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Chrome Now Open for Extension Uploads

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:12:21 -0600

Google is now inviting developers to submit their Chrome extensions to the Chrome Extensions gallery. At the moment, it is only possible to upload extensions to the online repository, currently in limited beta. Google will soon allow two-way traffic in a limited manner, meaning that some beta testers will be allowed to download the extensions that are uploaded in the next few days.

All extensions will have to pass through a fully automated review process, except for those extensions “that include an NPAPI component and all content scripts that affect "file://" URLs.” Extensions beyond the scope of the automated review process will be vetted manually. Developers can supplement their extensions with explanatory text, screenshots and/or YouTube videos.

“During the last few months, our team has been working hard to support extensions in Google Chrome's beta channel. Today, we are getting one step closer to this goal; developers can now upload their extensions to Google Chrome's extension gallery. We are making the upload flow available early to make sure that developers have the time to publish their extensions ahead of our full launch,” programmer Lei Zheng wrote on the Chromium blog.

8 Things You Need to Know about Chrome OS

Will Smith & Norman Chan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:12 -0600

Google pulled the wraps off of Chrome OS today, and while there isn't a general availability announcement today, they spoke briefly about the Chrome browser (Linux and Mac versions due this year, along with support for extensions) before diving into the nascent OS. You can expect to see Chrome ship in about a year, and showed the first glimpses of the new OS, details about the architecture, the hardware it will run on, and gave us the first hints about what the Google Cloud OS will really look like.

Here's why Chrome OS won't be replacing Windows anytime soon.

Chrome OS is a hardware platform as well as an OS

Chrome will have very specific platform requirements. It won’t run on machines with physical hard drives, only SSDs. Only certain Wi-Fi chipsets will be supported. Chrome OS will also have requirements for screen size, a full-sized keyboard, and a decent sized touchpad. They demoed Chrome OS working on an eeePC today, and said that you'd be able to upgrade some netbooks on the market today using a screwdriver.

Google didn't announce hardware specs, but confirmed that Chrome OS will work with x86 and ARM-based machines, and is designed with the 802.11n Wi-Fi spec in mind.

Chrome is Open Source

Chrome OS uses code from Linux, Webkit, Ubuntu, and Moblin. It's based on what seems like a heavily modified Linux kernel. While there's no beta announcement today, the code is open source as of today, so people can download and work on the code, as well as contribute submissions back to the project.

The Chrome Browser is the Primary Interface

If you've used the Chrome browser, Chrome OS will look very familiar to you. There is no conventional Desktop, so to speak. The browser window is your web interface, file explorer, and web app launcher. You can open multiple Chrome windows (think multiple desktops), each with their own set of tabs and swap between them from an even zoomed out further desktop.

Data is Stored in the Cloud

While the user can save data locally, whether it's photos, videos, etc, everything in the user's /home folder is synced to the cloud. The local copy is just a cache, presumably to allow you to use the netbook offline or where there's poor Internet. This is very similar to the thin clients that Sun pushed in the late 90s, in that there are relatively slow computers with ubiquitous network connections that rely on the Internet for most of their usability.

When you use any Chrome OS device, you log in and all of your data is there immediately. This means that presumably you log into your Chrome machine using your Google account. Of course, the big question is what happens when Google's servers go down. How accessible will your data be when you're away from the Internet for a few days?

Chrome OS uses a New Security Model

Because the Chrome browser is the OS, users don't have access to the root folders of the machine. You won't be able to install applications on the OS, but there will be a plugin/extension architecture, presumably that works with extensions similar to the Chrome browser.

The OS kernel and browser will be digitally signed, so the OS will be able to check itself at boot. (Web apps won't require digital signatures.) If it detects something amiss, it will simply restore the affected areas of the OS, leaving your home partition alone. The OS will also automatically update at launch, during its verified boot.

Chrome OS is for Secondary Computers

Google doesn't anticipate Chrome OS being used on your desktop PCs (at least, not yet). Dual-boot will not be possible, and it won't work with your third-party peripherals that use non-standard drivers. Keyboards, mice, and USB hard drives will work, but it's extremely unlikely that you'll be able to sync your iPhone with Chrome OS. They say that they'll have a novel solution for printing in the future.

