Google Archive

Google to Integrate O3D into Chrome Browser

weildish 2009-07-23 Google 11 Comments

Google announced their O3D plugin for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms a few months ago, and that was all very well and exciting; this will enable advanced 3D effects to be performed directly in the browser. These new 3D standards on the web will be a very exciting new step in technology. Lately, though, Google has also announced that O3D will eventually be integrated into Chrome. In the words of Greg Spencer, a programmer from Google, "The O3D team is working on getting O3D integrated into the Chromium build, and we're close to being able to complete our first step towards integration. I'll be making the Windows build of Chromium be dependent upon building O3D as part of the build process."

Chrome OS to Bring More Linux IT Jobs?

weildish 2009-07-17 Google 14 Comments

The news has been abuzz about Google's upcoming OS. Many people have been arguing reasons for and against the system, its viability in such a market, and, if the OS is successful, even the morality of the company who may be trusted with even more private information than it already has. Well, here's another reason for Chrome OS: it could bring more jobs in the area of Linux IT.

Courgette Significantly Reduces Chromium Update Sizes

Thom Holwerda 2009-07-16 Google 33 Comments

One of the more controversial features of Google's Chrome/Chromium web browser is the way it handles updates. Contrary to other browsers, updates on Chrome are installed silently and automatically, without asking for the user's consent. While convenient and effective, it was also a security risk and sometimes it slowed people's machines down. Google now proposes a fix called Courgette.

Live Android Lets You Run Android on Your PC

Submitted by Moulinneuf 2009-07-15 Google 11 Comments

"Want to give Google Android a try, but don't feel like buying a T-Mobile G1? LiveAndroid lets you download a LiveCD disc image of the Google Android operating system. Just burn the image to a disc, stick it in a CD-ROM drive, and reboot your computer and you can check out Android without installing it or affecting any files on your PC. You can also use the disc image in a virtualization application like VirtualBox or Microsoft Virtual PC if you want to try the operating system without even rebooting your computer."

Schmidt: Chrome OS Netbooks As Early As this Year

Thom Holwerda 2009-07-12 Google 55 Comments

Even though everyone's talking about it, fact of the matter is that Google's Chrome OS is currently nothing more than an internet announcement, with a supposed release date of somewhere in 2010. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has now stated that netbooks running Chrome OS could appear as early as this year. In addition, Schmidt also talked about his position at Apple's board of directors.

Intel Works with Google on Chrome OS

Thom Holwerda 2009-07-10 Google 20 Comments

We're having a very slow newsday today, since basically everyone and their cow is compulsively pushing out articles on ~~a product that doesn't even exist beyond an announcement~~ Google's Chrome OS, with none of them being particularly interesting. What is interesting is the news that Intel has been aware of Chrome OS for a while now - in fact, Intel is working with Google on this new operating system.

Chromium Gets Native Theming on Linux

Thom Holwerda 2009-07-08 Google 43 Comments

Chromium/Chrome, everyone's favourite web browser that descended from heaven to take us by the hand and guide us to the promised land of web browsers (that's how I look at it, anyway, but I'm insane) has been steadily evolving its Linux port. The latest feature addition? The first signs of native themeing.

‘No Thanks Google, We’ve Got Ubuntu’

Submitted by rlem6983 2009-07-08 Google 55 Comments

Google's recent move of revealing the Chrome OS to a suspecting public has put a great many people on alert. Some say it's a major privacy issue, some say Google oughtn't to become more and more monopolistic, while others think that the wide array of popular Linux distributions shouldn't become even more fragmented than it already is. "Google's decision to create its own Linux distribution and splinter the Linux community decisively once again can only be seen as foolhardy and self-obsessive. Instead of treading its own path, Google should have sought to leverage the stellar work already carried out by Mark Shuttleworth and his band of merry coders and tied its horse to the Ubuntu cart."

Google Unveils a Cloud-Based Operating System

Eugenia Loli 2009-07-08 Google 92 Comments

From NYTimes: "In a post on its company blog, Google said the operating system would initially be aimed at netbooks, the compact, low-cost computers that have turned the PC world on its head. It said the open-source software, called Chrome OS, would be available in the second half of next year. Read more for a quick observation on the announcement.

Gmail, Google Apps Out of Beta

Submitted by google_ninja 2009-07-07 Google 9 Comments

It almost sounds like a joke, but it's true enough. Ever since Gmail was instituted in April of 2004 with the invitation scheme, it and many other of Google's Apps have been wearing the beta tag. At long last, however, Google's ripping it off like a bandage.

