14 DAY TRIAL // The dev channel release of Google Chrome has been updated. Google Chrome 9.0.576.0 comes several bug fixes and with a couple of interesting new experiments in about:flags, Web Page Prerendering and Verbatim Instant.
"The Dev channel has been updated to 9.0.576.0 for Windows and Linux. This release fixes several crashes," the announcement reads.
Google Chrome 9.0.576.0 also fixes the following issues:
- Typing on a form with highlighted profile, keeps its highlighted value; - Handle selection changes due to AutoFill more carefully; - Autofill popup labels should reflect the contents of the HTML form; - Port SSLClientSocketNSS to use Windows CryptoAPI for SSL client authentication (Linux only).
The latest dev channel build also comes with two new features previewed in Chromium, both available in the Chrome Labs section.
Verbatim Instant is one of the new experiments, though it's just an update on the Instant feature introduced a while back. Instant brings Google Instant functionality to Chrome.
Effectively, it loads pages before you've finished typing, based on predictions in the Omnibox. Verbatim Instant makes a small but important change, it now loads search pages for what you've typed so far not on what Chrome suggests.
The second new feature in about:labs is Web Page Prerendering. As the name suggests, the feature loads certain web pages and renders them in the background even if a user hasn't opened them in a tab yet. The feature has just been introduced and it's unclear how much of the functionality has been implemented yet.
When it will be completed, Chrome will determine which links or which pages you're going to visit next based on several criteria most likely including your past actions, and proceeds to load and render them in the background.
This way, if Chrome guessed correctly and you really do want to visit that certain page, it will be ready to be served and will load, seemingly, instantly.
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.