14 DAY TRIAL // Google updated the Beta version of its open source browser for Windows for the first time in 2010. Google Chrome 4.0.249.64 is currently available for download through the Beta channel, but only users of Microsoft’s proprietary operating system can take advantage of the release. But fact is that this is not the first beta refresh from the Mountain View-based search giant. In the first week of the year, Google boosted Chrome to Beta 4.0.249.49, but only for Mac OS X users.
“This release adds additional functionality to extensions: The addition of internationalization support for extensions. Adds a right-click context menu for Browser Actions and Page Actions. Disables content scripts in Incognito mode. Prevents extension popups from being dismissed when the focus changes from a child window of the popup, as it is the case with select popups. Enforces minimum version from the extension manifest,” revealed Anthony Laforge, Google Chrome program manager.
Also the past week, Google introduced an update to the Dev channel, kicking the version number up to 4.0.288.1 not just for Windows, but also for Linux and Mac. The last Beta refresh to impact all flavors of Chrome was made available in mid-December 2009. At that time, Google revealed that the update was designed to resolve a variety of stability problems which caused the browser to crash in certain scenarios.
Google Chrome enjoyed an excellent start in 2010, with Internet metrics company Net Applications crediting it with the position of the third most used browser worldwide after Internet Explorer and Firefox. Google Chrome has had an impressive growth, considering that it was only launched at the end of 2008. At the same time, Google has produced no less than three stable versions of Chrome in just one year, going from 1.0 to 3.0. However, not even at this point in time, after almost three months since Windows 7 hit store shelves, is Chrome tailored to the latest iteration of the Windows client from Microsoft.
The latest release of Google Chrome is available for download here.