Back Off, Android

weildish 2009-06-17 Google 25 Comments

While most people seem to be rooting for Android to make its debut and bridge the gap between phones and netbooks, apparently there are a few who, for varied reasons, think Android ought stay away from netbooks and stick to what it knows best: smartphones.

Gartner Impressed by Android on ARM; Android Ported to MIPS

Thom Holwerda 2009-06-15 Google 23 Comments

We've been talking a lot about ARM-based netbooks, and when they're going to come. We've also been talking about Android on netbooks. Well, at Computex, analyst firm Gartner took a look at ARM netbooks running Android, compared them with Atom notebooks running Windows 7, and concluded that the interface on the former felt snappier.

Google Tests ‘Revolutionary’ Cloud-Based Database

Guest post by snydeq 2009-06-12 Google No Comments

Google has quietly announced Fusion Tables, a new online database designed to sidestep the limitations of conventional relational databases. Fusion Tables, announced on Google's Research Blog, has been built to simplify a number of operations that are notoriously difficult in relational databases, including the integration of data from multiple, heterogeneous sources and the ability to collaborate on large data sets, according to Google. Under the hood of Fusion Tables is data-spaces technology, a concept has been around since the early 1990s and that Google has been developing it since it acquired Transformic in 2005.

Google Opens Chrome Developer Channels for Mac, Linux

Thom Holwerda 2009-06-05 Google 19 Comments

We barely ended the discussion on Chrome's sandboxing feature and how hard or easy it is to implement such functionality on Mac OS X and Linux, and we have the Chromium project releasing the first builds of Google Chrome for Linux and Mac OS X "officially". Nightly builds for these platforms have been available since earlier this year, but this is the first time the project puts out actual releases for Mac and Linux.

Chrome Sandboxing: Easy on Mac OS X, a Mess on Linux

Submitted by Hakime 2009-06-03 Google 61 Comments

One of the defining features of Google's Chrome web browse is its sandboxing feature. You probably won't realise it's there, but from a security point of view, sand-boxing is one of the most impotant factors in browser security, as it severely limits the amount of damage a security hole can do: sure, you've got a hole in the browser, but thanks to sandboxing, you're pretty much locked in - until you break out of the sandbox, of course. Sandboxing on the Windows variant of Chrome was a "complicated affair", says Chromium developer Jeremy Moskovich, but for the Mac version, it's all a bit easier and more straightforward. On Linux, however, it's a mess.

Qualcomm Demos Eee PC ‘Smartbook’ Running Android

Guest post by snydeq 2009-06-01 Google 29 Comments

Qualcomm showed off a previously unannounced Eee PC running Android at Computex in Taipei. The machine has a 10-inch screen, built-in webcam, and a universal 3G radio that supports all UMTS and CDMA networks on all frequencies used around the world. The 'smartbook' runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon, a 1GHz ARM processor core that marks a shift away from Intel Atom x86-based netbooks. A second Android-based netbook -- a prototype by contract hardware maker Compal Electronics -- was also demoed at the show. Google, meanwhile, declined to discuss what steps it is taking to adapt the smartphone OS for laptops.

Google: Android on 18-20 Phones by End of 2009

Thom Holwerda 2009-05-29 Google 8 Comments

Google predicts that some 18 to 20 phones, from eight to nine manufacturers, will come with Android OS installed on them by the end of the year. Although Android is open-source, manufacturers will be able to sign distribution deals with Google in order to pre-install their phones with more options such as Google Apps. The Android OS is widely predicted to also make the jump to mini-notebooks soon.

Google Adds Scripting Capabilities to Google Docs

Guest post by snydeq 2009-05-28 Google No Comments

Google will add scripting capabilities to Google Docs, allowing organizations to customize its online applications and automate tasks. Google plans to sign up about 1,000 customers over the next few weeks to test the feature, called Google Apps Script. It will be tested initially in Google Spreadsheets and extended to other Google Docs applications over time.

Google “Releases Chrome 2”

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-05-22 Google 29 Comments

After about 8 months of work, Google has "released Chrome 2" to the general public. Technically, this just means they moved the version of Chrome in the beta channel up to the stable channel. "We're referring to this as Chrome 2, but that's mainly a metric to help us keep track of changes internally. We don't give too much weight to version numbers and will continue to roll out useful updates as often as possible." There's lots of decent goodies in Chrome 2.

Chrome Extension Framework Coming Together

Thom Holwerda 2009-05-14 Google 9 Comments

Some serious progress is being made with Chrome, Google's foray into the web browsing business. Not only is the plugin framework coming together, the Chromium project also started offering regular builds of the browser for Mac OS X (regular Linux builds have been available since March).