Chrome Blog
The latest news from the Google Chrome team
Beta ways to communicate and print
Monday, July 9, 2012
Every day, millions of people around the world are able to see the faces and hear the voices of loved ones thousands of miles away, thanks to online video chat services. These services have revolutionized the way we work, play, and hang out with friends.
In today’s
Chrome Beta release
, it’s now possible for you to grant web apps access to your camera and microphone right within the browser, without a plug-in. This is thanks to the
getUserMedia API
, which is the first big step for
WebRTC
, a new real-time communications standard that aims to allow high-quality video and audio communication on the web.
The getUserMedia API also allows sites to create cool new experiences that weren’t previously possible in the browser. For example, Romuald Quantin and Magnus Dahlstrand at
Stinkdigital
have created a
Magic Xylophone
that you can play just by waving your hands in front of the camera.
Paul Neave has also made a beautiful photo booth app called
Webcam Toy
. It has dozens of crazy effects to explore--my favorites are “Snow” and “Fire.” Check out the
Chromium blog
to learn more about getUserMedia and follow
WebRTC on Google+
for new discussions and demos.
Today’s Beta release also brings a new and improved printing experience for
Google Cloud Print
. Now your printers in Google Cloud Print are integrated right into Chrome’s print dialog, so you can easily print to your
Cloud Ready printer
,
Google Drive
,
Chrome on your mobile device
, or one of
over 1,800 FedEx Offices
.
To play with these new toys, just
download Chrome Beta
.
Posted by Robert Toscano, Software Engineer & Fine Printer
Find the perfect app with a little help from your Google+ friends
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Since I started working on the Chrome Web Store, all my friends have been asking me which apps to try out. Between checking with colleagues for their suggestions and creating shared lists on Google spreadsheets, I thought there must be an easier way to share my favorite apps with the rest of the world.
Starting today, the
Chrome Web Store
helps you do just that. You can now share all of your favorite Chrome Web Store items with people in your Google+ circles by finding them in the Chrome Web Store and clicking the +1 button located in their store detail page.
You can also review app, extension and theme recommendations from anyone in your Google+ circles simply by clicking on the “From your circles” link, located in the left category menu in the Chrome Web Store. And for those of you who are relatively new to Google+, we’ve also included suggestions from some of us in the Chrome team.
To make finding the right app even easier, all apps that have been +1’d by someone in your circles will be indicated as such throughout the Chrome Web Store, helping you decide which apps to install.
We hope that this new feature will help you share the best that the store has to offer and discover great new content from your friends. If you don’t have a Google+ account, you can easily sign up; go
here
to get started.
Posted by Hui Guo, Software Engineer
Chrome & Apps @ Google I/O: Your web, everywhere
Thursday, June 28, 2012
[cross-posted from the
Official Google Blog
]
This morning we kicked off
day 2
at I/O to talk about the open web—one of the most amazing
platforms
we have seen. To put things in perspective, today there are more than 2.3 billion users on the web—a staggering number, but it only represents one-third of the world’s population. There’s still a lot of opportunity for growth.
Chrome, which we
built
from the ground up as a browser for the modern web, has seen tremendous adoption. Thanks to many of you, Chrome has nearly doubled since last year’s I/O—from 160 million to 310 million active users around the world. As more and more of you live your lives online, we want to to help make it easy for you to live in the cloud...seamlessly.
A better web to your web
One of the most exciting shifts is the explosion of the mobile web. When Chrome first launched, many people were tethered to a single computer. Today most people use multiple computers, smartphones and tablets. With that trend in mind, our goal is to offer you a consistent, personalized web experience across all devices. In February, we
released
Chrome for Android, which
exited beta
this week and is the standard browser on
Nexus 7
, a powerful new tablet.
Starting today, Chrome is also
available
for your iPhone and iPad. That means you can enjoy the same speedy and simple Chrome experience across your devices. Also, by
signing in
to Chrome, you can easily move from your desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet and have all of your stuff with you.
Living in the cloud
A modern browser is just one ingredient of living online seamlessly. We continue to invest in building cloud apps, which many people rely on daily. Gmail, which launched in 2004, has evolved from a simple email service to the primary mode of communication for more than 425 million active users globally. We’ve also built a suite of apps to help users live in the cloud, including Google Documents, Spreadsheets, Calendar and more.
