14 DAY TRIAL // Google has released an update to the Chrome dev channel, the third in the 7.0 line. The differences are minor from the previous release and it seems like Google is focusing on bug-fixing. Google Chrome dev 7.0.517.8 comes a week after Google Chrome dev 7.0.517.0 (7.0.517.5 on Mac).
"The Dev channel has been updated to 7.0.517.8 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and ChromeFrame," Google Chrome's, Anthony Laforge announced.
"This release focused on resolving minor bug fixes or crashes. More details about additional changes are available in the svn log of all revisions," he added.
There are a number of small patches and fixes, most focusing on the big things coming to Chrome soon, like the app store. For the users though, the changes should be minimal.
What is interesting though about the latest dev channel release is that it is just a bug-fixing build. Google Chrome engineers work at a fast pace and the dev builds, coming about once a week, usually have new features, if only a few, and the version number changes a bit more significantly.
The only time when the pace slows down is when the team is preparing for a beta release. In that case, once a suitable version has been chosen, the development focuses on fixing bugs and stability issues. Subsequently, the version number doesn't change, just the last two figures which indicate small fixes.
The last time that happened, with Google Chrome 6.0.472.xx, that build became a beta and eventually a stable release. It is now at Chrome 6.0.472.59.
This seems to be happening with Chrome 7.0.517.xx as well. Google has said that it plans to speed up development and release a stable build every six weeks.
Since the last stable launched about a month ago, the first Chrome 7 stable release may be coming by the end of the month. However, if that is the case, users may be slightly disappointed since there really aren't any new features compared to Chrome 6.
UPDATE: The first Google Chrome 7 beta is coming in three days.
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.