Chrome Blog
The latest news from the Google Chrome team
Improving finger dexterity for faster web browsing
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Three weeks ago, we
released
a new stable build of
Chrome
which featured our biggest speed improvements to date—a 66 percent lift in
JavaScript
performance on the
V8 benchmark suite
.
However, the Chrome browser can only process data as quickly as users can tell it how to do so—i.e., type. In 1946,
Stella Pajunas-Garnand
set a world record by typing at a blistering 216 words per minute. Once we learned that the average Internet user ambles in at 33 words per minute—just 15.2778 percent of the existing milestone—we decided to conduct our own research into the state of finger speed and performance.
Browsing the web involves two key finger movements: the up-and-down motion of a finger pressing a key and the back-and-forth movement of a finger scrolling the wheel of a mouse. To reach a standard measurement for speed and performance, we combined eight key metrics from both movements to produce the Finger Dexterity Index (FDI), which we’ve mapped below against the V8 Benchmark:
As you can see, there have been relatively few advances in finger dexterity since
Chrome’s launch
, which is why we’re excited to bring you
Chromercise
, a new exercise regimen for your hands and fingers. Some existing finger exercise programs focus on upgrading your digits’ cardiovascular strength and musculature; others focus on dexterity. Chromercise’s unique blend of aerobic motion and rhythmic accompaniment covers all of the above while simultaneously tightening and toning your fingers’ actual appearance.
A few words of caution: be sure to stretch before and after your Chromercise workout, and only attempt the complex moves at the end of the workout video after mastering the core movements from the first half. In fact, we strongly encourage
finger sweatbands
throughout your workout for your comfort and the safety of those around you. And as with any fitness program, don’t forget to consult your physician before committing to a rigorous Chromercise regimen.
To learn more visit
Chromercise.com
today.
Posted by Chris Wright, certified Chromercise Instructor
Google Cloud Print Ready printers now available
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Imagine printing an important email from your Chrome notebook on your train ride to work, then finding the completed printout in the printer tray when you reach the office. Or printing your airline boarding pass from your smartphone to your home printer, so you can grab the printout on your way out the door. Today, we are one big step closer to this vision.
Last year
, we launched
Google Cloud Print
, a service that enables users to print from any device, operating system, or browser to any printer without the need for drivers or a PC connection. The service can be used with any printer, but the most seamless experience is offered by Google Cloud Print Ready devices, a new generation of web-connected printers that don’t need to be attached to a computer. Today, HP
has announced
that all of its ePrint-enabled printers are Google Cloud Print Ready, in most cases right out of the box. With a Google Cloud Print Ready printer, you can print emails, documents and web pages from supported apps without having to hunt for drivers or printer cables.
You can already use Google Cloud Print on
Chrome notebooks
and in the
mobile versions of Gmail and Google Docs
. Many more supported apps are on the way. There are also a third-party
Android app
,
Chrome extension
and
Firefox add-on
to help you use Google Cloud Print in more places.
We’re also continuing to release enhancements to the Google Cloud Print service. We’ve released a Mac version of the
Google Cloud Print connector
for non-cloud printers in the
Chrome beta channel
. And over the next few days we’ll be enabling printer sharing for current Google Cloud Print users, so your family, friends and colleagues can print their documents from anywhere to anywhere.
Happy printing!
Posted by Abhijit Kalamkar, Software Engineer
Talking to your computer (with HTML!)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Today, we’re updating the
Chrome beta channel
with a couple of new capabilities, especially for web developers. Fresh from the work that we’ve been doing with the
HTML Speech Incubator Group
, we’ve added support for the
HTML speech input API
. With this API, developers can give web apps the ability to transcribe your voice to text. When a web page uses this feature, you simply click on an icon and then speak into your computer’s microphone. The recorded audio is sent to speech servers for transcription, after which the text is typed out for you. Try it out yourself in
this little demo
. Today’s beta release also offers a sneak peek of GPU-accelerated
3D CSS
, which allows developers to apply slick 3D effects to web page content using
CSS
.
Lastly, as mentioned in yesterday's
blogpost
, those of you on the beta channel will start seeing the brand new shiny Chrome icon on your desktops.
Stay tuned as we make all these updates widely available in the stable channel soon!
Correction (March 23, 2011): This beta release's Speech API implementation is a prototype of Google’s proposal to the
HTML Speech Incubator Group
. The title of the blogpost has been changed to reflect this.
Posted by Satish Sampath, Software Engineer
A fresh take on an icon
Monday, March 21, 2011
Some of you on Chrome’s
early release channels
may have noticed our latest tweak to Chrome’s icon:
Since Chrome is all about making your web experience as easy and clutter-free as possible, we refreshed the Chrome icon to better represent these sentiments. A simpler icon embodies the Chrome spirit — to make the web quicker, lighter, and easier for all.
Even before this effort, the new version of the Chrome logo was already being conjured up by Googlers and Chrome fans. Numerous creative reinterpretations have organically moved the icon towards simplicity and abstraction, so it felt right to make the icon structure cleaner and easier to recreate.
The Modern Browser
poster by Mike Lemanski, celebrating Chrome’s 2nd birthday
Chrome Magnets
by Tyson Kartchner
Chrome Starts Fast
video
Chrome Speed Tests
video
Redesigning the icon was very much a group effort. Collectively, we explored many variations, tried the icon in several different contexts, and refined the details as we moved along. It was important to maintain consistency across all media, so we kept print, web, and other possible formats in mind. Once we arrived at a good place, we finished up the icon by resizing, pixel-pushing, and getting everything out the door.