At the hub of this cloud experience is
Google Drive
—a place where you can create, share, collaborate and keep all your stuff. Ten weeks ago we launched Drive and in 10 weeks, more than 10 million users have signed up. Today we
introduced more capabilities
, including offline editing for Google documents and a Drive app for your iPhone and iPad. Drive is also seamlessly integrated into
Chrome OS
. With Drive available across Mac, Windows, Chrome OS, Android and iOS, it’s even easier to get things done in the cloud from anywhere.
Going Google
With the help of Chrome and and the growth of Google apps, people are discovering new ways to get things done faster, connect with others, and access their information no matter what device they’re using. This is what we call “
going Google
.” And it’s not just individual people. Schools, government institutions and businesses—big and small—are also “going Google.” Sixty-six of the top 100 universities in the U.S., government institutions in 45 out of 50 U.S. states, and a total of 5 million business are using
Google Apps
to live and work in the cloud.
It’s an exciting time to be living online. To celebrate this ongoing journey, here’s a quick look back at the evolution of Chrome:
None of what we shared onstage at I/O today would be possible without the awe-inspiring work being done by a global community of developers and the continued support of our users. We can’t wait to see what you do next.
Posted by Sundar Pichai, SVP, Chrome & Apps
Yet another Chrome release
Thursday, June 28, 2012
We know you’re probably tired of hearing about new Chrome releases
every six weeks
. Well, the good news is you don’t have to worry about updating—we’ll take care of that with
automatic updates
. Please enjoy the
hundreds of bug fixes
we’ve batched up in this release. OK, OK, that’s all. Carry on.
Posted by Dharani Govindan, Technical Program Manager
Hot Summer Games
Thursday, June 21, 2012
In my mind, summer always means more free time. And more free time is the perfect opportunity to play some of the latest Chrome Web Store games.
I’m really excited to play
From Dust
, an award winning strategy adventure in which you control nature to help your tribe survive. The newly released
Cut the Rope
is also at the top of my list. This addictive physics game requires precise planning and timing to successfully feed candy to a little green monster called Om Nom.
Another game I’m hooked on is
Fairway Solitaire
, a mix of golf and solitaire played against a pesky gopher. Other cool new titles include
Go Home Dinosaurs
,
Command and Conquer
, and
many, many more
. And if I’m traveling for the summer and don’t have Wi-Fi, I can always enjoy of my favorite
offline
games, such as
Angry Birds
,
Ookicookie
and
Solitaire
.
To get these and other games, just visit the
Chrome Web Store
. For those of you who don’t have Chrome, you can
download it here
with 17 of our favorite games pre-installed.
Have fun playing!
Posted by Ricardo Bruno, Web Store Merchandising Coordinator and Expert at Cutting Ropes
Chrome and the New Shiny
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
You always want Chrome to look great, no matter what device you’re using. Apple recently announced a new laptop with a Retina high-resolution screen, and we’re committed to polishing Chrome until it shines on that machine.
Left: Old Shiny. Right: New Shiny
The
Chrome Canary channel
already shows the early results of this work, bringing basic high-resolution support to Chrome. We have further to go over the next few weeks, but we’re off to the races to make Chrome as beautiful as it can be.
Posted by Nico Weber, Software Engineer and Chief Apple Polisher
Apps, themes and vuvuzelas
Monday, June 4, 2012
Growing up, I remember running every week to my hometown’s newspaper kiosk to buy the latest copy of my favorite sports newspaper. This was the only way to keep up with the latest soccer (in Europe we call it football) news and scores. The web has changed this routine: I can now satisfy my soccer fix in just a few clicks.
This summer, with the European Soccer Championship just about to start, staying up to date with soccer will be even easier thanks to soccer apps from the Chrome Web Store.
UEFA Euro 2012™ by Carlsberg
,
365 Scores
, and
Eurosport
can provide you with news, scores and highlights.
Who Will Win?
lets you show support for your favorite teams and vote for match winners. And for those of you who have a knack for virtual goals, check out
Striker Manager
and some of our
other soccer games
.
If you’re a soccer fan, you can get these and other apps in the Chrome Web Store’s
Soccer collection
. If you don’t have Chrome yet, you can
download Chrome with soccer apps here
.
Posted by Alexey Shelestenko, Product Marketing Manager and Soccer Fan
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