Google Chromebooks will be available for sale from June 15 in U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. In the U.S., buy Chromebooks online from Amazon and Best Buy.

• Google Chrome OS Arriving this Month? – October 4, 2009
• Google Unveils New Chromebook – May 12, 2011
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Free Grooveshark Google Chrome Theme – March 7, 2011
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010

Buy a Google Chrome OS ChromeBook Laptop originally appeared on: Crenk
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The new logo has been appearing in a number of areas, but there is still no official word from Google (unlike Google).

The new logo was added just before Google Chrome adds a lot of great new features. Its rumoured that Google Chrome will be adding the ability to select multiple tabs, which is handy for managing the tab chaos some of us suffer, and abbreviated tab titles to better distinguish similar pages.

What do you think of the new Google Chrome Logo

• Google Chrome browser 1 week later – September 10, 2008
• First 5-minute Impressions With Google Chrome – September 3, 2008
• Google Release Google Chrome 11 for Download – April 29, 2011
• Improve your Typing with Typing Speed Monitor – October 24, 2010
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010

Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo originally appeared on: Crenk
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Here is an awesome Google Chrome theme that is inspired by Grooveshark. This Chrome theme comes with a great yellow and blue design (that I will be using on Chrome from now on).

Download Grooveshark Theme for Chrome

• Download the Google+ Chrome Theme for Free – July 8, 2011
• Buy a Google Chrome OS ChromeBook Laptop – May 12, 2011
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010
• Google Chrome 4.1 Beta with Auto Translate – March 3, 2010

Free Grooveshark Google Chrome Theme originally appeared on: Crenk
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Remote Desktop for most power and/or IT users represents the way of accessing a remote’s computer desktop by reaching it using an IP address; but is more than that. Using Remote Desktop protocol, users can access their applications, installed on a remote computer, without actually installing them locally.

This functionality, without an official announcement by Google, appeared in a Google forum; made by software designer inside the developing of Chrome: “We’re adding new capabilities all the time,” wrote Kačmarčík. “With this functionality (unofficially named ‘chromoting’), Chrome OS will not only be [a] great platform for running modern Web apps, but will also enable you to access legacy PC applications right within the browser.”

For me, almost anything representing legacy or an interoperability support sounds like a good idea; especially in today’s market when some are thinking that by being more restrictive they will win.

What do you think?

• Android Market Now Has Over 250,000 Apps: Grown by 100,000 in Last 30 Days.. Really! – March 21, 2011
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Who Wants an iPad when you can get an iPed? – May 29, 2010
• Google Chrome 4.1 Beta with Auto Translate – March 3, 2010
• Google Chrome OS Arriving this Month? – October 4, 2009

Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? originally appeared on: Crenk
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The auto translate option works in a very simple way, when you are browsing your sites, Chrome will detect which is the language that is displaying and pop the question to you: Would you like for me to translate this? Here’s a short video about the feature.

Some of the other features that this beta includes:

• NoScript: The possibility to configure some sites where you can exclude them to run any type of script.
• New privacy features: You’ll get the chance to use incognito mode, where you won’t leave any track of the websites you are visiting (one of the most wanted features).
• New control panel: Better control of cookies, images, plug-ins and pop-ups.

To download the latest beta, visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/landing/chrome/beta/

• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010
• Google Chrome gets first update and more confusing – September 17, 2008
• Google Chrome browser 1 week later – September 10, 2008
• First 5-minute Impressions With Google Chrome – September 3, 2008

Google Chrome 4.1 Beta with Auto Translate originally appeared on: Crenk
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Web Browser Ballot will be available in Windows XP, Vista and 7 operating systems as a Windows update. Soon as you download the update, a window will appear where the browsers will be listed randomly from which you’ll select your default browser.

I found very interesting the feature available for randomly listing the browsers, which avoids any suggestion that could induce a user to make a pick according to the location in your screen of the browsers. Here’s evidence of the random is actually working:

Internet Explorer 8 showing third in browser’s list.

Internet Explorer 8 showing first in browser’s list.

From what we know, the ballot will only appear to users that have Internet Explorer as the default browser; if you have any other as default, the list won’t appear to you.

For more information, here’s the official document with Microsoft’s commitment.

• Top 12 Browser Versions – August 8, 2010
• Microsoft Launches Internet Explorer 10 Preview 2: Download Now – June 30, 2011
• Test Drive Internet Explorer 10 – April 22, 2011
• Internet Explorer 10 Rumoured to be Launching Same Time As Windows 8 – March 16, 2011
• Internet Explorer 9 to be Available to Download March 14 – March 11, 2011

Microsoft’s Web Browser Ballot Starting in March originally appeared on: Crenk
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The usability is really simple since integrates directly with your Gmail account, placing the Facebook logo right under the Google Buzz icon. The interaction with Facebook is the same as any other API, using Facebook connect; you just need to log in and you’ll instantly get access to the updates.

