Developer Builds of Google Chrome for OS X and Linux Now Available
A Chromium blog post yesterday has announced the availability of developer builds of Google's Chrome browser for both OS X and Linux. The news comes several weeks after the release of initial OS X builds of Chromium, the open source project behind Chrome. The announcement, however, warns that most users should not install the new builds, as they are buggy, unstable, and feature-incomplete.
How incomplete? So incomplete that, among other things , you won't yet be able to view YouTube videos, change your privacy settings, set your default search provider, or even print.
While the release indicates that Google is making progress on the OS X version of Chrome, it does appear that Google has significant work ahead in order to meet its previously-announced plan for launch in the first half of this year. Google Chrome offers three release channels ranging from developer previews to stable releases, indicating that the OS X version of Chrome has several thresholds to pass before it is ready for public launch.
Many Mac users have been looking forward to the public launch of Chrome for OS X and some have expressed frustration with the length of time it is taking to complete development of the Mac version. Google co-founder Sergey Brin even went so far as to call the lack of a Mac version alongside the Windows beta launch last year "embarrassing". But as Google developer Mike Pinkerton, who has been working on the OS X version of Chrome, notes with some frustration, deploying Chrome for OS X is more difficult than many think.
We're lucky in Chromium that we can leverage a lot of shared code from the windows side, but we do have to write a bunch of UI code (unless you want the UI to just look and behave exactly like windows...I didn't think so). We're also not just embedding WebKit and dragging in a couple buttons and a text field. The team has made significant changes to how WebCore works (resource loading, sandboxing, multi-process, etc) and those take time to get right on other platforms.
Popular Stories
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
