Google have launched a new beta update of their internet Browser Chrome. The new version boasts a facelift and faster loading times. The New tab page is now fully customizable and an improved Omnibox and a selection of new themes allows users to customise the browsers with colours, patterns and images. Network connectivity has been improved along with HTML5 support capabilities. Although it’s only a beta version, it does seem fairly stable. To download a copy click here, we would love to hear your thoughts on the new Beta.

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Technorati Tags: browser, Chrome, Google, google chrome, internet, news, seo, tech, technology

Google launch a brand new open source operating system called Google Chrome OS which is set to shake the OS marketplace, but does Microsoft have anything to fear?

Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that has been initially targeted at netbooks and laptops. Due to be launched later this year Chrome OS will be a much debated platform. Google believe in collaborative development and Chrome OS will be no different to any of their other software products, featuring a Developers Community. Google will be opening the product up to the community to allow product testing and fast growth of compatible applications. As always it has to be said that this is indeed a very cleaver move by Google, allowing 1000’s of developers to participate in the growth and development of the product will ensure a robust and feature rich platform. Google has also announced that Chrome OS will be available to consumers by 2010.

“Because we’re already talking to partners about the project, and we’ll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.” Taken from the official Google blog.

Chrome will be lightweight, fast and secure with a boot time of only a few seconds. The user interface will be minimal and Chrome will be designed to work in an online environment. The underlying security architecture of the OS has been completely redesigned so users will not have to deal with viruses and malware. The Chrome OS will run on both x86 and ARM chips, Google are currently working with a number of OEM’s to bring the product to market preinstalled on laptops and netbooks. It’s also interesting to note that the software architecture is very simple and will run within a new windowing system which will be on top of a Linux Kernel.

Google seems to be going all out with the development of new ideas and new products, Chrome OS offers an exciting and simple challenger to Microsoft’s Windows OS but in this early stage, Microsoft have nothing to worry about.

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Finally after a long period of Beta testing Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) has finally been released, this hot browser is publicly available and can now be downloaded from the Microsoft website. On the same day, in a cunning publicity move, Google Chrome has launched Chrome Experiments, a unique site which has been designed to showcase the power of Google Chrome and its unique JavaScript capabilities. Will you be rushing to download the new IE8? Click here to visit the IE8 website.

So how has IE8 improved and will the upgrades convince dedicated Firefox and Chrome Users to move away from their existing reliable browser platforms? IE8 is definitely a lot faster it boots up quickly and tab sessions are treated as individual processes, as in Chrome. This means that if a webpage now decides to crash, is slow loading or has errors, it will not affect the entire browsing session, just the specific tab. This will come as great relief to existing IE7 users. Microsoft have also looked at the tab processes and improved the usability. If you open a new tab, IE8 will group the tads by domain, placing the new tab to the right of an existing webpage tab. This great improvement will mean that pages from the same website will be grouped in the tab navigation rather than sending it to the end of the line, allowing browser sessions to be easily recognised. Another handy feature is the ability to drag tabs into tab clusters allowing them to become part of the browser session. IE8 uniquely colour codes the tab to mark it as part of the group and if any one of the tabs in a session is lost then IE8 will reload the tab and the page into its original position so nothing is lost.

Two other great features are Accelerator and Web Slices. Accelerator is a user experience enhancement designed by Microsoft to make the browser experience flow more fluidly. By right clicking on a webpage you will access the Accelerator context menu which will give you access to unique features like Live Search Maps, Email content to a friend and Post to a Blog or Facebook. This facility is still in its early stages of development but the more website developers that get on board with the technology the better the functionality will be in the future. Web Slices allows you to add and monitor web pages and web content from your tool bar. You could configure it to keep track of your emails or update you about an Ebay auction you’re following. The service uses a form of RSS technology but unfortunately the toolbar restricts the amount of content you can add. IE8 also includes Private Browsing (know by developers as “Porn Mode”) which allows the user to anonymously browse websites without leaving tracks or personal information.

The new IE8 is a massive improvement on IE7 but the jury is still out as to whether Google has done enough to temp Firefox users to betray their beloved browser.

Google Chrome has taken the opportunity to directly challenge the release of IE8 by launching Chrome Experiments, a website which has been designed to showcase the power of the Chrome browser and its outstanding JavaScript performance. There are 19 amazing animated games to play with and it’s well worth a visit. One of the experiments called Google Gravity, allows you to collapse the Google homepage into a pile on the base of the browser but still allows you to use the Google search facility and view results. Browser ball is a fun game that allows you to throw a beach ball from one browser window to another. The site is well worth checking out and offers a glimpse of the power of the Google Chrome platform. Click here to visit Google Chrome Experiments

Technorati Tags: chrome experiments, Google, google chrome, google chrome experiments, ie, ie8, ie8 chrome, internet explorer 8, Microsoft