14 DAY TRIAL // The Chrome Stable channel has been updated to 14.0.835.163 for all platforms, including Mac OS X. The update is focused on security, but there are also some new features to be had.
This may well be the Chrome Stable update with the most security patches documented so far.
Google credits a number of security researchers for finding and reporting the bugs, including one Alexey Proskuryakov of Apple for working with the search giant in the development cycle and preventing bugs from ever reaching the stable front.
“Today, we’re happy to ship a new release to the Stable channel of Chrome, following up on last month’s Beta channel release,” reads an announcement on the official Google Chrome blog. “This release contains two significant technologies which allow developers to create even more powerful web apps and games,” says Brad Chen, Software Engineer.
Those include the Web Audio API, which devs can use to add audio effects such as room simulation and spatialization, and Native Client, described by Google as “an open-source technology which allows C and C++ code to be seamlessly and securely executed inside the browser.”
The software engineers at Google are working to extend Native Client’s application support beyond the titles listed in the Chrome Web Store.
Some OS X Lion specific changes are noted as well.
According to Chen, Chrome now uses Lion's overlay scrollbars for all web pages. These only appear when scrolling, as OS X users should well know by now.
Initial support for Lion’s full-screen mode has been included. It is triggered by the full-screen button or Ctrl+Shift+F.
Some crash bugs that were plaguing the OS X build are fixed, and there’s an “all-around visual polish” that users will notice, according to Google’s staffer.