Hasta La Gadget!

Ever want to test a Chrome Web Store app without installing it? You may get your chance if a new Chromium feature find its way into Google’s commercial browser. Mountain View is experimenting with support for “ephemeral” apps that launch like regular Web Store titles, but don’t leave a footprint in Chrome or Chrome OS. Users wouldn’t even have to visit the Web Store in the first place — a recent Chromium build lets surfers launch an app directly from a Google search result page. There’s no certainty that the new try before you buy (or at least, try before you glorified bookmark) capability will actually land in Chrome’s stable channel, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise us.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Francois Beaufort (1), (2)

We thought we knew virtually everything there was to know about the Moto X ahead of its launch later today, but Motorola apparently has a few surprises left — or rather, had. The company has quietly posted two tools that are clearly targeted at users of its upcoming flagship. Motorola Connect, a Chrome extension, lets those with a Moto X or a new Droid phone handle their incoming calls and text messages through web notifications. Motorola Migrate, in turn, is built to ease the pain of moving to a new Motorola phone — the Android app lets users transfer media, text messages and other content that Google doesn’t necessarily store in the cloud. We’ll no doubt hear more about Connect and Migrate at the Moto X unveiling, but those who want to get a first-hand look can download both utilities at the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google

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Via: Android Police (1), (2)

Source: Chrome Web Store, Google Play

It’s like clockwork, really. Chrome 26 has barely hit the stable track, and Google is already posting a Chrome 27 beta for desktops and Android devices to show what’s next. Apparently, that future centers mostly on raw efficiency: Google has eked out an average 5 percent speed boost through a more aggressive resource scheduler. It also has a simpler interface for date and time forms on HTML5 pages. Most of the other upgrades coddle developers, such as the introduction of live audio input for the Web Audio API and an offline storage API for Chrome Web Store apps. There’s no mention of Blink, so those who were expecting rapid adoption of the web engine beyond Chromium will be disappointed — even so, it’s good enough that we could see internet Guinea pigs giving the release a try.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Via: Chromium Blog

Source: Google Chrome Beta

It’s a long overdue match, really — if the Google Drive productivity suite is considered the centerpiece of Google’s web app catalog, and the Chrome Web Store is the catalog, why weren’t the two combined? Google has seen the light by turning Docs (text), Sheets (spreadsheets) and Slides (presentations) into neatly packaged web apps that can be installed through the Chrome browser. New Chromebook owners won’t even have to go that far, as the trio will surface automatically in the Chrome OS app list over the next few weeks. The web app bundles might be simple, but they could be tremendous helps for anyone who wants to punch out a few quick edits while on the road.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

Google Drive apps reach the Chrome Web Store and Chrome OS for quicker web work originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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