14 DAY TRIAL // Anthony Laforge, of the Google Chrome development team, has announced the release of a new version for Chrome for Mac. Version 5.0.375.17 is the latest update to the Dev Channel (located here). It removes some user-interface elements (http:// truncation, star icon, etc.), and disables profile-based autofill. The developers note that this is not a permanent change.
Besides outlining the aforementioned changes, Laforge also reveals that, “We are currently examining ways to address the usability issues that were raised and plan to reintroduce in a future release.” He mentions that various crash fixes have also been incorporated in this release for both Mac and Windows. Changes specific to the latter platform include restored shortcuts for the bookmarks bar and bookmarks manager (Ctrl+B and Ctrl+Shift+B, respectively).
One known issue is also listed in the post: “Drop down box does not close after clicking on the expand arrow a second time.” Since Laforge fails to mention any affected platform, we’re guessing the bug is present on both Mac and Windows versions of the browser, as well as on Linux builds.
Google Chrome is a lightweight web browser based on the WebKit layout engine and application framework. Initially released as a beta version for Windows in September 2008, the browser saw its public stable release later that year, on December 11. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or “chrome,” of web browsers. In September 2008, Google released a large portion of Chrome's source code (including its V8 JavaScript engine) as an open source project entitled Chromium. Following this move, third-party developers were able to study the underlying source code and help port the web browser to Mac OS X and Linux.
As usual, those who want to learn more about additional changes are encouraged to check with the svn log of all revisions. To obtain the latest version of Google Chrome for Mac, Softpedia readers can use the download link available at the bottom of this article. Chrome for Mac works on Intel machines only, and requires Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later. The Mac version of the browser is still beta software, therefore users are advised to exercise caution when utilizing the browser, or at least not rely on it for important tasks.