Google Releases Stable Version of Chrome 10 169
An anonymous reader writes "Google has released version 10 of the Chrome Browser. The update brings hundreds of bug fixes as well as many features that have been available on the Chrome beta and dev channels to users interested in using Chrome's latest builds. Chrome 10 also addresses 23 security vulnerabilities in the WebKit-based browser (easily more than Google has ever fixed before): 15 rated as High, three rated as Medium, and five rated as Low."
Awesome! (Score:2)
Normally I'd throw out a snarky joke like, "You mean the title should've been Google Releases Stable version of Chrome" but as a browser, Chrome's been pretty stable. Flash still makes it fall over from time to time, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
Re:Awesome! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Awesome! (Score:4, Interesting)
Now, I hope the next one on their list to add Sandboxing support to is Java. Until then, Java will remain disabled in Chrome.
Re: (Score:2)
I had java disabled in Chrome and the latest java update re-enabled it. Ideally, disabling java should be the default and it should have an entry in the GUI settings menu. No need for a security nightmare VM to be ready to run at any webpage's request.
Re: (Score:2)
Java Applets are already sandboxed, what more do you need? Java has had a good security record in browsers in the last 10 years, and its stable. Maybe the applets themselves are crappy and don't work, but that's not Java's fault.
Re: (Score:2)
Every update to the Java JVM has the potential of opening up an exploit in that sandbox.
For example:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?name=Exploit%3AJava%2FCVE-2009-3867.HD&threatid=2147637070 [microsoft.com]
Re: (Score:2)
You could take the expedient of running Chrome and Java in a SandboxIE sandbox.
Maybe you could just sandbox Java, but I don't know if that will work.
Re: (Score:3)
Browser-based Java programs can't modify the host computer.
My Windows Vista and XP internet explorer would have to disagree on this one.
I've twice seen the java box running before realizing exactly how Opera and IE have let spyware thru.
I really don't have a daily reason for java, but last I remember it is like 60+MBs to reinstall, and the download licensing you "sign" with Sun Microsystems is annoying to get an offline installer exe, so I stopped uninstalling it for those rainy days when a corporate site requires java.
Re: (Score:2)
My concern is that it does not work very well: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=java+based+exploits+on+the+rise [google.com]
Re: (Score:2)
But does it still hard lock/freeze the whole PC when running a 'Fullscreen Windowed' (no titlebar) 3D game if I open Chrome? I somehow doubt it's going to only freeze up one tab. ;)
(For the record, Chrome is the only browser that does this, Minefield/Firefox and IE do not.)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I just noticed it in Rift recently, so maybe it's just a conflict between some call they make and Chrome...
Re: (Score:2)
Why is it when I think of Flash being sandboxed I expect an actual box with actual sand has to be involved to get it to run...
Re: (Score:2)
If only flash just crashed (Score:3)
If flash would just crash then sandboxing would at least solve that. But instead it happily gobbles your CPU with runaway rendering crap. The only limit on it now is it is single threaded. Not looking forward to multi-cpu flash.
Re: (Score:1)
It solves that too to some extent.
This is on a 1050Mhz Athlon XP, so not exactly a modern machine - when the browser starts to lag and flash is the suspect, just hit shift+esc and kill the Flash plugin (should be second to bottom on the list, assuming you're using the official GPU drivers. If not, it'll be the bottom entry). You get a yellow bar appear at the top of any tabs that flash was running in, but the rest of the content is unaffected and none of the tabs crash. Restarting flash for a specific tab i
Mod Parent Up! (Score:2)
Mod parent up. This is informative.
Re: (Score:2)
At least on Windows platforms, the Flash plugin process shows up as "Chrome.exe", which is annoying; but you can get the real PID from Chrome's internal task manager and identify the process that way. Since it is a distinct process, it can be assigned a priority level of its own, distinct from that of Chrome. Re-nicing the process would presumably have the same effect on *nix systems, though I've
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
No, it allows you to run 'restricted' native libraries using exposed APIs, (re)compiled for NaCl, which are then sandboxed.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Software is almost never stable.
BIBO-stable, yes. For beta-tested values of BI.
Re: (Score:2)
RAM for cache? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
There's a "workaround"? (I have not tried this, but I just searched for it...)
http://www.wagnerdanda.me/2010/08/how-to-fix-google-chrome-problems-with-ssd-move-cache-to-ramdisk/ [wagnerdanda.me]
Of course, if you have a spinning disk, that would work as well.
