Gemini» Chromium

Chrome 8: Browser adds PDF viewer

Evelyn — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:56:01 +0000

Menlo Park (ip-192.com): The latest stable version of Google’s Chrome web browser comes with an integrated PDF viewer that renders documents as HTML-based pages and fixes 13 vulnerabilities, including the browser's history, its video indexing and the display of scalable vector graphics (SVG) animations. Google released version 8 on Thursday and says that the PDF reader is sandboxed to limit the potential damage viruses can do and protect critical parts of the Windows operating system. Chrome 8 also adds support for the Chrome Web Store, which was announced in spring 2010 and should be public before the end of the year, according to Google.

The company encourages developers to file bug reports trough its Chromium Security site and offers cash rewards of up to $3,000 through its Vulnerability Rewards Program for eligible bug reports. The company paid $4,000 in bounties to five researchers that reported bugs in the previous version.

Chrome is based on the WebKit layout engine and application framework. Since its initial beta release for Windows on December 11, 2008, the web browser has gained about 9.3 percent of the global browser market, according to Net Applications. It is now the third most widely used browser worldwide. Google has shortened its release cycle and now refreshes the browser every 6 – 8 weeks.

Chrome OS on Dell Mini 10v

Daniel — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:32:05 +0000

Round Rock (ip-192.com): Dell has modified the new Google Chrome OS to enable wireless access to the Internet. While the hardware manufacturer does not expect to have a product available until next year's holiday shopping season, it has ported an experimental version of Google's Chromium OS to the PC maker's Inspiron Mini 10v netbook.

"Without a network connection, Chromium OS is not very interesting," said Doug Anson, Dell's Linux technology strategist, on the Direct2Dell blog last week. "With a network connection, Chromium OS shines. Boot time appears quick, too - about 12 seconds from hitting the power button."

Dell has made the 7.5 GB USB image file available for download but cautions that the file is appropriate for avid Linux experimenters only, not consumers. "Use this image at your own risk - it comes to you totally unsupported and very minimally tested," so Anson.

Open Source developers may run into a number of issues along the way. Anson cited the software's connection manager and underlying components as an example of a potential problem spot, which "can easily break or get hung. When in doubt, reboot and give it another try." Current issues include that it takes "more than five to 10 minutes for the ChromiumOS network connection manager to 'see' the access points and allow you to select and connect," Anson warns.

Google's Chrome OS is an Open Source, lightweight operating system initially targeted at netbooks. It's designed around speed, simplicity and security, according to Google, and promises quick boot times focused on getting users quickly to the Web.

"While (Dell) continues to promote and use Windows for most machines, the demonstration of Chrome on the Mini shows Dell's interest in and commitment to other operating systems," so 451 Group analyst Jay Lyman in an interview with Linux Insider.

Google Chrome OS goes public

Evelyn — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:09:18 +0000

Mountain View (ip-192.com): Google's Chrome OS could be public within 24 hours, with Google calling a special event at its headquarters in Mountain View, California. Google announced that Sundar Pichai, Google's VP of Product Management and Matthew Papakipos, Google Engineering Director for Google Chrome OS would share the Chrome OS details during the event.

The expectation is that Google will announce a test beta of the Open Source based Chrome to gather feedback and bug reports prior to the official launch in 2010. Beta tests give hardware developers time to create new drivers, a shortage of which has been pointed to as a potential stumbling block for the web-centric platform of Google’s new OS.

Google says that Chrome OS is targeted at netbooks and other low-power devices, and focuses on bringing web based apps to a cut-down and simplistic desktop. Users would be expected to keep most of their content in cloud-based storage, while the differentiating line between local and remote applications would be blurred with HTML5 and other technologies.