14 DAY TRIAL // The team of developers behind the Google Chrome web browser have announced that the dev channels have been updated to 4.0.206.1. The new version of Chrome brings an array of changes on all platforms, as well as Mac-specific ones.
Changes for all platforms include:
- Closing the download shelf removes all completed and cancelled downloads from it - Fixes various audio/video events which were not firing - Saved passwords for proxy servers are now correctly labeled - Add single line of tips to New New Tab Page.
Solely on the Mac front, the HTTP Auth dialog now autofills passwords, while the new Tab Page displays much faster. The team has improved scrolling and display performance, particularly on machines without powerful graphics hardware, with plugins starting offscreen now drawing correctly when they scroll into view. For a complete list of changes, including Linux tweaks, see the full changelog here.
On the extensions side, the Google Chrome development team has announced “two breaking changes,” which users can learn about by checking the mailing list post. Other tweaks include: enforce granular permissions; modified several APIs to be more consistent; polished the look of Linux extension shelf; polished extension install UI; allow extension toolstrip to detach; polished chrome://extensions/ page; added convenience developer tools to load an extension and pack an extension.
Readers should note that Google Chrome 4.0.203.4 is not appropriate for general consumer use. Several standard-browser features are unavailable at this time, while the app itself is not 100% reliable. Download Google Chrome “only if you are a developer or take great pleasure in incomplete, unpredictable, and potentially crashing software,” the team of developers responsible with the web browser warns.
Google is also actively developing Chrome OS, described as an open-source, lightweight operating system that will be targeted at netbooks upon its launch.