Though torrenting files has been around forever, there has always been a relatively high barrier of entry that kept normal people from diving in. Not anymore. BitTorrent just announced Torque, a new JavaScript interface that’ll let you download BitTorrent files right from your browser. It’s going to be so easy now. More »
Google’s Chrome browser is the most popular in the world, so that’s a lot of people potentially frustrated by a search bug that delivers nothing but blank results pages. The issue arises when users take advantage of the Chrome “Omnibox” address bar, which allows for either URLs or search terms to be entered interchangeably. Both PC and Mac users are finding that, at least some of the time, their searches come up entirely blank. Check out the workaround after the cut.
Google has confirmed it is aware of the issue, and is looking into it, though has not given any suggestion as to what caused the fault. Still, the problem has been a persistent one for several hours, though it does not necessarily affect all searches.
Chrome overtook rival browsers in recent weeks, with Google triumphantly announcing that it is the number one worldwide at IO last week. The company also released a version of Chrome for iOS on the iPhone and iPad, though it uses Apple’s own WebKit engine rather than the Chrome engine on PC and Mac.
There is, however, a workaround, modified slightly from a suggestion by Brian Glasshouse. It involves setting a new, alternative search engine that is used temporarily until Google addresses the problem directly.
Problem: When submitting a search with in the address bar (Omnibox) in Chrome, you are automatically redirected to a blank page and no results are displayed.
Solution: Click the wrench icon and navigate to “Settings.” Under the Search section, click “Manage Search Engines” and do the following:
1. Create an alternative Google search option from Other Search Engines (call it Google2 or something), but in the URL section type “https://www.google.com/search?q=%s”
2. Make the new Google option the default option, ensuring that the old identifier still exists.
3. Use this option until Google fixes the issue (we will update you when it does), it will restore all the functionality of the Omnibox and other features that the temporary solution doesn’t provide.
Update: Google says the issue should be resolved.
[via The Next Web]
Chrome search bug frustrates surfers [Update: Fixed!] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google has admitted that its Chrome browser is the cause of MacBook stability problems, with an incompatibility between the app and the integrated Intel graphics leading to crashes. “Work is proceeding to find and fix the root cause” a Google spokesperson told Gizmodo, though the company does splash a little of the blame onto Apple itself and the way OS X Lion is handling kernel issues.
“Radar bug number 11762608 has been filed with Apple regarding the kernel panics,” the Google spokesperson continued, “since it should not be possible for an application to trigger such behavior.” Apple is yet to comment on the issue.
Google is taking a two-pronged approach to dealing with the glitch. Chrome users should have already received a patch on Thursday afternoon, that temporarily shuts off some of the browser’s use of GPU acceleration on machines with the Intel HD 4000 graphics.
Meanwhile, work is underway to come up with a more lasting fix with full GPU acceleration functionality still in place. There’s no timescale for its release, however.
Yesterday, at its second Google IO keynote, Google confirmed that Chrome now has 310m users worldwide, making it the most popular browser around according to all the metrics the search giant said it could find.
Google Statement:
“We have identified a leak of graphics resources in the Chrome browser related to the drawing of plugins on Mac OS X. Work is proceeding to find and fix the root cause of the leak.
The resource leak is causing a kernel panic on Mac hardware containing the Intel HD 4000 graphics chip (e.g. the new Macbook Airs). Radar bug number 11762608 has been filed with Apple regarding the kernel panics, since it should not be possible for an application to trigger such behavior.
While the root cause of the leak is being fixed, we are temporarily disabling some of Chrome’s GPU acceleration features on the affected hardware via an auto-updated release that went out this afternoon (Thursday June 28). We anticipate further fixes in the coming days which will re-enable many or all of these features on this hardware.”
Google admits MacBook Chrome crash bug is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If your new MacBook is having kernel panics, or you’re forced to run a 32-bit browser in Linux because you need Flash, Google’s brought relief with version 20 of Chrome. While acting sheepish about “yet another release,” the Chrome Blog said “hundreds of bugs” were fixed, including a MacBook resource leak issue which was temporarily patched by disabling some GPU features. Also, Linux users will finally get full 64-bit support for Flash with Adobe’s PPAPI “Pepper” version, but since it was made exclusively for Chrome, Penguin users will be stuck with that browser if they want the feature. To get it, check the source after the br… oh, right, background update. Nevermind.
Chrome 20 browser released: exclusive 64-bit Linux Flash, fewer MacBook crashes originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 05:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Today’s Google I/O keynote was, as expected, all about the Chrome. Easily one of the biggest among the company’s laundry list of announcements surrounding the browser-turned-operating-system has to be its arrival on iOS, bringing the functionality that an ever-growing number of users have come to know and love to the iPhone and iPad. The list includes, perhaps most notably, its cross-device syncing, ensuring that you can pick up where you left off on the desktop version of the program, taking your pages and tabs with you on the go. So, is Google’s fancy mobile browser enough to get us off mobile Safari altogether? Check out some impressions of the iPhone version of the app after the break.
