Google releases new version of Chrome browser

Google has released a finished version of its speedy new Chrome Web browsing software for desktop or laptop computers.

The latest version of Chrome promised quick and responsive handling of software running in the Web browser.

"We realize that speed isn't just about pure brawn in the browser," Google engineer Tim Steele wrote in a blog post announcing the latest Chrome release. "It's also about saving time with simple interfaces."

Google improved settings for bookmarks, passwords, searches and home pages as well as enhanced protection from websites booby-trapped by hackers with malicious code.

The latest Chrome browser software is available free online at www.google.com/chrome. Earlier versions of the Web browser already being used in computers will be automatically updated.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser in the United States followed by Firefox, Chrome and Apple's Safari.

Google unveils CR 48 - First Chrome OS Laptop

Google gave the world a first look at its new Chrome OS laptop and according to CEO Eric Schmidt it's very much like the Network Computer devices that he was pitching while chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems 13 years ago. Only this time around, the idea will actually catch on, Schmidt said.

The difference, Schmidt said, is that the Web-based development tools used to build programs for Chrome OS have had had years to mature. "Our instincts were right but we didn't have the tools," he said of the computer industry's failure to make lightweight computers that could compete with Microsoft Windows in the enterprise.

Google thinks that Web applications are finally ready to displace Microsoft's hegemony and businesses will buy computers that can't run programs such as Word or Excel.

"I think there's every reason to believe that when you go back and you look at history, not only is this the right time to build these products, but because they work and they work at scale, they'll be very successful," Schmidt said.

Google didn't say if or when it was going to start selling its own lightweight laptops. But the company did offer a sneak peak at a completely black, unbranded notebook, running the Chrome OS, that it's shipping out to developers and a limited number of lucky consumers.

Dubbed the Cr-48, the laptop has a 12.1 inch display, a regular-sized keyboard, and a battery that will last for eight hours.

Like the Network Computer (NC), the Cr-48 is designed to run software over the network. But instead of Java - which proved to be clunky and hard to develop on the NC - Chrome OS developers can use the same Web development tools they've been working with for years.

Google's system boots up in 60 seconds; after it goes to sleep, it can resume operations nearly instantly; it encrypts all data automatically; and it uses a piece of encryption hardware called a trusted computing module to digitally sign components of the operating system and check them for tampering.

And like today's smartphones, Chrome OS systems are designed to be always connected. Thanks to a deal with U.S. carrier Verizon, Chrome OS notebook users will get two years worth of free 3G wireless connectivity. Their free usage will be capped at 100 MB per month, but Verizon will offer plans for more bandwith-intensive users.

Schmdit thinks this strategy is going to work well because of mobile computing. Increasingly, mobile devices such as the BlackBerry and the iPhone are becoming critical business tools.

Google had been hoping to announce its first Chrome OS laptops by years end, but that deadline has slipped. Intel-based systems from Samsung and Acer will ship by mid-2011.

Google has also announced a new Web store for Chrome browser users and updates to its browser software.

Despite heavy promotion by enterprise vendors such as Sun and Oracle, the NC never managed to win the hearts of enterprise software developers. Google seems to understand that it will take some work to win those people over with Chrome OS computers that can't run popular Windows programs. It has already started pilot programs with enterprises such as American Airlines, Cardinal Health, Intercontinental Hotels, the U.S. Department of Defense and others.

Google to launch Chrome Operating System

Google is working on a new operating system, called Chrome OS, for inexpensive computers in a daring attempt to wrest away Microsoft’s long running control over computing experience.

The new operating system will be based on its Chrome browser and would be an open source operating system initially targeted at netbooks. Google intends to rely on help from the community of open-source programmers to develop the Chrome operating system, which is expected to begin running computers in the second half of 2010.

Google is designing the operating system primarily for "netbooks," a lower-cost, less powerful breed of laptop computers that is becoming increasingly popular among budget-conscious consumers primarily interested in surfing the Web.

The operating system represents Google's boldest challenge yet to its biggest nemesis - Microsoft.

A high-stakes duel between the two technology powerhouses has been steadily escalating in recent years as Google's dominance of the Internet's lucrative search market has given it the means to threaten Microsoft in ways that few other companies can.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has been trying to thwart Google by investing billions of dollars to improve its own Internet search and advertising systems.

In the past month or so, though, Microsoft has been winning positive reviews and picking up more users with the latest upgrade to its search engine, now called "Bing." Microsoft is hailing the makeover with a $100 million marketing campaign.

Now Google is aiming for Microsoft's financial jugular with Chrome its operating system.

Despite its own power and prominence, Google won't have an easy time changing the status quo that has governed the personal computing industry for so long.

The Chrome operating system will run in a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel - computer coding that has been the foundation for the open-source software movement.

Google has already introduced an operating system called Android, but that is only used for mobile phones at the moment.

The Android system worked well enough to entice some computer makers to begin developing netbooks that will eventually run on it.

Google, though, apparently believes a Chrome-based system will be better suited for running applications in netbooks.

"Computers need to get better. People want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them and they want to access the Internet instantly,” Google said.

"Google Chrome OS is being created for people who spend most of their time on the web, and is being designed to power computers ranging from small netbooks to full-size desktop systems," said the company.

"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," the company said.