Google has just released a brand new version of Google Chrome on its developer network. It is for the first time that a version of Google Chrome has been released for Windows as well as Linux and Mac. And here is our little introduction to the new build.
For starters, here are some of the more cosmetic changes that we witnessed right after the update.
- Google Chrome ver. 3.0.192.1
- A new homepage, well not entirely new, but with some modifications that certainly make it a lot more useful. It includes two new tabs; Recent Activities (which display your most recent interaction with the browser) and Tips and Suggestions (this, we believe, is a feature that is still under development).
- On the new homepage, the website preview windows can be moved to a position of your liking. It's quite a handy feature for people who use these windows as virtual bookmarks.
- The new homepage now allows you to pin a particular preview window to its position as well. That will, in turn, keep Google from changing its position by calculating the number of times that you've visited this website.
- The home page now offers two different views of your most visited websites. In addition to showing multiple preview windows, it now also gives you a rather simple text based version of the same, as well.
Highlights in this release
- (Mac) Enabled support for the Mac OS X spellchecking service.
- (Mac) First cut at pop up blocking for Mac.
- (Linux) Accelerator keys like ctrl-C for copy should work again.
- (Linux) Initial support of complex text (e.g. Arabic). Bug reports welcome.
- (Linux) Initial GTK theme support.
- (Linux) IME support.
- (Extensions) Breaking API Change: page_actions.icon renamed to page_action.icons and changed from a single string to an array of
strings. - (All) Added support for exporting/ importing bookmark-let bookmarks, thanks to Thiago.
- (All) Fixed Acid3 Test 48: LINKTEST
Known issues:
- Issue 15199: New windows open off screen, in certain conditions, for dual montior users.
- Issue 16052: Tab closes if a new url is navigated to quickly during a page load.
Getting on the Dev channel
In order to get the developers' version of Chrome, here is what you should do.
Back up your data
Before you switch, you should make a backup of your profile (bookmarks, most visited pages, history, cookies, etc). If you ever want to switch back to a more stable channel, your updated profile data might not be compatible with the older version.
Make a copy of the User DataDefault directory (for example, copy it to 'Default Backup' in the same location). The location depends on your operating system:
- Windows XP: Documents and Settings/username/LocalSettings/Application/DataGoogleChromeUser/DataDefault
- Windows Vista: Usersusername/AppData/Local/Google/ChromeUser/DataDefault
Note:
If you're using Explorer to find the folder, you might need to set Show hidden files and folders in Tools > Folder Options... > View
Windows
Download and run the installer for the desired channel:
- Dev channel: http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?extra=devchannel
- Beta channel: http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?extra=betachannel
You'll need to restart Google Chrome to get the update. If this didn't work to get the latest build on a channel, try using the Channel Changer.
Mac
Requirements: Intel CPU; Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later.
Note:
The Mac build still lacks certain privacy features, and is not appropriate for general consumer use.
Download and open the disk image for the desired channel:
- Dev channel: GoogleChrome.dmg
Then drag the app to the usual place.
Linux
Requirements:
Intel Pentium 4 / Athlon 64 or later CPU; 32- or 64-bit Ubuntu 8.04 or later, or 32-bit Debian 5. Support for other Linux distributions is planned; unpacking the .deb files by hand may work.
Note:
The Linux build still lacks certain privacy features, and is not appropriate for general consumer use.
Installing Google Chrome will add the Google repository so your system will automatically keep Chrome up to date. If you don't want Google's repository, "Download and install the package appropriate for your system (just clicking on it should do the right thing)":
- Dev channel (for 32-bit systems): google-chrome-unstable_current_i386.deb
- Dev channel (for 64-bit systems): google-chrome-unstable_current_amd64.deb
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