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Fuzzy Logic Google Chrome: pre-beta version 2 available, Mac and Linux "soon"
Fuzzy Logic Google Chrome: pre-beta version 2 available, Mac and Linux "soon" | Google Chrome: pre-beta version 2 available, Mac and Linux "soon" |
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| Fuzzy Logic - The gadget blog | |
| by Alex Zaharov-Reutt | |
| Tuesday, 13 January 2009 | |
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Page 1 of 3   
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As the web continues growing as a platform, Google wanted more of a say in shaping the web’s future, and when it comes to Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari, Google is clearly hoping that web users in the future will vote differently, click their mice three times, and say “There’s no place like Chrome…”. Although Google Chrome has only taken about a 1% share of the browser market, the development around Chrome has been thick and fast. While other Google projects such as Gmail are still in beta years after being launched, Chrome went to version 1.0 status in record time – about three months. Personally, as a Google Chrome convert, I’ve found it a great browser to use. There are still glitches – sometimes loading up a new tab delivers a “page not found” error message, but pressing refresh always fixes the issue. And sometimes when I have too many browser windows open, right clicking and selecting a “new tab” needs a few clicks before it works. But hey, we’re talking about a version 1.0 product, and now that pre-beta 2.0 is here, it won’t be long until the real beta 2.0 beta is released and most people get automatically upgraded to it, or are at least offered the opportunity to move up if they want to. Just as many people were more than happy enough to try out the Windows 7 pre-beta, there’ll likely be quite a few who’ll want to try out the 2.0 pre-beta as well. I haven’t made the switch as yet, but will later today. After all, when in Chrome, doing as the Chromans do is always an option. We've also learned there's something between an alpha and a beta. It's called a pre-beta. Is a pre-beta the same as a post-alpha? Or is a post-alpha really still a pre-pre-beta? If you’re thinking about trying it yourself, Google provides instructions here on what you need to do to “change channels” from the stable release to the developer releases. Changing back is easy too – just uninstall Chrome and re-install it again to be back to the latest stable release. Mac and Linux users who also want to use Chrome now have a date by which a native version will be released. Although some Linux users managed to get Chrome working by using the WINE software, native releases are always better and will naturally be officially supported. A CNET article on the new browser quotes Brian Rakowski, Chrome's product manager, saying that Google is aiming to release Mac and Linux versions by mid 2009. Rakowski told CNET that “Those two efforts proceeding in parallel. They're at the same level of progress. That team now is able to render most Web pages pretty well. But in terms of the user experience, it's very basic. We have not spent any time building out features. We're still iterating on making it stable and getting the architecture right." So, what new features does the pre-beta 2.0 release of Google Chrome offer those brave end-user souls and hardy developers wishing to try it? Please read on to page 2! |
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