14 DAY TRIAL // The stable branch of Google Chrome, a browser built on the Blink layout engine that aims to be minimalistic and versatile at the same time, has advanced to version 36 after a few weeks of development, and Linux users will find a few features designed specifically for them.
Google Chrome usually features three distinct branches: Alpha, Beta, and Stable. Just a day after the previous Beta launch, the developers decided that it was time to release a new Stable version as well, integrating quite a few changes and improvements.
“The Chrome Team is excited to announce the promotion of Chrome 36 to the Stable channel for Windows, Mac and Linux. Chrome 36.0.1985.125 contains a number of fixes and improvements.”
“This update includes 26 security fixes. Below, we highlight fixes that were either contributed by external researchers or particularly interesting. Many of the above bugs were detected using AddressSanitizer,” reads the official announcement.
Some of the biggest new features in Google Chrome 36.0.1985.125 include better notifications, an updated Incognito / Guest NTP design, the addition of a Browser crash recovery bubble, and the Chrome App Launcher for Linux.
The Linux platform is the last to receive this new launcher and users should find it very useful, although it might present a problem for people who tend to use a very large number of apps inside the browser. The App Launcher can only accommodate so many apps in that small window.
The Google Chrome developers only provide two kinds of binary files, deb and rpm, and no source. If you are not using a Linux distribution capable of reading this type of files, you will have to wait until it hits your repositories.
Also, keep in mind that if you intend to use this browser on the Linux platform, the Java elements will not work. In order to access Java components on a website, you will need to downgrade. You can find an older version of Google Chrome on Softpedia, along with all the other versions, but you will also have to disable the repositories for Google Chrome so that it doesn't upgrade along with everything else.
There is no information about a solution to this pesky Java issue, but it's very likely that the Google developers are working on some sort of compromise and it's possible that Oracle is doing something along the same lines.
Usually, a complete list of changes can be found on the official website.
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