Re: (Score:2)
Can I finally use RAM for the browser's cache like Firefox to avoid frequent hits on my SSD?
Is a userspace program really a good place for such a feature? It seems kludgey to have individual programs handling their own storing-a-bunch-of-files-in-RAM tasks in their own memory spaces and according to their own fashion, rather than just having a tmpfs(or other OS equivalent) to which the user can configure any program that needs filesystem-like RAM storage to point, without any per-program special features being involved...
Re: (Score:2)
If you are on Linux then the most recently used files should be buffered in RAM anyway (maybe newer Windows are better at this now.). (Of course you can help your kernel by closing unused apps to free up RAM to be used for file buffering.)
Re: (Score:3)
It's not about lifetime concerns... some SSDs have a slow write time which can be very apparent in normal everyday operation. Granted, I only noticed it when I was fooling around and disabled write caching (platters were also slow, but SSD plain locks the PC for the entire write operation it seems...)
Re: (Score:2)
Back button (Score:2)
But does the back button work properly? It has been broken for ages on certain sites...
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
But does the back button work properly? It has been broken for ages on certain sites...
out on the net today
i saw a dead head sticker on a cadillac
a voice inside my head said don't look back
you can never look back
Re: (Score:2)
And releasing the middle mouse button over a link after scrolling. That annoyed the bejeezus out of me and was the reason I switched back to Firefox. It basically made ad- and link-ridden sites unscrollable with the middle mouse button.
Old news? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Google frequently release security patches for their stable and beta channels.
It's just that this time around, it's time for a more major release. And Google doesn't do the "support old versions" thing.
Re: (Score:1)
For what reason would you not want to go from a 9.x to a 10.x?
Do you have webpages that aren't forward-compatible? Are they locked into a system that can't be updated itself?
That's a you problem. Not a them problem.
Re: (Score:2)
Since I'm at 11.0.686.3, I'm even more blasé about this.
Re: (Score:2)
That old version? I'm at 11.0.689.0 (76563) so I'm even MORE blasé about this.
I was a little paranoid about running "unstable" builds for a while but I haven't really seen any problems with it.
Beta Version (Score:1)
Wow! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
FWIW, it's actually Firefox 4.0b12
Re: (Score:2)
I'm on 4.0b13pre.
Re:Wow! (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Opera: Crank your browsing experience up to 11!
(posted from Opera 11, oddly enough)
Re: (Score:2)
No, man - 10 is more than 11! Like... 1 more!
Re: (Score:2)
I was thinking the same thing. This kind of version inflation is ridiculous, they went from beta to version "10" in about 2 years. Wouldn't want to lag behind Internet Explorer 8. Kinda reminds me of when Slackware jumped straight from version 4 to 7.
Re: (Score:1)
Firefox might have to do that same trick that Slackware did when it was at version 4 :)
Did webgl make a comeback? (Score:1)
I was all keen on trying it out, but a build in January just crashed horribly, and a few weeks later it seemed to be disabled all together. I have high hopes for webgl, hopefully the browsers will all push it out the door this year.
As long as they stick with that UI (Score:5, Interesting)
Then I'll stick with Firefox, it might get a bit bloated but I have my fingers crossed as hardware improves and they end up making the multithreaded code, it'll at least remain the speed it is now, while retaining good functionality for me.
Yes, I know they are copying the _ridiculous_ tabs on the top UI from chrome, it can be disabled in the default options though, no addon required to do so.
Need my status bar down the bottom too.
FireFox 3 needs only one thing for me.
More speed, just more and more speed - that's it. It's otherwise, EXACTLY what I want in a browser.
Re: (Score:2, Troll)
NCSA Mosaic was pretty decent too...
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Chrome UI = slick and to the point
Firefox UI = clunky
Re: (Score:1)
Where "slick and to the point" means "hide things that are useful for some, but most don't care about, by default". And clunky means "show things that most don't care about, but are useful for some, by default".
The only meaningful changes are the tab locations (I get the semantic difference of tabs on top / tabs below - but personally I'm not dim enough to not see beyond the semantics, and know that if I happen to want to click through the tabs, they're in a less error-prone location if they're below), and
Re: (Score:2)
To move the window, if you're on a Mac. The grabbable area in a Chrome window is tiny, and quite often you'll end up hiding it by accident. It's mighty annoying and I'd gladly give up a few pixels for a proper bar that works like everything else.
