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For those still keeping track, Google Chrome just hit version 9 today. While Mozilla is still hard at work rushing to release Firefox 4, the latest version of Chrome brings many performance improvements, integrated support for instant search, and the Chrome Web Store.
Hardware-Acceleration
With support for WebGL, Chrome now has native support for hardware-accelerated 3D graphics. This makes it possible to experience rich graphical content without any additional plugins. Google even made a special demo page available to those looking to test the capabilities.
Chrome Instant
Most people have tried Google Instant, which was the company’s major upgrade to the traditional auto-complete technology. Today, the instant feature is now integrated directly into Chrome’s browser URL bar. Frequently visited webpages start loading when you begin typing letters. It even supports fetching queries with custom search engines. Although an additional plugin is not necessary, users will have to enable a setting in the “Basic Tab” of the options window.
Chrome Web Store
When Skatter Tech 3.0 made its debut late last year we announced our very own Chrome Web App. Unfortunately not everyone had access to the Chrome Web Store at the time. Starting today, Google’s web app store is open to all Chrome users in the United States. If you are a social media fanatic, give the TweetDeck for Chrome app a spin. The New York Times has an app which makes reading their stories especially easy. If you are not familiar with web apps, watch this video:
Time To Update
If you are expecting a notification about upgrading to Chrome 9, do not hold your breath. Google automatically pushes updates out to users. You are probably already running the latest version. If you noticed a little orange icon by the settings wrench at the top right, you need to restart your browser for the updates to take effect. You can also head over to the “About Google Chrome” menu to manually check for updates. What are your favorite Chrome Web Apps? If you have not switched over to Chrome yet, what is holding you back?
