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Chrome OS coming to ARM?
Many moons ago, Google made it quite clear we wouldn't be seeing its browser-based OS on any tablets or phones, but it never said Chrome OS wouldn't run on devices powered by similar silicon. In fact, the issues tracker at the Chromium OS project shows that work's being done to get Chrome OS compatible with ARM architecture, and in particular a Samsung Exynos 5250 chip. That Sammy silicon appears to be inside a new bit of hardware, codenamed "Daisy," but deeper digging failed to provide further details about the mystery device. While it certainly seems like Google's working on a new ARM-powered gadget, it's important to note that the Chromium project functions largely via user contributions, so the work might not be directed by Mountain View. You don't have to take our word for it, though. Head on down to the source link to see the evidence first hand, and feel free to form your own opinion.
Google Drive SDK, Gmail integration hinted at in Google Docs source code
Still wondering if Mountain View's Google Drive service will launch as a Google Docs rebranding? The folks at the Google Operating System blog have some code you might want to peek at, then. Apparently the Docs' source code mentions an SDK connected to the upcoming Google Drive, opening the door for third party app support. The code hints at deeper Gmail integration too, "Say goodbye to email attachments and hello to real time collaboration," it says, "Drag anything shared with you to My Drive for easy access." If Drive turns out to be more than a hefty Docs update, at the very least it seems clear that the new service will play nice with El Goog's other web apps -- after all, isn't that what that consolidated privacy policy is supposed to be about?
Google's Dart lands in Chromium tech preview
Leaves weren't the only things flying around Mountain View last Autumn if you remember, Google also unleashed its Dart programming language. Now, developers can get their hands on a tech preview version of Chromium, with the Dart virtual machine baked right in. There are Mac and Linux binaries available today, but no details about other platforms (ahem Windows) at this time. The preview lets you run your programs directly on the Dart VM, skipping the separate compilation stage. While it's just for developers at the minute, there are plans to include this in standard Chrome releases in the future. Aim at the source link after the break for the full details.
MAME gets Chrome Native Client port, is awesome case study
We've already seen MAME burn brightly (and briefly) on iPads across the world and now it's been delicately ported across to Chrome's Native Client. Admittedly, the graphics may not stand up against recent gaming wares seen on Google's new platform, but it's still able to cope with the likes of Pac-Man. Managing to turnaround the whole project in a mere four days, Google engineer Robert Muth branded the brief exercise as "relatively challenging" and has noted down all the deep and meaningfuls in a full case study, available at the source below. For anyone unwilling to dip their toes into Native Client waters, however, there's still plenty of power pellets to be downed online.
Hexxeh adds a splash of lime to Chromium OS, brings extra hardware and plugin support
The open source version of Google's Chrome OS just got a zesty refresh. Capable of being housed in a mere USB stick, the latest image improves on Hexxeh's Vanilla release with hardware support for more WiFi models and NVIDIA 6 series GPUs and above. It will still benefit from regular updates to the latest Chromium build, while this Lime flavor arrives with full Java support and the promise of more plugins soon. The maker is also willing to accept suggestions for future device support. Chromium obsessives with hardware compatibility woes can try getting in touch at the source below.
Google Drive could finally be ready for launch, may just be rebranded Docs
GDrive, GDisk, Google Drive - whatever they're calling it these days - is coming. At least according to our friends over at TechCrunch. The service has not just been a rumor, but an actual product since 2007. Sadly though, it never made it past the dogfooding stage. The internal cloud storage tool for Googlers has been highly anticipated, but in 2010 it seemed like the final nail was put in its coffin when Docs was turned into a makeshift replacement with the ability to store any file. Well, Google Drive still exists, and speculation is that Google Docs will eventually be rebranded as Drive and relaunched with non-Docs file storage moved to the forefront. What's more, it's rumored that there will be a desktop syncing component, similar to Dropbox. Of course, the image above (from a Google-sponsored presentation) and recently discovered mentions of Drive.Google.com in Chromium don't necessarily mean anything. But, if Google actually plans on taking this Chrome OS thing seriously, Drive seems like a natural companion service. For now though, we're just going to have wait patiently to see what, if anything, comes of these latest rumblings.