Re:As long as they stick with that UI (Score:4, Insightful)
Interesting. I find myself doing a lot more hunting for stuff in Chrome. Firefox functionality seems to be just there where I need it. At least, after I configure a couple of buttons back into play, and turn off a toolbar or so.
Except the status bar. They're freaking me out with making it go away, then bringing it back only it's broken, etc. But there's a 3rd-party status-bar plugin that makes it behave the old way. I forget the name or I'd plug it here.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
They're freaking me out with making it go away, then bringing it back only it's broken, etc.
Agreed that taking it away sucked, but what is it about the new style that is 'broken'? I'm using FF4 beta 12 now and it seems to be working as intended - popping up for loading status messages or URLs when I hover over links.
And yeah, give me a 'clunky' (read: functional) UI any day over minimalist Chrome. The first thing I do with FF4 is configure large icons mode with icons and text, and add a bunch of buttons b
Re: (Score:2)
In b12 it pops up into the viewable area for the webpage, even if the status bar is there. That's annoying and annoying (especially in the M$-alternative world) is the same as broken. It should use the otherwise dead space in the status bar if the status bar is visible.
Re: (Score:2)
Of course you get to complain.
Otherwise Google would just leave everything in Beta for 10 versions so you could never complain. Oh, wait...
If it's done enough to release to the world and to try to gain market share for, it's done enough to bitch about.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I have more karma than you have modpoints, Fanboy!
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Get off my lawn!
Re: (Score:1)
as hardware improves
It's 2011. This is your improved hardware.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes, I know they are copying the _ridiculous_ tabs on the top UI from chrome, it can be disabled in the default options though, no addon required to do so.
Tabs on top works reasonably well in Windows 7 when you're space constrained. i.e. on a 10" netbook you can squeeze the menu and tabs into a single row which saves a lot of space. Now with the status hover working properly that's even more space saved. The screen is so small that the window is more likely to maximized so it's easy to travel and stop over a tab which will be at the top of the display.
I think on large displays, it doesn't work so well. Space is not so critical and the window is less likely
Re:As long as they stick with that UI (Score:5, Insightful)
Please explain why tabs on top are "ridiculous".
Also, it appears the only reason you think the Chrome UI is inferior to Firefox's is because you're used to Firefox. And you know what, it's perfectly reasonable to say "I stay with Firefox because I'm used to the UI". But to say you don't use Chrome because it's not Firefox is patently ridiculous.
Re: (Score:2)
One point is that it's not consistent with the rest of the OS UIs. On the other hand, I do like tabs on top ;-)
Re: (Score:2)
Any moderators want to fix up this post which the chrome zealots are continuing to moderate down?
Thanks guys.
Re: (Score:2)
Me too. I like Firefox UI and I do not like Chrome and IE UIs.
I also do not like that I cannot add an SSL (https://) certificate exception at Chrome and IE.
How can I use a browser for local development, if I cannot add an SSL certificate exception? Even for https://localhost/ [localhost] .
I hope Google dismiss Chrome UI designers and create a normal convenient browser, where I do not have to search for 20 minutes a menu item.
I guarantee that with the present UI Chrome will never get a considerable market share.
Re: (Score:2)
Not when it looks the way it does, nope - it's not the speed I was looking for.
Amazing JavaScript performance (Score:2)
Considering that version 8 apparently increased JavaScript performance by 100% over version 7, version 9 increased it by 50% over version version 8 and now version 10 increased it 66% over version 9, I cannot help but wonder when JavaScript performance will become more maxed out.
Obviously not all JavaScript performance tests are created equally, but their gains are quite impressive nonetheless. Wonder what will happen if when they start using the GPU like IE9?
Re: (Score:2)
IE 9 uses the GPU for hardware accelerated graphics, not Javascript.
Also, Chrome 10 already does hardware accelerated features. New for this release is GPU accelerated video, but accelerated compositing is in since earlier.
Re: (Score:2)
It sounds like they're testing lots of features, a few of which are horrendously slow, and fixing the slowest ones each time. So you could see a continuous string of 30-70% improvements in speed, until all of the features run at the same speed.
Disabling my extensions? (Score:2)
Improved security with malware reporting and disabling outdated plug-ins by default
I've had a grudge on Google due to their plugin status quo, because I've been burned with firefox and now prefer to update plugins manually. Firefox build numbers change little, and plugins can last through a point-zero-point-one update with no problem. Point one changes break them more.
