14 DAY TRIAL // The latest version of Chrome for developers was postponed because of the two stable releases of the open source browser Google shipped the past week. But, on May 12, 2009, the Chrome developer channel was updated to build 2.0.180.0, delivering a range of new fixes, as well as kicking the version numbers for the rendering engine and the JavaScript engine up a notch. In this regard, WebKit is now up to version 530.9, while, as far as V8 is concerned, the build is 1.2.2.1. This, of course, provided that you run Google Chrome 2.0.180.0.
In addition to the version changes, Jonathan Conradt, Google Chrome program manager, also enumerated “visible changes: Support PgUp/PgDn in Omnibox for ‘first entry/last entry.’ Tell the user if Chrome is not the default browser. You can choose to allow pop-ups from a site,” as well as additional modifications: “Fix for crashing when zoomed into street level on maps.yahoo.com. Stop the location bar from flashing white when navigating from one HTTPS site to another. Fix for common issues around opening a new window.”
The past week, Google delivered updates both to the stable and the beta versions of Chrome. On May 7, the Mountain View-based search giant introduced Chrome 1.0.154.65, an update set up to fix problems related to the startup process when the browser would crash for some users. Subsequently, Google also took the Chrome's Beta channel up to 2.0.172.23, focusing on tweaks to the graphical user interface, as well, as introducing bug and stability fixes.
“We were not able to issue a Dev channel release this week. Our test team did a great job in qualifying two Stable udpates and a Beta update this week, and we just didn't have the test capacity to push a Dev channel release,” Mark Larson, Google Chrome program manager, explained ahead of the weekend. “We'll get an update out early next week. Stay tuned for some exciting new features we hope to land in the Dev channel.”
The latest versions of Google Chrome are available for download here.