Chromium's experimental touch UI demoed on video, made for meaty fingers
Google was pretty adamant at I/O that Chrome OS would not be coming tablets, but that hasn't stopped its open-source cousin from adding some touch friendly features. Chromium (the browser, not the OS) got its first tablet tweaks back in June, but this is the first time we're seeing them on video. While the larger icons, widgets, and virtual keyboard, may eventually make their way onto the rumored Seaboard, there's no guarantee these (obviously still early) experiments will ever debut as part of Chrome OS or even the browser. Check out the video after the break for a brief glimpse of this work in progress and, if you're feeling adventurous, hit up the more coverage link to download the latest source code -- just make sure to compile with 'export GYP_DEFINES="touchui=1"' to unlock the finger-friendly face of Chromium.
Kogan Agora is world's first Google Chromium OS laptop, ships next week
Kogan, the Aussie company behind such gadgets as the fist-sized Bluetooth GPS watch and gesture-controlled IPTV, is adding a Chromium OS laptop to its family of Google-powered Agora products. The 11.6-inch computer has a spec list rivaling the midrange notebooks of 2006, including a 1.3 GHz Celeron processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 30GB SSD. That's not a lot of oomph, but with cloud-based storage and Google's open source Chromium running the show, this thin client laptop should be in decent shape. There's also a 3.5-hour battery, SD card reader, webcam, Bluetooth, and an HDMI output. Like all Kogan products, the Agora is only available in Australia (AUD 349, about $372) and the UK (£269, about $440), so if you live down under or across the pond and don't want to install the open-source (free) OS yourself, look for the laptop to hit Kogan's online stores tomorrow.
Chaufr lets you shout searches, yell URLs at Chrome
Generally, shouting commands at the internet isn't going to get you very far but, if you're just yelling a few destinations and search terms, Chrome extension Chaufr can take you where you need to go. A previous add-on, Speechify, let you speak to fill input fields, but couldn't help you actually navigate the web. Chaufr, on the other hand, lets you simply say the magic word -- "Engadget" -- and it drops you right at our online doorstep. You can also use it to perform searches by saying Wikipedia, Google, Amazon, YouTube, or Yahoo followed by whatever it is you're looking for. It worked well enough in our brief hands-on, but we do have one nit to pick -- activating voice input requires you click on an icon in the tool bar then click on a microphone in the drop down menu. (Can't a brother get a keyboard shortcut?) You can try it out for yourself by clicking on the source link.
Chrome Canary comes to Macs for fearless browser enthusiasts
Until now, Mac users who like to live their digital lives on the edge have had to make do with Chrome's dev channel while their Windows counterparts were flying by the seat of their pants with the Canary build. Well, be jealous so more OS X fans -- you can now run your own untested, pre-developer build of Google's web browser. The Canary release is updated at an almost alarming rate and frequently adds and drops features without warning. Sure, you could opt for the open-source Chromium, but then you'd miss out on niceties like built-in Flash and PDF support. Don't get too freaked out though: Canary can run alongside your existing (and more stable) Chrome install. So, throw caution to the wind, embrace the crashes, report those bugs, and hit up the source link to download.