Chrome OS Runs Web Apps Exclusively

We've said it before, but we'll say it again now. The only native app for Chrome OS is the browser. There's no mail application, no control panels, no application launcher outside of the browser. The OS is the Chrome browser--anything you can run in the Chrome browser runs inside that. Google showed web Excel from Microsoft and specifically mentioned Yahoo and other providers during the demo. Anything that runs in the Chrome browser on Windows, will run on Chrome OS. All of the applications you'll run on Chrome OS are web applications.

During the Q&A Michael Arrington explicitly pointed out that this strategy exactly mirrors Steve Jobs' comments during the initial iPhone launch. The response? The iPhone has native apps, Chrome OS only has a browser.

Chrome is more like a TV than a Computer

It's instant-on, cold booting in about 7 seconds, and on the desktop about 3 seconds after that. This is why they're using a unique platform, so they control the hardware and software and can get performance and experience they need.

Here's Google's over-simplified explanation of Chrome OS:

Image credits: Gizmodo and Google

Google Explains Chrome OS in this 3 Minute Video

Norman Chan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:30:28 -0600

This morning, Google gave the first public demonstration of the Chrome OS they announced earlier this year. We'll have a full recap of the presentation later today, but Google has also released a 3 minute video explaining the basics of their netbook-targeted operating system. The basics: Chrome OS is Chrome web browser, built on top of a Linux kernel, which only runs web apps (ie. primarily used when you're connected to the internet). And it's being designed with specific hardware specs in mind.

Update: Here's everything you need to know about Chrome OS!

Stay tuned for our recap of the Chrome OS presentation.

Google Still Trying to Speed Up the Web, with SPDY

Paul Lilly — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:00:50 -0600

Google's lean, mean, browsing machine called Chrome is pretty darned zippy, but the search giant envisions a much faster Web. Enter SPDY, pronounced "SPeeDY," an early-state research project that is part of Google's effort to supercharge Web.

"SPDY is at its core an application-layer protocol for transporting content over Web," Google wrote in its Chromium blog. "It is designed specifically for minimizing latency through features such as multiplexed streams, request prioritization, and HTTP header compression."

Google is toying around with SPDY as a successor to HTTP. So far, it has only tested SPDY in lab conditions with some pretty impressive results. According to Google, it saw "significant improvement" when downloading the top 25 websites over simulated home network connections, with pages loading 55 percent faster.

"Thee is still a lot of work we need to do to evaluate the performance of SPDY in real-world conditions. However, we believe that we have reached th stage where our small team could benefit from the active participation, feedback, and assistance of the Web community," Google added.

Intrigued? Hit up the following links:

Early stage documentation
Curret code
Chromium Google Group

Google is Openly Seeking New Technological Innovators

Jason Barry — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:46:08 -0600

Google CEO Eric Schmidt is ready to put the hard times behind him and his company to usher in a new crowd of technological innovators. On the Google blog today, Alan Eustace, senior vice president of engineering and research, made an open offer to anyone who thinks they can make a difference to seek out Google for employment.

In the entry, he cites the success of Google Earth, Android, and Google Chrome as reasons to be technical innovators. He quoted Schmidt saying, “Innovation is the technological pre-condition for growth.” Eustace reiterated that the Google Chrome was the last in a long line of Google projects to receive the Founders Award, a multimillion-dollar stock bonus to all team members. "(The) future is shaped by small teams of creative people who want to make a difference. We're on the hunt for these kind of people -- let us know if you think you're one of them" said Eustace.

This is a much different attitude from earlier this year when Google made job cuts or lost some employees who felt their career path were best suited elsewhere.

Do you think you have what it takes to create the next Google Earth? Chrome? Gmail? Check out the postings on the Google site, or duke it out with your competitors on the comment board.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Opens up About Acquisitions, Earnings, and Chrome OS

Justin Kerr — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:12:41 -0500

Google poured some much needed optimism into the markets last week by announcing some stellar third quarter earnings, giving hope that advertising markets around the world might finally be on the mend. Google turned in a Q3 profit of $1.64 billion, with a very respectable earnings per share of $5.13, a 27 percent boost from the same period last year. During the conference call Google CEO Eric Schmidt also declared that the search engine giant would be on the prowl for new acquisition targets, and would consider any company be it large or small.