For Chrome users, you’ll see this latest icon reflected in your browsers soon, as we bring the latest features and improvements to the
beta
and
stable channels
in the coming weeks!
Posted by Steve Rura, Designer
Preparing for basketball madness with the Chrome Web Store
Monday, March 14, 2011
For those of you who follow college basketball in the US, today is
National Bracket Day
where millions are frantically filling out their
brackets
and preparing to follow their favorite teams' bids to the national college basketball championship. Luckily, I can use apps from the
Chrome Web Store
to help me follow the tournament like a pro.
Whether you're a loyal fan of your alma mater or college basketball powerhouses, you can get the most current news, scores, videos and photos all in one place with apps like
FanFeedr
and
LockerPulse
.
If you're watching multiple games at once, don't miss an upset with
Are You Watching This?! Sports
. This app shows you a scoreboard of all games you care about happening right now. You can also create personalized TV channel lineups for local cable and satellite TV providers that are automatically adjusted to your time zone.
You can even relive some of the best plays of the tournament with photos delivered by the
Sports Illustrated Snapshot
and create your own channels around your favorite college basketball teams.
These are just a few apps to help you stay on top of your games and bracket. You can find these and more
sports apps
in the
Chrome Web Store
or learn how other Google products can enhance your game experience on
www.google.com/collegebasketball2011
.
Posted by Koh Kim, Associate Product Marketing Manager
Speedier, simpler and safer: Chrome’s basics get even better
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
cross-posted on the
Official Google Blog
Just three weeks ago, we
kicked off
the
Year of the Rabbit
with a speedy Chrome beta. Today, we’re excited to bring these speed improvements and more to everyone using
Chrome
. With today’s stable release, even your most complex
web apps
will run more quickly and responsively in the browser. (For the curious, this boost corresponds to a 66% improvement in
JavaScript
performance on the
V8 benchmark suite
.)
We realize that speed isn’t just about pure brawn in the browser—it’s also about saving time with simple interfaces. Chrome’s new settings interface will help you get to the right settings quickly so you don’t have to dig endlessly to find a way to
import your bookmarks
or
change your browser’s homepage
. We’ve added a search box that shows you the settings you’re looking for, as you type. On top of that, you can also copy and paste a direct link into Chrome’s address bar to jump to a specific settings page. (No more long, frustrating phone conversations with your dad on where to find that specific setting in the browser!) Here’s the
new settings interface
in action:
For those of you who save your passwords in the browser, you can now quickly log on to the websites you frequent even when you switch computers, by simply
synchronizing
those passwords across your computers. You can also encrypt those passwords with your own
secret passphrase
for extra security. To
enable sync
on each of your computers, visit the “Personal Stuff” section in Chrome’s settings (or just type “sync” in the settings search box). You can also choose to sync
bookmarks
,
extensions
, preferences,
themes
and more.
Finally, you’ll be even safer as you speed around the web, as we’ve extended Chrome’s
sandboxing technology
to the
integrated Flash Player
in Chrome. So if you’re using Windows Vista or newer versions, you’ll benefit from the additional layer of protection against
malicious webpages
. To learn more about sandboxing, check out this animated video:
We hope that Chrome’s speed, simplicity and security will continue to make your daily life on the web more enjoyable. You can download the browser at
google.com/chrome
, or if you’re already using Chrome, you’ll be automatically updated to this new version soon!
Posted by Tim Steele, Software Engineer
Faster than a speeding rabbit: speed, sync, and settings
Thursday, February 17, 2011
In the spirit of the lunar new year, we’re excited to kick off the
Year of the Rabbit
with a slew of enhancements in the Chrome beta channel. Today’s
new beta
includes a dramatic improvement in JavaScript speed, new password sync features, and entirely revamped browser settings.
In our new beta release, JavaScript is as quick as a bunny. With a new
speed boost
that we
previewed in December
, Chrome’s JavaScript engine V8 runs compute-intensive JavaScript applications even more quickly than before. In fact, this beta release sports a whopping 66% improvement on the
V8 benchmark suite
over our current stable release.
This release also includes a preliminary implementation of GPU-accelerated video. Users with capable graphics hardware should see a significant decrease in CPU usage. In full screen mode, CPU usage may decrease by as much as 80%! This means better battery life so you can keep going and going like that
pink bunny in the commercials
.
For those of you who enjoy the convenience of saving passwords in Chrome, you can
synchronize your saved passwords
across multiple computers, along with your bookmarks, preferences, themes, and extensions. For added security, you can choose to encrypt your synced passwords with your own secret sync passphrase. To
enable sync
, visit the “Personal Stuff” section of Chrome’s settings dialog.
Speaking of settings, you’ll notice we have reworked the look and feel of the settings dialogs. Instead of opening in a separate window, they now open in a tab. More importantly, we’ve added two new settings features that make it easy to customize Chrome to your liking. Firstly, if you can’t remember where a particular pesky configuration setting is, simply type its name into the search box to see the settings that match as you type. Secondly, you can also now jump directly to most settings pages using their own dedicated URLs, without needing to navigate through a sequence of windows. Here’s a short video of the new settings interface in action:
As always, we’re eager to get your feedback, and look forward to bringing this basket of beta-fortified carrots to the stable channel over the coming weeks! (For those of you keen for some fun and games in this Year of the Rabbit, we’ll leave you with the mind-bending
#ThinkFastGame speed challenge
to try out alongside our new
beta
.)
Posted by Jeff Chang, Product Manager and Min Li Chan, Product Marketing Manager
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