Google rolls out Chrome Canary to Mac
Good news for Google Chrome enthusiasts: Chrome Canary is now available for Mac. Windows users have had the option to download the pre-developer, experimental builds of the Chrome browser, dubbed Canary, for some time now. But now Mac Chrome enthusiasts can also throw caution to the wind and grab a version of Chrome that almost keeps up with its open-source brother, Chromium. But why not just use Chromium I hear you say? Because Chrome comes packing a few extras built in, like the internal Flash plug-in and other bits and pieces. You also get a nice bright, beautiful yellow icon in your dock. Just be warned that features will come and go as they're tested, and being experimental, it may not be as secure as some of the more refined builds of Chrome. To get Chrome Canary for Mac, head to the download page or check out some of the other more stable releases on the Chromium Early Access Release Channels page. [via Browser Scene]
Details of Samsung's 'Alex' Chrome OS netbook leaked, Atom N550 in tow
As we approach the expected mid-2011 launch for a few Chrome OS devices, it seems inevitable that some details are bound to slip out ahead of time -- here's looking at you, Acer ZGB and Seaboard. The latest victim outed by a Chromium bug report is the Samsung "Alex," which sports a 1280 x 800 display (probably at 10 inches as previously rumored; like the mockup above), 1.5GHz dual-core Atom N550, SanDisk SSD P4 of unknown capacity, and 2GB RAM. Also listed are a Qualcomm Gobi 2000 3G card, Bluetooth, WiFi, webcam, and a Synaptics touchpad. Well, not long to go now -- perhaps the Alex might even make a cheeky appearance at Google I/O in two weeks' time? Screenshot of the bug report after the break. [Thanks, Marco]
Flock comes to the end of the road as support ceases
Flock, the original social web browser, has been marked for termination. Originally released back in 2005 and powered by a Firefox core, Flock brought social to the browser by integrating with Flickr, del.icio.us (as it was at the time) and a whole host of blogging services. Later, with the social networking revolution, Flock cozied up with a plethora of platforms, including the usual suspects: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Flock moved to the much faster Chromium core late last year, bringing greater speed (especially on the Mac), which was by then, an important factor in the "browser wars." Unfortunately for Flock, it wasn't enough to combat the new Chromium-powered social browser upstart RockMelt, which was well funded and had a lot of hype behind it. In January of this year, Zynga swooped in and bought the team behind Flock in a talent acquisition. Unfortunately for Flock, that didn't include technology, CEO Shawn Hardin or the Flock.com domain, so the writing was on the wall for the now struggling browser. Today, Flock.com has a notice stating that support for Flock will be withdrawn as of April 26, bringing an end to the social browser, and suggesting users look to Chrome or Firefox. Although not a Mac-specific browser, Flock added something extra to the browser choice on OS X, so it's sad to see it slinking off into the sunset, even if we do have RockMelt. [via TechCrunch]
1.2GHz Tegra 2 3D chips suggested by leaked slide, coming 'spring 2011'
Darn, we've barely started getting acquainted with Tegra 2, yet NVIDIA seems to already be preparing the stage for a sort of Tegra 2.5 -- a 1.2GHz dual-core chip that'll be marketed as a 3D-capable mobile processor. This T25 silicon is apparently set for mass production in the first quarter of this year, with availability coming up in the spring. Given the noises we keep hearing about 3D going mobile, this is one rumor that makes a lot of sense -- and even if you're a staunch supporter of the 2D creed, you can't deny that a sped-up Tegra 2 CPU sounds pretty delicious. We've managed to also track down some technical chatter about adding support to Chromium OS for a 1.2GHz T25 from NVIDIA, seemingly corroborating the leaked image above. Oh boy, it's gonna be a hot summer for mobile computing this year!
Google will drop H.264 support from Chrome, herd the masses towards WebM and Theora
We knew Google was rather fond of its WebM video standard, but we never expected a move like this: the company says it will drop support for the rival H.264 codec in its HTML5 video tag, and is justifying the move in the name of open standards somehow. Considering that H.264 is presently one of (if not the) most widely supported format out there, it sounds a little like Google shooting itself in the foot with a .357 round -- especially considering the MPEG-LA just made H.264 royalty-free as long as it's freely distributed just a few months ago. If that's the case, Chrome users will have to download a H.264 plug-in to play most web video that's not bundled up in Flash... which isn't exactly an open format itself. Or hey, perhaps everyone will magically switch to Chrome, video providers will kowtow, unicorns will gaily prance, and WebM will dominate from now on.
