14 DAY TRIAL // The dev channel build of Google Chrome has been updated bringing a few bug fixes and some UI changes for Linux users. Google Chrome 6.0.466.0 is available only for Windows and Linux, a Mac build has not been issued yet. A couple of small new features have been introduced for all users, but the biggest update is the introduction of the unified menu for Linux users as well. Previously, it had only been available on Windows.
A couple of changes affect all platforms. SSL sockets now have late binding enabled meaning that higher priority SSL requests get sent to the server first. The ‘chrome.idle’ extension API which was marked as experimental has been graduated and is now labeled as ‘idle.’
For Windows, a bug that lead to crashes when using SPNEGO authentication on intranet sites has been fixed. Developers also fixed a bug affecting users of Ubuntu 10.10 alpha builds which caused favicons in tabs to flicker. Google warns that there may be other graphical errors, but they haven’t been traced back to Chrome.
A full list of the changes is available in the revision logs. A couple of updates, not listed by Google, have to do with Chrome OS. One update fixed the way the webcam video feed is displayed on the Chrome OS login screen.
Google is moving ahead with development at its usual pace and Chrome 6 is starting to shape up. Google hasn’t released a beta from the Chrome 6 branch yet and it looks like the developers are waiting for a more polished build before marking it as a beta. Based on Chrome’s previous release cycle, a beta should definitely be coming soon.
The unified menu, introduced for Windows builds earlier, is now available on Linux. It should be coming to Mac users as soon as Chrome is updated for that platform as well. With that, much of the visual refresh planned for Chrome 6 should be complete and Google could be pushing it further down the stream to the beta channel and eventually to the stable one. You can check out an overview of the new features so far and what else to expect from Google Chrome 6 is available here.
Google Chrome 6.0.466.0 dev for Windows is available for download here. Google Chrome 6.0.466.0 dev for Linux is available for download here.