New Google Chrome beta browser released

Google’s beta version of their Chrome web browser has now been released as is living up to its billing as being faster than the rest.

Google claim it is up to 30% quicker than other browsers, and some industry testing has already proven it to be double the speed of Firefox 3.5 and around 8x faster than IE8.

Perhaps more interesting for non-speed junkies are some design and functionality touch-ups. Immediately obvious will be the redesigned new tab page, which allows users to pin their favourite sites to the ‘Most Visited’ slots and collapse information they don’t want displayed. The Omnibox (url/google search bar) also gets a spit and polish to offer Firefox-esque drop down suggestions as you type, while basic downloadable themes have been added to Chrome ahead of its much anticipated third party extensions.

To check out Google Chrome beta, head to: http://chrome.blogspot.com/

We’ll put an end to viruses, say Google

Google’s Engineering Director has promised that its upcoming Chrome OS will see ‘the end of malware’.

Linus Upson, Google’s ED, has promised the company is: “Completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.”

Ironically, Google is also in the news this week due to security flaws in its Chrome browser.

Two of the most recent Google Chrome web browser security flaws (one relating to malicious code exploitation in the Chrome tab sandbox and one relating to memory corruption in the browser tab processes) have now been fixed.

You can see the full run-down of all the latest changes over on Google’s Chrome site.

Robert Caunt, an analyst from CCS Insight in London, notes that Google has a good record on security to date: “Its Gmail spam filter and search engine’s phishing-detection is good. They know what needs doing.”

Major computing brands such as Nvidia, Dell, Asus, Acer and others have already confirmed that they will be fully supporting Google’s Chrome OS.

Google Announces Partners For Chrome OS

Following Google’s announcement of plans to unveil their new operating system, Google Chrome, they have now released more details – specifically which brand partners will be involved.

Acer,  ASUS,  Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba are on the list of notebook manufacturers that Google will be working with. The glaring omission is Dell, whilst MSI, who have been heavily involved in the netbook space for the last year, are also missing. Sony are also nowhere to be seen as of yet.

Google is also working with Freescale, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments all which make ARM processors for the emerging class of smartbooks.

It’s anticipated there will be more partner announcements in the next couple of months.

Google Takes On Microsoft With New Operating System

Google is upping the ante on Microsoft once again by developing an operating system (OS) for personal computers, in a direct challenge to the Windows system.

Google Chrome OS will be aimed initially at netbooks, the low-cost portable computers that have turned the PC world upside down, and the system could be incorporated into new netbooks on shop shelves by the middle of 2010.

“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds,” Google stated in its announcement. “The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web.”

“We are completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work,” said Google.

The news could also be a blow to the open source Linux operating system, which had taken an early lead on netbooks, but then lost out to Microsoft’s elderly Windows XP. For Microsoft the news comes just months before it launches the latest version of its operating system, called Windows 7.

The announcement could dramatically change the market for operating systems, especially for Microsoft, the biggest player with around 90% share.

“This announcement is huge,” said Rob Enderle, industry watcher and president of the Enderle Group.

“This is the first time we have had a truly competitive OS on the market in years. This is potentially disruptive and is the first real attempt by anyone to go after Microsoft. Google is coming at this fresh and, because it is based on a set of services that reside on the web, it is the first really post web operating system, designed from the ground up, and reconceived for a web world.”