Chrome 2.0 beta but no Linux version, yet
Google released a pre-beta version of its Chrome 2.0 browser late last week but has still not made a Linux or Mac version of the browser available.
The 2.0 version of the browser was released to developers and includes a number of new features including the begins of an extension strategy for the browser.
Senior Google staffers said, however, that Linux and Mac versions of the browser would only be made available later this year. CNet quotes Brian Rakowski, Chrome’s product manager, who said that the Mac and Linux versions of the browser were now at the “test shell” stage which meant that they could show web pages but are still in a very raw format.
Rakowski said that versions of Chrome for Linux and Mac would likely be made available by the middle of 2009.
Extensions
Chrome 2.0 pre-beta does include support for some extension scripts, which will pave the way for fully-fledged extensions in the near future. Extensions are among the most requested features from users and is a key part of the success of rival browser Firefox.
Other new features in version 2.0 of Chrome include autocomplete for web forms, full-page zoom, multiple browser profiles each with their own bookmarks and cookies, autoscroll using the mouse centre button and the ability to import bookmarks from the Google Bookmarks site.
Less obvious to users but key to Chrome 2.0 is the inclusion of a new version of the WebKit rendering engine. The new Chrome release uses WebKit 528.8, which is faster and supports features such as CSS canvas drawing for 2D shapes such as lines on maps or custom-generated charts.
Source: http://www.tectonic.co.za