Gallery: Google Chrome for iOS
Continue reading Google Chrome for iPhone hands-on
Google Chrome for iPhone hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Chrome for iOS, announced at Google IO just a few hours ago, has already begun to hit the App Store, though there’s a sting if you’re expecting the full Google browser experience. The new browser is the latest iteration of Chrome, bringing features like tab sync to iPhone and iPad; however, it’s not built on the speedy underlying engine of Chrome on other platforms, such as Android.
In fact, it’s more like a reskin of what Apple is already offering in iOS, dressing up the existing WebKit engine with a shiny new Chrome UI. One of Apple’s limits for iOS apps is that they’re unable to change those underlying components:
“It’s not the Chrome rendering or JavaScript engines — the App Store rules forbid that. It’s the iOS system version of WebKit wrapped in Google’s own browser UI. The pressure for Apple to allow users to specify a third-party app as their default browser is going to increase significantly after this. (As I type this, it’s not yet in the App Store.)” John Gruber
There’s also no support for setting anything other than Mobile Safari on the iPhone or iPad as the default browser. That means every time you click a link in an email or app, Safari will leap up to load it rather than Chrome for iOS.
It’s unclear whether the inevitable increase of pressure on Apple to change its policies will have any impact in the long run. The company has proved reluctant to allow other browsers to occupy the space that Safari currently does, rightly assuming that controlling the web experience is an important aspect of the “walled garden” ecosystem.
You can download Chrome for iOS here [iTunes link].
Chrome for iOS hits US App Store is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
First there was skydiving Google Glass; now Google IO has brought us Cirque du Soleil in the browser. The famous acrobatics company took the IO stage to show how they’d used web technologies to put motion-tracking dance and interaction into Chrome. The webcam of a Chromebook was used to follow the movements of the user, all rendered in smooth 3D; even more impressive, it all worked in the browser on a tablet, too.
In the case of the tablet – which used an iPad for the IO demo – the accelerometer was used to navigate through the 3D environment, with a virtual acrobat filling the screen.
Cirque du Soleil’s sytem uses a combination of HTML, web video and markup to create “virtual set pieces” using CSS. The end result is hugely scalable and easily edited, the group said, and will be featured on the troupe’s site.
Of course, not everyone is interested in being a virtual acrobat, but Google is pushing the interactive web technologies as ideal for any developer looking to make more of their site. Earlier today, the company confirmed that Chrome has 310m active users.
Cirque du Soleil demos motion-tracking virtual acrobats in your browser is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google just did what many thought wasn’t possible — it just put mobile Chrome on iOS. Both iPad and iPhone users will get the app, either with incognito browsing, syncing and that unique tabbed browsing interface intact. The company hasn’t said what’s changed versus the Android build, but it’s likely the main differences are matters of integration — Apple’s app rules won’t let Google bring in its own WebKit rendering engine tweaks or change the default browser. Whether or not that switch is a dealbreaker, Chrome should be available later today in the App Store for those who want a break from the Safari norm.
Check out our full coverage of Google I/O 2012’s developer conference at our event hub!
Update: No download just yet, but Google is teasing us with a video that you can find after the break. The iOS port shows up at the 43-second mark.
Update 2: It’s available! Hit the source link to get your copy.
Gallery: Google Chrome for iOS
Continue reading Google puts Chrome on iPhone and iPad (update 2: it’s out!)
Google puts Chrome on iPhone and iPad (update 2: it’s out!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The second keynote of Google I/O 2012 has kicked off, with the news that the Chrome browser is now up to 310 million active users, compared to 160m back at IO 2011. The browser has had a significant surge in adoption – Google counted 70m active users back in 2010 – and the search giant claims that by all the metrics it can find, Chrome is the most popular web browser globally.
Chrome isn’t just widely adopted, it’s saving time and energy according to Sundar Pichai of Chrome and Apps for Google. In fact, the omnibar search box – which allows users to search or put addresses into the same box – apparently saves 13 years of human life every single day.
Meanwhile, there’s 60 billion words typed into Chrome every day, and 1TB of data downloaded. Google also demonstrated sync between Chrome on different devices, something else that the company says will save user-time.
You can download Chrome from here.
310m active users makes Chrome the top browser worldwide is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s surely been a crazy couple of weeks for the folks at Google. The company clearly has more new features than it can shove into a couple of lengthy keynotes — like functionality for Play that lets users update and uninstall apps by way of the My Android Apps tab in the browser-based version of the store. Check the source link below to begin your cloud-based bidding.
[Thanks, Allen]
Google Play lets you update and uninstall apps from the comfort of your browser originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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