Here’s an important note made by the creator, if you want to update your status you must click on the image.

Some of the previous versions of this extension seemed that had a lot of problems, now the latest build 0.0.2.1 is more stable but according to some users still is a little buggy.

• PDF to Microsoft Word Converter Facebook Edition – December 4, 2011
• Washington Post Facebook Social Reader News Application – November 26, 2011
• Dont Just Jump Ship to Apple So Easily – September 27, 2011
• Share and Listen to Music on Facebook with Spotify – September 23, 2011
• FTalk: Chat With Your Facebook Friends: GTalk Clone – August 15, 2011

Facebook Integrating with Google Chrome originally appeared on: Crenk
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Shanzai is announcing that the devices with the Loongson-CPU will have Google Chrome OS installed, and released by Lemote hardware manufacturer. And even though these are only rumors, there have been some snapshots available in the web of what seems to be Google’s OS:

The anticipation is increasing significantly, since we don’t have much data around this operating system. We know that it will be focused on netbooks, open source with a Linux kernel and user interface based mainly in a web experience.

Sounds good to me if an Asian hardware manufacturer is taking a chance with this new OS. We are all waiting for the moment to install and use Chrome OS.

• Google Operating System Announced – July 8, 2009
• Buy a Google Chrome OS ChromeBook Laptop – May 12, 2011
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010
• Google Unveils New Chromebook – May 12, 2011
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011

Google Chrome OS Arriving this Month? originally appeared on: Crenk
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Chrome now controls 2% of the market which is pretty good for a new comer. However, they’re looking for more as the Chrome team target a more specific section of people – the entertainment junkies. They are creating a new accelerator add-on for the browser that will enhance graphics for things like watching movies, playing games and using applications. I think this is actually a good tactic as browser games, web applications and streaming videos are becoming very popular. Just look at Quake Live.

“The O3D team is working on getting O3D integrated into the Chromium build, and we’re close to being able to complete our first step towards integration,” said programmer Greg Spencer. “I’ll be making the Windows build of Chromium be dependent upon building O3D as part of the build process.”

The upcoming Chrome OS will indeed be much of Linux under the skin however it will also have much of its workload centred on online applications. An improvement in graphics and the power of the Google Chrome Browser can only mean a bright future for the daring Chrome team.

• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010
• Google Chrome OS Arriving this Month? – October 4, 2009
• Buy a Google Chrome OS ChromeBook Laptop – May 12, 2011
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Free Grooveshark Google Chrome Theme – March 7, 2011

Google Chrome – Heading for Success originally appeared on: Crenk
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Well now Google hits again, they are planning to release a new Chrome version that will increase the browser performance up to 30%. How? New version for WebKit and a JavaScript engine (V8) update. They even have a benchmark report that was executed comparing the new and old Chrome version:

But that’s not all. This new beta build will also include:

• Removing Thumbnails from New Page: A very requested feature (specially Safari users) that will let you to select the pages you want to see every time you open a new tab. I bet you were expecting this one, to remove “those” sites that you don’t want other people to know you visit a lot.
• Includes a Full-screen mode.
• Form Autofill.
• Fixed around 300 bugs from previous versions.

The only thing I wonder if this build will be more stable on Windows 7; that would definitely place Chrome as my preferred browser.

One thing is for sure, this is not a good news for IE8 that just started struggling for user’s acceptance, and with the bonus that IE8 appears as a “selectable” feature on Windows 7, no longer a mandatory installation for Windows operating systems. Looks like it’s going to be a long and a painful trip for IE to continue at the top.

• Google Chrome gets first update and more confusing – September 17, 2008
• Windows 8 Beta Late February 2012: Official Public Release of Windows 8 in January 2013 – December 8, 2011
• Ubuntu Screenshots of 11.10 – September 26, 2011
• Microsoft Launches Internet Explorer 10 Preview 2: Download Now – June 30, 2011
• Fences Organzies Your Desktop – June 27, 2011

Google Chrome: Getting 30% Faster originally appeared on: Crenk
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fixes bugs with areas including Microsoft’s Silverlight software, tab behavior, video playback with YouTube and other Flash players, and scalable vector graphics, and it suppresses full-text indexing of sites accessed with encrypted Web connections

Cnet News has all the information on how to do the update, to me the killer is you can’t even update from the software itself, you need to go to another website.  Then you have to choose which updates you want to receive, Beta or Dev, and then watch as it updates.  I have no problem with software being released and not being finished, it happens all the time, but with Google’s track record of keeping apps in beta for years and years, why put so many users through the growing pains of both Dev and Beta versions?  Me thinks Chrome should have been a private invite only release like Gmail was originally to get most of the issues flushed out in the first place.

