Mar 12
Tabs, tabs, tabs. They somehow grow like a virus in your browser window. The more squeeze in, the more you STRESS OUT. OneTab offers a simple solution. More »
Mar 12
Google Now seems another step closer to arriving to the Chrome browser on Windows and Chrome platforms, thanks to yet another code spot by Chromium savant François Beaufort. He previously noticed hints that such a feature might arrive, and this time he espied it in a full-fledged Chrome beta release — sadly, sans the server address necessary to run it. Despite that omission, it looks ready to eerily track your life anew on non-Android devices, so if you’re in the mood to look at (but not touch) the new add-in, grab it at the more coverage link after the break.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Via: The Verge
Source: Chromium Code Reviews
Mar 12
Signs that Google Now, the search giant’s context and prediction engine currently featured on Android phones, is coming to the desktop have been spotted, with a new Chromium feature teasing the functionality though not currently functional. Evidence of Google Now in the open-source browser was spotted by François Beaufort; however, without the correct server address, it can’t actually be used. Still, it indicates that Google is readying to expand Google Now’s footprint from mobile to the desktop.
At the moment, the latest Chromium build has an entry for enabling Google Now testing. However, it requires manual input of the relevant server address, since Google Now does most of its processing in the cloud; without that URL, none of the Now cards will be generated.
Exactly when Google will make Now functionality public is unclear, but the fact that it’s in testing suggests it could be sooner rather than later. That would certainly fit in with the ambitions of Android user experience chief Matias Duarte, who we talked to about Google Now back at Mobile World Congress; he sees the system as the next gateway to smart devices, leveraging context as part of a new, more confident Google that allows prediction to take a stronger role.
Google Now is already likely to feature strongly in Glass, Google’s head-mounted wearable computer, which uses the system to respond to voice commands. As we exclusively previewed last month, the pared-back Glass interface is very close to what we’ve seen of Now already.
[via The Verge; via Francois Beaufort]
Google Now quietly arrives in Chromium (but refuses to work) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 12
For a lot of people, it’s impossible to make it through the day without having music playing constantly. There’s no shortage of Internet radio stations or digital audio content to purchase or stream from a variety of services online. If you’re a fan of Stitcher, the company has announced a couple new browser plug-ins.
Stitcher now has browser plug-ins customized for the Google Chrome web browser and Firefox. Stitcher says that fans can now listen to the streaming service any time on any browser thanks to the two new browser plug-ins. Using the new Chrome or Firefox plug-ins, users can stream their favorite programs along with over 15,000 shows using easy toolbar access providing full playback control.
Stitcher says that the web app will sync with your mobile application and grab all of the custom stations you have set up allowing you to resume listening on your computer where you left off on your mobile device. The web experience includes Smart Discovery allowing you to discover new shows you’ll probably like based on your listening activity. Users can also fine tune chosen shows for more personalized recommendations.
The browser plug-ins also support on-demand listening without the need to download content or synchronize. Users can also login using the browser plug-ins and create custom stations. The new plug-ins support Facebook sharing and allowing you to share your favorite shows on Facebook and discover what your friends are listening to as well. Both the Chrome and Firefox plug-ins are available to download now.
[via Stitcher]
Stitcher launches plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome browsers is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 11
Google brings iOS Gmail app’s interface to the mobile web and Gmail Offline
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Google had a very warm reception to the improved search and overall sleeker UI in Gmail 2.0 for iOS — warm enough, in fact, that it’s spreading the redesign work to its web apps. Both the mobile web app and Gmail Offline now share the same basic look as the iOS port as well as its search and Google Calendar integration. There’s no sign of the interface reaching Android’s native client, but those who eschew native apps on Android, BlackBerry, Chrome and iOS can get a taste of what they’ve been missing in the past few months.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Google, Blackberry
Via: The Next Web
Source: Gmail (Google+)
Mar 08
Google’s Pwnium challenge followed a familiar pattern in its first two years, with white hat hackers invariably finding a Chrome vulnerability and prompting a round of patches that ultimately made the software stronger. For the Chrome OS-focused Pwnium 3, there’s been a slight hiccup: there were no hacks to patch. Despite Google offering a total of $3.14159 million in bounties, entrants couldn’t demonstrate a working exploit on the Series 5 550 target machine. That may be a testament to Google’s steady security improvements, but it doesn’t help discover what holes are left. We’d add that few were left unscathed at the Pwn2Own competition running in tandem — the regular Chrome browser, Firefox and Internet Explorer all came tumbling down, and Safari may have escaped only because contestants didn’t register in advance. Even so, the Chrome OS results may have Chromebook Pixel owners feeling better about their purchases.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Apple, Microsoft, Google
Source: Geek.com, eSecurity Planet
Mar 05
Chrome beta for Android delivers a proxy-based speed boost, now syncs autofill and saved passwords
Posted in: Today's Chili 
As Google continues to work on improving Chrome for Android, today’s update for the company’s beta build of its browser appears to be a step in the right direction. Aside from the usual stability improvements and bug fixes, version 26.0.1410.26 adds two major additions. Lurking within this new software update is a data compression feature powered by Chrome for Android’s recently uncovered SPDY-powered proxy boost. When enabled, this feature optimizes HTTP traffic over an SSL connection and transcodes images to Google’s homegrown WebP format to reduce file sizes. In addition to turning your browser into a speed demon, this optional setting also uses Safe Browsing, which checks the sites you’re visiting against a list of potential threats for malware and phishing.
