Google update stomps Chrome browser bugs

Google offered a new developer build of Chrome.

(Credit: CNET News)

Google released a developer-oriented update to its Chrome Web browser on Wednesday that fixes some crashes and video playback issues.

Chrome is still in beta testing, and for those who have an even higher tolerance for rough-around-the-edges software, Google also offers developer versions. Chrome 0.3.154.3 is the latter; see our earlier post on how to subscribe to the Chrome Dev channel.

"Release 154.0 (the most recent publicly released Chrome developer build) had a few browser crashes, including a crash on startup on tablet PCs running Windows Vista. We fixed the new crashes, and 154.3 should be much more stable," Mark Larson, Google Chrome program manager, said in a mailing list posting Wednesday evening.

The browser wars are back in force, albeit in a more standards-compliant and collegial way, and a major thrust of the resurgent competition is higher performance for faster, more sophisticated Web applications. The first beta version of Firefox 3.1, released Tuesday, brings significant improvements to JavaScript, the programming language that underlies many such applications. Microsoft is on the verge of releasing Internet Explorer 8 (though it still hasn't convinced innumerable people to upgrade even to the current version 7), and the Webkit project that forms the foundation of Apple's Safari browser is being fitted with a new JavaScript engine called Squirrelfish Extreme.

Other fixes addressed problems with plug-ins such as a bug that could hang video playback after a second or a plug-in priority issue that cause the browser to become unresponsive. Chrome can use the Mozilla Firefox versions of plug-ins such as Adobe Systems' Flash.

In the security department, Chrome requires more manual intervention before users can save executable files with .exe, .bat, and .dll extensions.

Chrome is open-source software, and Google credited two outside programmers for their contributions.

For a full list of changes, see the Chrome 0.3.154.3 release notes.

[mattumanu]

I uninstalled Chroogle after about 3 days. Number 1 reason? It updated itself without notifying me. Buggy performance and weird behavior round out the next two spots.

They may have fixed a number of bugs, but guess what? It's still in Beta, and if Google's past tendencies are any indication, it will be in beta for a long time. If, for some reason, they ever get it out of beta, I'll give it a look again.

[xylyx3d]

I love chrome! I tentatively downloaded and installed it the first day it came out. I've never looked back to firefox since. It is alot more stable than firefox ever was even though chrome is still a beta, which i find amazing. it's hard to tell it's that much faster because i have a slow internet connection and everything takes forever to load on any browser i use. not having google toolbar i thought was going to be annoying but turns out the address bar/do everything bar works brilliantly. type in a search or type in a web address, either one works flawlessly. it's a lot smoother and easier to use than firefox's "awesome bar" which i felt was huge disappointment. firefox never seamed to grab the right web adress as you typed untill you got so much of it filled in you might as well continue typing cause it will be faster than scrolling down the list of suggestions. my only complaint thus far is sometimes chrome doesn't understand that auto and car are the same thing, so i have to be a bit more specific when searching such, other than than though, why would i go back to firefox? yes, firefox is prettier, but at the expense of usability.

as for the beta auto-updating if you read their little shindig you'd know that was part of your agreement bye clicking the "yes i agree" box. it's a beta what do you expect?

[dickrichard]

I am old enough to know that word "car" came from the Railroad Industry and got applied to the auto industry too. Who did it though? Maybe the British did it because they have other weird automobile terms like hood and bonnet that's not the same to us English using new comers from across the pond

[stocklirider]

Yeah, I love chrome... got it on day 1 and still haven't looked back! The only time I switch to Opera is when I need to play flash content. Chrome is still major buggy with pages that have flash/Javascript content. It usually freezes for quite a few seconds or just crashes the entire browser.

Aside from THAT issue though, chrome is awesome! I really hope google intends to keep supporting it.

[lacykemp]

I have been a pretty big fan of Chrome- though it's not without it's flaws. But, since it's still in Beta, I'm definitely more tolerant. I just find it super intuitive and easy to use- more so than Firefox and Safari (I work on a PC at work and a Mac at home) So I'm definitely hoping it can get over the remaining few bugs.