chrome

It's been a week now since Google unveiled the Chromebook Pixel, and the reactions have settled into a rough consensus: nice laptop, but not for you.

"The Chromebook Pixel is just too much machine for the software," the Wirecutter's Nathan Edwards writes in a representative take. At CNET, Seth Rosenblatt's review makes a similar point: "the Chromebook Pixel's high price and cloud OS limitations make it impossible to recommend for the vast majority of users."

All of which raises the question -- why release it? Surely Google knew that by introducing a … Read more

Review: Google sure took its sweet time getting its redonkulously popular browser onto its well-received mobile operating system, but there's finally a version of Chrome for Android. It comes with a number of caveats, the biggest being that there's a really good chance that you're not going to have a compatible device for a while.

Installation Chrome for Android installs like any other Android app, and is freely available from Google's Android Market, Download.com, Amazon, and other Android marketplaces. If you have more than one Google account synced, it will ask you which one you … Read more

Chrome 25 for Android (download) finally gets another update, this time bringing numerous fixes to stability, speed, and overall browser behavior.

The last time Chrome for Android updated was November 2012.

In the interim, Google has been building significant backend improvements for the browser. In its blog announcing the Chrome update, Google programmer Jason Kersey revealed the changes but with few details.

The biggest improvement that Chrome fans will appreciate is the update to the latest version of V8, Chrome's JavaScript engine.

Other changes include better responsiveness when using pinch-to-zoom; improved scrolling performance; expanded support for HTML5 changes since … Read more

Google had already achieved a measure of success with the Chromebook Pixel, according to an analyst at Gap Intelligence.

"[It's] a fantastic ploy to get people to think about Chrome differently," said Deron Kershaw, an analyst Gap Intelligence who follows retail sales of laptops.

The Pixel is now being sold by Best Buy at a starting price of $1,299.

Kershaw continued. "In addition to drawing a line in the sand with Apple on touch, they're trying to craft the sense that premium hardware and a web-centric OS aren't incompatible with each other. And … Read more

The last time I really cursed at my computer, it was when I had about 15 tabs open in Firefox. I had just opened a bunch of new tabs when one of them starting playing sappy, tinkly music full blast from my speaker over the sound of a video I already had running.

I clicked through the tabs in a game of increasing desperation, trying to find the culprit. I ending up shutting down most of my tabs before pinpointing the guilty party in a haze of epithets. There has to be a better way, I thought. It looks like Google Chrome developers are one step ahead of me.… Read more

Thank you, Google. For obsoleting my MacBook.

Question: What two killer hardware features are missing on MacBooks? My answer: a touch screen and 4G.

What a coincidence. Just what Google is offering on the Chromebook Pixel. And in a package that comes close to matching the MacBook's aesthetics.

Not everyone may agree with that. Take the laptop flat-earthers. They will say touch is stupid (or "pointless" as one columnist said) on a laptop. Yeah right, just like the mouse was a stupid idea.

Then there's Apple's your-arm-wants-to-fall-off on vertical touch surfaces excuse. That will eventually … Read more

Google removed the ability to display a custom background image on your Google Search homepage. However, there's a Chrome extension that can help you regain your little slice of customization.

Aside from allowing you to change the background image, the extension will let you do some other neat things, too. You can remove the Google logo, search and lucky buttons, footer, and promotional links.

Head to the Google Chrome Web Store and install the Custom Google Background extension.

After installing the extension, you can select where you'd like to use an image from. You can also … Read more

Are you still flying solo instead of jumping on the Mailbox or Mailstrom bandwagon? That doesn't mean you can't get a little help from Astrid, your friendly squidface to-do list app, when using Gmail in Chrome.

Each time you read your Gmail, you may star or label some of the messages that you want to get back to. This is a great idea in theory, but messages can easily be forgotten. Instead, you can add a reminder to your Astrid that will keep up with your lack of focus on the Internet.

Here's how to get started:… Read more

Chrome users can now tell their browser what to do.

Launched yesterday, Chrome version 25 includes support for voice recognition. This means developers can integrate the feature into their Web apps.

As one example offered in a Google demo, you can create an e-mail via your voice directly within Chrome 25. Simply click on the microphone icon and start talking. You'll see your words appear in a text box. Click the mic icon again when you're finished.

I tried out the feature and was able to dictate an e-mail message that then appeared in Microsoft Outlook. The accuracy … Read more