14 DAY TRIAL // The first taste of Google Chrome 11.0 is now available for download via the Dev Channel. Just yesterday I was telling you that Chrome 11 was extremely close to release, and as it turns out, the Dev Channel release of the browser version is now up for grabs for early adopters.
Chrome 11.0.672.2 Dev can be tested on Windows, Mac OS X or Linux, and features a number of improvements.
Google has kicked up a notch the JavaScript rendering engine of Chrome 11, which is now at version 3.1.4.0.
But there are additional enhancements on top of the new V8 JS engine. Chrome 11.0.672.2 Dev brings to the table fixes for a few crashes, as well as compatibility issues.
At the same time, the Mountain View-based search giant has updated Chrome 11.0.672.2 Dev’s protection against cross-site scripting attacks. While still experimental, the XSS Auditor has been re-designed and is now enabled by default in version 11, with Google on the lookout for false positive reports.
As I mentioned in my article yesterday, with Chrome 11 Dev being launched, Chrome 10.0 graduated from the Dev to the Beta Channel.
Also available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, Chrome 10.0.648.82 Beta introduces a new version of the V8 JavaScript engine, which offers a boost in performance of no less than 66% in Google’s V8 benchmark suite compared to Chrome 9.0 Stable.
Chrome 10.0.648.82 Beta’s new GPU accelerated video capabilities decrease CPU usage by as much as 80% in some scenarios, as the browser takes advantage of the graphics card to render content.
Users will additionally find that it’s much easier for them to access passwords, bookmarks, preferences, themes, and extensions across different computers running Chrome 10.0.648.82 Beta or later, since Chrome Sync is now enabled by default.
Chrome 10.0.648.82 Beta also sports improvements to settings management, enhancements to the malware reporting capabilities and functionality designed to kill outdated plugins by default, as well as support for Background WebApps and webNavigation extension API.
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.