14 DAY TRIAL // Google has started offering the first taste of Chrome 15 as Chromium 15 graduated to the Dev Channel.
In parallel with the new Dev Channel release, the Mountain View-based search giant also introduced the first Chrome 14 Beta Build.
Both Chrome 15 Dev and Chrome 14 Beta are designed for testing purposes only, and as such provided to early adopters. End users are better off running Chrome 13 Stable, a release which almost guarantees no nasty surprises, whereas the Dev and Beta Builds are pre-release software, not yet ready for general availability or everyday use.
Chrome 14.0.835.35 Beta was released just hours after Build 14.0.835.35 first went live on the Dev Channel. Available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, Chrome 14.0.835.35 Beta comes with a range of enhancements, including Sync Encryption for all data and the first taste of Native Client.
“Native Client allows C and C++ code to be seamlessly executed inside the browser with security restrictions similar to JavaScript. Native Client apps use Pepper, a set of interfaces that provide C and C++ bindings to the capabilities of HTML5. As a result, developers can now leverage their native code libraries and expertise to deliver portable, high performance web apps,” explained Chris Rogers, Google Software Engineer.
Developers adapting their websites for Chrome 14 will now be able to take advantage of a new application programming interface to offer new audio experiences to visitors. Chrome 14.0.835.35 Beta introduces support for Web Audio API, permitting the use of such effects as room simulation and spatialization.
There is also support for two additional APIs, both labeled experiment at this point in time: Web Request extension API and Content Settings extension API.
In addition to Chrome 14 Beta, Chrome 15 Dev can also be downloaded, with Build 15.0.849.0 offered to early adopters running Windows and Linux, and version 15.0.849.1 provided to testers with Mac OS X.
Google notes that Chrome 15.0.849.0 Dev packs a number of fixes for various stability issues, so this release should be more reliable than its Chromium predecessor. Moreover, the first Chrome 15 Dev release sports a boost in terms of print preview performance, and updated JavaScrip engine, as well as additional fixes.
Google Chrome for Windows is available for download here.
Google Chrome for Linux is available for download here. Google Chrome for Mac is available for download here.