Further focusing on efficiency, this new update adds the ability to sync autofill and saved passwords across mobile devices. Google says it will deploy this new feature “in the coming days” and notes that you’ll also need the latest version of Chrome’s desktop beta in order to successfully sync your account. So, with that said, we suggest you wait at least a day or two before using your smartphone to go on a shopping spree, because those online checkout forms can be downright tortuous.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Google (1), (2)
Mar 05
Yesterday, Google released an update to its Chrome web browser for most of the major platforms, including Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. However, it appears that a lot of users have been experiencing crashing issues with the new update on iOS, including many of our readers, as well as myself. It turns out that the update doesn’t quite work well on jailbroken iDevices.
According to Jay Freeman (a.k.a. Saurik, who operates the Cydia jailbreak store), the latest Chrome update for iOS adds “untested jailbreak-specific code,” and the only way to fix the crashing issue is to enable “send crash reports” in Settings. However, that’s not exactly possible when the app keeps crashing on its users.
Then again, you can change the setting by digging deep into your iOS device’s file system by navigating to Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Local State and changing the “reporting_enabled” option to “true.” Jailbreakers can use iFile or any other file explorer jailbreak app to get access to this setting. However, you do so at your own risk.
Google says they’ll be releasing an incremental update to fix this issue, but there’s currently no timeline as to when it will be released. Google also says that if you’re not comfortable with digging into the file system, you can uninstall and reinstall Chrome and then enable crash reporting, but there’s the chance you may lose data if you don’t use sync. However, some SlashGear readers have mentioned that reinstalling didn’t work for them, so your mileage may vary.
PSA: Chrome for iOS update crashes on jailbroken devices is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mar 05
There is nothing quite like an update to a current operating system or software to provide a performance boost as well as the squashing of bugs. Google announced that their recent Chrome updates will offer a faster and more simple browsing experience on your respective smartphones and tablets. After all, having a decent amount of speed is always critical, especially if you tend to work out of the office all the time. The most recent version of Chrome for Android allows you to scroll and fling to view all of your favorite web pages faster than ever before, as it is based on the latest version of the V8 Javascript engine which has been specially optimized for the mobile platform. Google claims to have improved the Octane performance benchmark by 25% on average ever since the previous update.
Not only that, support for HTML5 features such as CSS Filters has been expanded, and this bodes well for future mobile websites. Apart from that, Google intends to continue optimizing Chrome for the Android platform at a similar breathtaking pace as you have already seen for Chrome on other platforms. [Press Release]
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Game Golf Uses Sensors To Help Improve Your Performance, China Thinks They’re Too Dependent On Google’s Android Operating System,
Mar 04
Today is a big day for Google’s Chrome web browser. It received an update on four major platforms, including Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. While Windows and Linux users aren’t getting huge updates for their versions of Chrome, both iOS and Android are getting their own new features that they’ll definitely enjoy.
The Windows and Linux versions of Chrome are receiving mere security updates and bug fixes — nothing that you’ll probably get overly excited about. However, the Android version has optimized scrolling with an updated Javascript engine — perfect for smaller screens, according to Google, which mostly applies to older devices.
As for iOS, there are a couple of nifty new features that users will get a kick out of. Holding down on the back button will bring up the history tab, and will allow you to quickly access any page that’s stored in your history. Furthermore, you can also quickly share web pages through Messages on iOS.
Sadly, the iOS update of Chrome resulted in the app crashing every time I would start it up, so if you’re still on iOS 5.1.1, let this be a word of warning if you’re thinking about upgrading. Hopefully Google will soon release a smaller, incremental update to fix the bugs present in this big update, but for now I’m stuck with an unusable Chrome app.
Google Chrome updated on Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.