Google to unveil shiny Chrome web browser

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 02 September 2008 04:30

Business IT - Open Source

The default new tab page looks like a timesaver. The idea of a 'home page' is - for most people that know how to change their browser's setting - is a thing of the past. Chrome replaces the predefined home page or an empty tab  with thumbnails of your nine most-visited pages plus a list of your most-searched sites.

Exactly how well this works in practice remains to be seen. I'll give it a go, but I suspect I may return to using a blank page as the default action.

A Safari and Internet Explorer 8 style touch is the privacy mode ('porn mode,' as some people have labelled it) that does not add pages to the history list or keep any cookies after the tab is closed.

And all this is open source, so if some of the ideas take off, you can expect to see them turn up in other browsers. subject to licence compliance.

If you want to read the Chrome comic for yourself, the most accessible copy is the one Google has made available on its Book Search site.

So when will Chrome be available? Tuesday September 2, US time. But the first beta release will be for Windows only, with Mac and Linux versions still under development.

The release of the beta will be announced on The Official Google Blog.