News like this usually gets analysts all fired up trying to figure out where they will strike first, but Schmidt clarified that Google is primarily interested in search engines that target specific verticals, or could help them refine how search is performed. Google apparently is also on the lookout for companies that can help them improve their display ad business, or with the development of Chrome. "We have historically done an acquisition, perhaps, one a month or so, and those are typically small, they're typically a complete offering, they're typically technology-intensive," said Schmidt on the call. "They're not very expensive in the scheme of things, and they bring some specific technology."

Schmidt also confirmed that Chrome OS is on track for a beta release later this year, claiming that internal demos have proven it to be a superior offering for netbooks, and far beyond anything offered by either the Microsoft, or Linux camps in both “speed and efficiency”.

So who do you think Google should buy?

How-To: Turn Web Apps into Desktop Programs

Norman Chan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:45:07 -0500

Web applications are quickly gaining popularity over desktop programs for day-to-day tasks like email and calendar management, but you have to run a web browser and be tethered to an Internet connection to take advantage of these services. Luckily for you, both Google Chrome and Firefox actually offer the ability to turn these web apps into desktop applications.

Google Chrome

Using a Google Labs project called Gears, Chrome has the native ability to create desktop application shortcuts for web apps. This lets you place shortcuts to services like Gmail and Google Calendar on your Desktop, Start Menu, or Quick Launch toolbar. To do this, click the Page Menu icon to the right of your Address Bar in Chrome and select “Create Applications shortcuts…” while you’re on the web app webpage.

Choose the places where you want Chrome to create application shortcuts (Desktop, Start Menu, or Quick Launch bar), and click OK.

A new shortcut will appear for your selected web app. When you open it, Chrome will launch the service in a special window frame that doesn’t display any menus, tabs, or the address bar. Clicking a website link will open the full version of Chrome in a new Window.

Since Chrome has a process manager that runs each window and tab as its own process, windows launched from these application shortcuts act as stand-alone programs in Windows. Functions like Alt-Tab to switch between windows and Ctrl+P to print work perfectly. Unsurprisingly, Google’s own web services have the best compatibility with applications shortcuts, but the feature also works well for other popular web services like Remember the Milk and Zoho.

But even though Chrome’s application shortcuts let you access web apps from the desktop, you still have be connected to the Internet to use most of these services. Gmail and Remember the Milk, however, offer an offline mode that lets you access info while disconnected from the web. You have to manually enable the offline feature, which is still in beta, from the Gmail Labs settings page (https://mail.google.com/mail/#settings/labs). Just click the Enable dialog button to turn this feature on. Gmail will automatically start storing a local cache of your emails on your computer, and sync up any offline activity when it sees that you have an Internet connection.

Mozilla Firefox

Like Google, Mozilla has an experimental labs feature that lets you run web applications from your desktop. Prism (originally known as WebRunner) runs as a Firefox extension that works with Firefox 3.0 and newer versions of the browser.

To install the newest version of Prism, go to its official add-on download page (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6665) and click the big green Add to Firefox button. When prompted, restart Firefox.

Head over to your favorite web service, such as Evernote or Google Reader. Under the Tools menu, select “Convert Website into Application….” A new window will pop up that lets you configure how the new application shortcut will look and where it will appear.

Double-clicking the new application shortcut will run the service in its own bare-bones window. And like Chrome’s desktop app links, Prism apps will run as separate processes and offer basic desktop integration.

Chrome Frame May Be Coming to a Firefox Browser Near You

Jason Barry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:00:25 -0500

Similar to the IE Chrome Frame that Google released late last month, Mozilla suspects that Google’s engineers would have Firefox suffer the same fate.

The “Chrome Frame” idea is that within a completely different browser, Internet Explorer for example, one can view the website as Google’s Chrome browser would render it. The site can also take advantage of Chrome's latest technologies without installing a new browser.

Mozilla’s VP seemed a bit peeved about the whole thing. While it is still speculation on whether Google plans to create the plug-in, Mike Shraver, VP of engineering at Mozilla, says “I hope they won’t.” The biggest argument against Google, from Microsoft and now Mozilla, is that it over complicates the browsing process and can break certain aspects of the browser. Further, that HTML5 (supported in Chrome) is not a specified standard, and developers should be wary about developing with something that is not yet set in stone.

Ultimately, one would think Google’s thought process on the plug-in might be “one browser to rule them all,” and we all know how that turned out.