mobile browsers.
Angry Birds
Since using LastPass has freed me from the hard work of generating and remembering passwords, I now have more time to focus on the important things in life. Like Angry Birds.
This insanely addictive game is available in a browser-based version. Just starting slinging away.
Angry Birds started as an app available through the Chrome Web store, but it is now compatible with all major browsers.
If you use Google’s Chrome browser (or a Chromebook), check out these great document creation, collaboration, and management tools.
21 Chrome Web Apps for Business
The Chrome browser is rapidly gaining fans and developers are responding by creating apps that will help keep you productive in Google’s browser. Add these 21 apps to a Chromebook, and you’ll have great tools for working anywhere.
Some of these apps, like Citrix Receiver, will run only on a Chromebook. Most, however, will run in the Chrome browser on any OS, and some are just links to a Web page.
Google Chromebooks, by the way, keep gaining features that make them more appealing as thin clients in a business setting. The latest update to the Chrome OS brought VPN and secure Wi-Fi support (802.1X), in addition to speed boosts. As more and more companies offer Web versions of popular desktop software, an Internet-only laptop like the Chromebook becomes a viable solution for a mobile workforce.
Citrix Receiver
With the release of the Citrix Receiver Tech Preview, Chromebooks now have access to Windows applications–if, that is, your company is set up with Citrix (it will host the applications) and has Citrix Receiver for Chrome OS infrastructure, and you have a mycitrix login and the URL from your company’s help desk.
Sure, that sounds like a lot of hoops to jump through, but the advantage is that the Windows programs are all centrally hosted, and the Chromebook remains a thin-client-like terminal for accessing these programs. This helps keeps sensitive data on the servers, not on each device.
Google Docs
A direct link to Google Docs for your Chromebook; what more do you need? Google Docs provides real-time collaboration and access from almost anywhere. Google Docs is available for free to consumers, and is also available as part of Google Apps for Business, which runs $5 per user per month or $50 per user annually.
Zoho Docs
If you’re looking for something a little beefier in the way of document storage, collaboration, and management in a more unified presentation, Zoho is a great alternative suite. Since it combines integration with both Google Docs and Microsoft SharePoint, Zoho sits in the middle. It also provides more flexibility in sharing, allowing you to share documents to any email address and letting collaborators sign in via Zoho, Facebook, Google, or Yahoo. Zoho is free for personal use, and business pricing comes in a variety of options starting at $3 per user per month for its Docs alone.
Meanwhile, Internet Explorer continues to bleed share
Computerworld - Apple's Safari last month posted its biggest increase ever in usage share, beating perennial champion Chrome in the gain game, Web metrics vendor Net Applications said today.
The browser bundled with Apple's revenue troika of Mac, iPhone and iPad boosted its share by six-tenths of a point, its largest one-month increase, enough to put it at 8.1% for July, a record.
According to Net Applications, iOS devices like the iPhone accounted for more than a third of Safari's browser share.
But while Safari climbed -- something it's done 17 straight months -- Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) dropped by nine-tenths of a percentage point, its biggest decline since January 2011, and ended July at 52.8%, a new low for the browser.
If IE's decline continues at the pace of the last three months, it would fall under the important psychological line of 50% in November.
Google's Chrome was the only browser other than Safari to improve share in July, growing by three-tenths of a percentage point to finish the month at 13.5%. That keeps it on track to break the 15% bar by October.
Both Mozilla's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera lost ground, slipping two-tenths and one-tenth of a point, respectively, adding to those browsers' long-standing problems. More
AdBlock Plus removes unwanted pop-ups, ads, banners, and YouTube video advertisements.(Credit: Screenshot by Sharon Vaknin/CNET.)
CNET - There's one major element that sets browsers like Google Chrome apart from Safari and Internet Explorer: add-ons. Some are entertaining--Angry Birds, anyone?--while others add convenience or manipulate the look of Web sites you visit.
Below, you'll find the most useful extensions available in the Chrome Web Store. Everyone has their favorites, so I asked you for recommendations on Facebook and Twitter. Although there were many excellent suggestions, here are the top five useful extensions (and one app):
1: AdBlock Plus. Most Web sites pay their bills using advertisements, which often distract you from seeing anything else on the page. Originally created for Firefox, AdBlock Plus blocks banners, pop-ups, ads, YouTube video advertisements, and other bothersome images.
Feeling guilty about blocking ads on your favorite Web sites (because that's the only way they'll stay afloat)? AdBlock Plus lets you to enable advertisements for specific sites.
2: Screen Capture (by Google).Screen Capture lets you grab entire pages or selected areas and annotate them with highlights, drawings, and borders. Then, quickly save your screenshot, or share directly to Facebook or Picasa. Simple, convenient, and seriously useful. More
CNET - Google has released a new developer version of Chrome to re-enable a multitouch gesture that changed in Lion, the new version of Mac OS X that Apple released last week.
With the new operating system, a three-finger swipe left or right moves among different full-screen apps or desktops. That conflicted with Chrome's use of a three-finger swipe to move backward and forward in browsing history.
Yesterday, though, Google released Chrome 14.0.835.0 for Mac (and 14.0.835.0 for Linux, and 14.0.835.2 for Windows) that changes the forward and backward navigation to two-finger swipe gestures on Apple machines. The fix worked on my MacBook Pro, but it'll be some weeks before Chrome 14 arrives as the stable version intended for mainstream users. More