Ubuntu meets Google Cr-48 laptop, keeps Chrome along for the ride
Inevitable? Perhaps. But there's still nothing like seeing Linux running on a device for the first time -- especially when it involves such a seemingly hacker-friendly device as the Google Cr-48 laptop. As you might expect, however, that required a bit more effort than your usual Ubuntu installation (not to mention a flick of that carefully concealed developer switch), but it isn't too far out of reach for the average user, and the complete process has thankfully already been explained in a thorough how-to guide. You can also, incidentally, keep Chrome OS around in a dual-boot config so as to not completely break Google's heart. Head on past the break for a quick video of the end result, and hit up the source link below for all the necessary details to do it yourself -- assuming you're lucky enough to actually have a Cr-48, that is.
Live from Google's Chrome event!
They rocked our world yesterday with Gingerbread, the Nexus S and a Honeycomb-based tablet, but Google's not done yet -- today, it'll unveil a horse of a different form factor in Chrome OS. That's right, Mountain View's finally ready to share hard details about its instant-on operating system (and perhaps a netbook or three) and we're here in San Francisco liveblogging the whole thing.
Chrome sandboxes Flash Player in latest Dev channel release for Windows
Hey, Adobe's finally figured out how to make Flash secure -- have Google do it! The guys behind your favorite search engine have updated their latest Dev channel release of Chrome to include a new sandboxing facility for Flash Player content. It'll serve to limit access to sensitive system resources and make Flash's operation a generally less threatening proposition than it currently is. This also marks the fulfillment of a longstanding promise from Google to give Flash the same treatment it's afforded to JavaScript and HTML rendering for a while, and should be welcome news to Windows users eager to minimize "the potential attack surface" of their browser. Sorry, Mac fans, you're out in the unsecured cold for now. Of course, the Dev channel itself is one step less refined than beta software, so even if you're on Windows it might be advisable to wait it out a little bit.
RockMelt social browser launches in limited beta, we go hands-on
Been thinking that Firefox or Chrome browser of yours just isn't, say, social enough? Probably not, but RockMelt is hoping that's exactly what you'll think after you try out its web browser. The Mountain View startup, which is backed by web bigwigs such as Marc Andreeseen, has just released its new browser in a limited beta today, and it's -- as you probably may have guessed -- built entirely around social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Using Chromium at its core, the browser naturally looks and feels a lot Chrome -- fret not, Incognito mode is still there -- but there are some clear interface tweaks. As you can see in the screenshot above, the left edge integrates your Facebook friends so you can chat, send messages or check out status updates no matter what site you're visiting. (Oddly, there doesn't seem to be a way to poke from the interface! Blasphemy!) The right column is meant for Twitter and RSS feeds -- both are updated in the background and use "push notifications" to let you know how many unread messages or posts you've got piling up. You can update your statuses from both rails as well as share the site you are reading by just hitting the large share button to the left of the search bar. It's all fairly straightforward and actually works quite well. However, RockMelt is pitching itself as more than just a sharing platform -- it also claims to have improved the speed and ease of search. Instead of the search box taking you to a Google search page, it brings up the results in a box of its own and allows you to visit the different sites within the browser window -- basically, you don't have to keep clicking back and forth from that Google search page. It's fairly neat, and actually does seem rather snappy. So, when can you try out RockMelt yourself? We wish we had better news, but it's in a limited beta for both Mac and PC, so your best bet is to head over to the source link and give away your Facebook details (if you're cool with forking over that info). Based on our first impressions, it's definitely worth putting your name in the running. %Gallery-106934%
No comment: Chromium OS running on iPad
Here's one submitted in the spirit of George Mallory with no comment. Inventive soul Hexxeh has gotten the Chromium OS up and running on an iPad. Chromium is the open source version of Google's Chrome OS. After some effort and a bit of magic, Hexxeh has got it mucking about inside an iPad. Don't expect lightning speed from this quick demo, and note the bonus tapping that the spiffy cursor provides. We're not going to run out and try it, but we're glad enough to watch someone else do it. Good work, Hexxeh. [Via Engadget]