Chrome is nice, it has a lot of cool features and has everyone who uses the internet interested, but as reported earlier, no one is really using it and no one on a Mac can even start to use it.  It pains me when major companies rely on the free labor of their own users to finish building and fixing software that shouldn’t be released yet, much less make them jump through hoops to get the update.

Anyone here a die-hard Chrome user yet?

• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010
• Google Chrome 4.1 Beta with Auto Translate – March 3, 2010
• Google Chrome browser 1 week later – September 10, 2008
• First 5-minute Impressions With Google Chrome – September 3, 2008

Google Chrome gets first update and more confusing originally appeared on: Crenk
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What’s so great about it?  Well it’s new and shiny, has a minimalist look and feel to it and consumes about 75% less memory than Firefox does, at least for me on my Windows XP box.  Google really seems to have done their homework with regards to chewing up your CPU cycles and there appears to never be a memory leak.  Additionally, you just need to type something in what used to be known as the address bar, as it now functions as a search bar and many other things.  It’s also fast, but how fast?  My seat dyno says slightly faster than Firefox, but to a normal user, it might only feel faster because it’s new.

What’s not so great about it?  Well first and foremost, Windows only.  As a Mac user, I once again feel like someone put me out in the cold.  Lack of any add-ons that I’ve come to love with Firefox is also missing, but if you were coming from Internet Explorer you wouldn’t know what I’m talking about anyway.  Dedicated search box is something I miss.  Why you ask, since Google answers all questions on it’s own?  Because it simply doesn’t.  I’ve been using a Firefox add-on called OpenSearchFox for more than a year now; it allows you to add a drop down in Firefox to search any site that has search enabled on it.  That means, rather than going to say Netflix and then searching, I can select Netflix from my drop down menu in the search bar and type in my query there.  My other gripe is the lack of a status bar.  I understand how important screen real estate is, but I like it, I’ve been using the status bar for more than 10 years in browsers, I’m used to it.  Lastly, Chrome doesn’t work with all websites yet.  One site that I order digital photos from requires a Java plugin, to upload the photos.  I have the plugin installed in Windows but the browser doesn’t pick it up.  I’m sure small kinks like this will iron themselves out but it’s still an inconvenience.

One of the most interesting Easter eggs is kind of a joke in Chrome.  In the address bar type about:internets – then sit back and chuckle, at least someone around the Google camp has a sense of humor.  Chrome is interesting, but it’s not a killer app for me yet, nor do I plan on switching.  For now, I will use it to beta test website design and other various things on the Internet but Firefox will continue to be my primary browser.

• First 5-minute Impressions With Google Chrome – September 3, 2008
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Google Release Google Chrome 11 for Download – April 29, 2011
• Improve your Typing with Typing Speed Monitor – October 24, 2010
• Google Chrome OS Supporting PC Apps? – June 16, 2010

Google Chrome browser 1 week later originally appeared on: Crenk
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Download was very small; it then opens an applet and downloads the rest of the software.  Installation requires Firefox to be shut down so Chrome can import all your bookmarks, favorites, history and passwords; this goes quickly and rather painlessly.  Next you get a TOS about reporting options for crashes, I denied their request and the install was complete.

Upon launching Chrome for the first time an unusual question is asked, “Do you wish to keep Google as your default search engine?”   It’s unusual in that, it’s a Google product and the first thing about this new killer app is to strip out Search, the one thing Google does very, very well.  I selected to keep it.

All my bookmarks and history imported, what didn’t was my homepage.  I’m a long time iGoogle user and rely on the RSS feeds to get me caught up quickly at a glance to what is going on with the sites I follow.  Not there.  Instead six white boxes stare at me.  A little note tells you that these are your most visited sites.  Nice idea, but not for me.  I easily look at 50+ sites in six different tabs of iGoogle.  There is no apparent way to set a traditional “homepage” only what Google wants you to see.

The other thing lacking is an option to show the status bar.  I rely on the status bar while at work and home to see where any link will take my, by hovering over it.  There are also several add-ons for Firefox that sit in my status bar that I’ve come to love, from what I can tell in Chrome, there is no status bar option.

On the plus side, it is fast.  How fast?  I don’t have scientific numbers or pretty pie charts, but it really feels fast.  One site that I know uses a fairly common Java plugin to run an app wouldn’t work and there was no option to install it but everything else on the dozen or so sites I quickly browsed seem to work.

Is Chrome the next killer app?  Hard to say now, Firefox has such a loyal, loving fan base to it, but I think this could compliment it very well.

• Google Chrome browser 1 week later – September 10, 2008
• Google Flattens Their Chrome Logo – March 16, 2011
• Flock Changing Out Firefox Framework for Chrome – June 16, 2010
• Google Release Google Chrome 11 for Download – April 29, 2011
• Firefox 4 Receives Over 6 Million Downloads in First 24 Hours – March 23, 2011

First 5-minute Impressions With Google Chrome originally appeared on: Crenk
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