Chrome updates by full one versions every few months and gives me little choice because their extension model is a lot newer and lacking the community behind it we have in the moz extensions portal. Just the other day an ex
Re: (Score:2)
You realize the extensions are written in JavaScript. Find the extension folder and spend 2+ hours reading the source code.
Fixed and emphasis mine. Code auditing, even for a small plugin, takes hours and sometimes even days, months, years.
Migration guide (Score:2)
Someone needs to write a migration guide.
Starting at FF with adblock plus, firebug, flashblock, ghostery, noscript, RIP remove it permanently, view dependencies, and xmarks.
Ending at google chrome with ....
Re: (Score:2)
with...well...nothing.
Cuz you can't get there from here.
FF FTW.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Not true anymore. Adblock Plus for Chrome now is virtually indistinguishable from Firefox's and has been for some time.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I should add that the only plugin I really care about, Vimperator, cannot be ported t
Re: (Score:2)
Just in time (Score:1)
Yesterday I was annoyed that the options page for Chrome wouldn't fit on my netbook's screen. Today I upgrade to Chrome 10 to discover that they made the options screen into a webpage. Google is awesome.
Hurray! 10 (Score:2)
When the "navigational services" spyware is off by default, when third party cookie rejection a feature that is no longer hidden, and when Flashblock is installed by default, let me know. Otherwise it is just another tool for Google to track me.
Re: (Score:2)
Now it is a stable mature product. Twice as good as Safari 5. Much better than IE 8. Not quite as good as Opera 11. And Firefox should hang it's neck in shame for barely reaching 4.
Bah! That's nothing. I browse using Emacs and that's on version 23.
A stable version of Chrome -- that's different! (Score:1)
Maybe it's better now. It still lacks most of the stuff & add-ons that FF has which make it such a good web programming/debugging tool.
Most lacking feature in Chrome: multi-row tabs.
Re: (Score:3)
It doesn't need addons to be good at web programming/debugging. The built in inspector and javascript debugger is better than firebug.
Booksmarks (Score:1)
Now how about we get you fellas a good ass bookmarks manager, huh? Wouldn't that just be dandy?
That's all Google Chrome needs for me now.
Re:Booksmarks (Score:4, Interesting)
Now how about we get you fellas a good ass bookmarks manager, huh?
You're having problems managing your ass bookmarks, are you?
No thanks! (Score:2)
I had gone back to Safari... (Score:2)
Since Chrome's flash plugin didn't have the goodies that Flash 10.2 gave (really reduced my CPU usage on web video sites, made 1080p flash video usable).
Does Chrome 10 for Mac include the latest Flash hardware acceleration for OSX?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Since Chrome's flash plugin didn't have the goodies that Flash 10.2 gave (really reduced my CPU usage on web video sites, made 1080p flash video usable).
Does Chrome 10 for Mac include the latest Flash hardware acceleration for OSX?
You can easily disable Chrome's built-in Flash on OS X - then Chrome will use the same install as all your other browsers.
Official Google Post; encrypted password store? (Score:2)
For those that want to skip the blogspam, the official Google post with a bunch of information is here [google.com].
I was excited at first because it looked like it included a feature I've wanted for ages - Firefox-esque 'master password' for your local password store, but it looks like it's just a locally stored custom passphrase for encrypting your passwords if you're syncing them to Google's online service - more info [google.com].
As I have so much invested in my saved online passwords I've been reluctant to make the permanent sw
Re: (Score:2)
Shit! Post wrong link to the official Google post; it's actually http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/speedier-simpler-and-safer-chromes.html [blogspot.com]
Spying, anyone? (Score:2)
As a Mac user... (Score:2)
Chrome on the Mac used to have a nice, native-looking preferences dialog. The move to an in-tab preferences menu is a move away from native components, which I regard as a backward step. The lack of native components was one of the reasons I stopped using Opera.
Also, when laying out the window bar this time round, Google seem to have copied what Apple did with the Mac App Store and suspended the 'traffic light' buttons in the middle of the bar rather than at the top. It's hideous, and I hope it's not tur
Re: (Score:2)
It will be higher than version 20 in two years because they are increasing their release pace. Let's assume they slow down to their desired six week release pace, then that's almost 8 versions in a single year.
I agree with the sentiment that version numbers are mostly meaningless, but I have grown accustom to only bumping the major numbers on major feature releases. Improving the JavaScript engine to the degree that they have in the past few releases is impressive, but they are the same effort realized over
Re: (Score:2)
In another two years, is it going to be at version 20?
"Google Chrome Vista."