AfterDawn: News

Google updates Chrome browser to stable 3.0

Google has updated their Chrome browser this week to a stable version 3.0, and also announced that an official Mac version will be available before the end of the year.

Chrome has been on the market for almost one year now, and has seen quick upgrades, mainly speed tweaks as well as compatibility updates. In comparison, Mozilla Firefox has been around for over five years and is currently in working version 3.5.



The browser market is still dominated by Internet Explorer, which (with combining versions 6,7,8), has about 67 percent market share. Firefox, Chrome and Safari have been taking share steadily however, and IE's share has degraded from 95 percent in 2003. Chrome currently has just under 3 percent market share.

"If at the two-year birthday we're not at least 5 percent (market share), I will be exceptionally disappointed. And if at the three year birthday we're not at 10 percent, I will be exceptionally disappointed," added Chrome Engineering Director Linus Upson.

Despite his public goals, Upson says Google's internal goals are even more steep.

Besides the standard speed tweaks and interface updates, version 3.0 also brings "themes," which will allow users to customize the browser.

One of the main obstacles for Chrome has been simply just breaking into the market. Internet Explorer comes pre-installed in all Windows machines, and many users simply keep the browser they are familiar with. Recently, Google made a deal with Sony that will have the Chrome browser pre-installed in some VAIO laptops. Google says it is planning similar deals with other manufacturers.

Download it here: Google Chrome 3.0

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Sep 2009 16:41

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• 11 comments

• canuckerz

  Maybe I'll have to switch to chrome for awhile seeing how much of a POS firefox 3.5X has been.

  15.9.2009 16:57 #1

• Ben79

  I'd use Chrome, only after they implement some type of plug-in that removes advertisements and flash/java scripts without crippling the browser. Having a small seizure after opening a website with flashing crap everywhere is not going to get me to buy something. It's going to keep me from going back to that website.
  
  Privoxy is not an acceptable alternate to Adblock Plus + Element Hiding Helper.

  15.9.2009 17:19 #2

• GryphB

  Too much hype over nothing special.

  15.9.2009 19:22 #3

• xnonsuchx

  Originally posted by GryphB: Too much hype over nothing special.
  Very much agreed, though I hadn't really tried Chrome past 1.0 due to it accessing all my hard drives for unknown reasons. Ever since Google moved to online installers for their apps, I don't really trust them as much as I used to.

  15.9.2009 19:54 #4

• KillerBug

  Quote:Originally posted by GryphB: Too much hype over nothing special.
  Very much agreed, though I hadn't really tried Chrome past 1.0 due to it accessing all my hard drives for unknown reasons. Ever since Google moved to online installers for their apps, I don't really trust them as much as I used to.You used to trust them? Even back when the browser bar was only available as an EXE, it was still spyware that caused all sorts of problems. Never trust any organization as big as google.

  15.9.2009 23:23 #5

• creaky

  Originally posted by canuckerz: Maybe I'll have to switch to chrome for awhile seeing how much of a POS firefox 3.5X has been. No problems at all with 3.5.x across my machines. I can't get my head around Chrome, but then again there's always Opera if FF started playing up. On my old linux machines i use FF 2.0.0.20 with various addons (with no problems, they don't even crash when using Flash, now that's unheard of)
  

  
  
  Forum Rules ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487 / Xbox softmodding software ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/557450
  
  Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
  Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2 node WDS/WPA ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3 node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 & WRT54G v2 & WRT54G v3.1 (v24 sp2 EKO 12548), plus WRT54G v5 (v24 sp2 EKO 12548) for NDS wifi only
  

  16.9.2009 05:44 #6

• xnonsuchx

  From Forum Rules regarding Signatures...
  
  4. If you want to use both text and image in your signature the image should not be more than 500 pixels wide and 100 pixels tall, and you can use up to three lines of text.
  
  
  Where's the part of the Forum Rules that says Moderators don't have to abide by them? ;-)

  16.9.2009 16:50 #7

• creaky

  Originally posted by xnonsuchx: From Forum Rules regarding Signatures...
  
  4. If you want to use both text and image in your signature the image should not be more than 500 pixels wide and 100 pixels tall, and you can use up to three lines of text.
  
  
  Where's the part of the Forum Rules that says Moderators don't have to abide by them? ;-) The cheek of it :p
  Didn't realise the text had pushed me over to a 4th line. Have fixed it, banned myself and paid homage to the Forum Rules.
  

  
  
  Forum Rules ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487 / Xbox softmodding software ~ http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/557450
  
  Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
  Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2 node WDS/WPA ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3 node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 & WRT54G v2 & WRT54G v3.1 (v24 sp2), plus WRT54G v5 (v24 sp2) for NDS wifi only
  

  16.9.2009 17:13 #8

• xnonsuchx

  Quote:Originally posted by xnonsuchx: From Forum Rules regarding Signatures...
  
  4. If you want to use both text and image in your signature the image should not be more than 500 pixels wide and 100 pixels tall, and you can use up to three lines of text.
  
  
  Where's the part of the Forum Rules that says Moderators don't have to abide by them? ;-) The cheek of it :p
  Didn't realise the text had pushed me over to a 4th line. Have fixed it, banned myself and paid homage to the Forum Rules.
  Actually, I thought it was 5-6 lines due to first viewing on a non-widescreen monitor and a few lines word wrapped, but now looking on a different monitor, it was just the last animated character, which could technically fall into the "three lines of text" rule since it's not text. My bad.

  16.9.2009 18:14 #9

• KillerBug

  I've gotten some crap from a mod for having too long of a signature too...it was only 5 lines at 720P...but I guess the mod was using an even smaller screen. Open afterdawn with an Iphone, and just about everone breaks this rule.
  

  Current System: Windows 7 RC1, DFI M2RS, ATI 3870HD, Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600, Athlon 9950, 6GB Corsair DDR2, 3TB RAID 5, 750GB Raid-1, 500GB RAID-1, 640GB RAID-0 Boot, 3ware 9690SA, Adaptec 2610SA, Adaptec 1430SA, Intel Gigabit NIC (PCI), LG 20X Lightscribe DVDR, Coolmax 1200w Power Supply, Logitech G15(first edition), Logitech G5(Second Edition), modified dell poweredge 1800 server case.
  Overall configuration: Perfect chair, two 22" widescreens overhead, Logitech 5.1 Audio

  17.9.2009 04:17 #10

• borhan9

  I switched from IE to Firefox then to chrome awhile back and am not planning to move anytime soon.
  
  I just updated to version 3 today and i have to say i like the tweaks of the new tab interface but i have to find out what else it has going for it. Overall a winner in my book regardless.

  19.9.2009 00:44 #11