Chrome for OS X: State of the Browser
Windows users got immediate access to those capabilities, but Google has yet to release Chrome for OS X and Linux.
With advanced features like website task managers, visual histories, individual browser memory management, and even the ability to re-open tabs that you accidentally closed, Chrome promised to reshape the browser, offering new abilities and capabilities that went beyond the status quo. Windows users got immediate access to those capabilities, but Google has yet to release Chrome for OS X and Linux.
Chromium is the open source project that, like its metallic namesake, is used to make Chrome. The Chromium source code repository has remained available and updated since the September 2008 Chrome introduction. Since there hasn't been any really big news or progress updates, Chromium for OS X and Linux has basically dropped off the radar for the past few months.
But that doesn't mean that progress isn't being made. We recently checked out the latest iteration of the Chromium source, and we talked to some of the Googlers behind the project to get a sense of where the Chrome OS X port is, and when Mac users might have something functional in our hands.
Just before Valentine's Day, Google's Mike Pinkerton, a Staff Software Engineer, posted several Mac Chrome screenshots on the mozillaZine blog. Immediately, the Mac-loving portion of the web universe perked up and started taking notice.
Although many of the screen components feel chunkier than normal OS X choices, particularly in Google's use of fonts and icons, the window is clearly a Cocoa-based application and uses all the standard Cocoa elements, from menus to window buttons to scrollbars to resize handles. "Mac users are especially concerned with fit and finish," explained Senior Software Engineer Amanda Walker. "And we have paid particular attention to those details while integrating with the OS."
Focusing on usability has been a big part of the Chrome project. Google has performed usability studies on each of the target platforms, customizing each UI to ensure that it integrates well into the platform. But making the UI feel native isn't where platform integration ends.
Chrome is built on Webkit, an open source web browser engine that was originally developed by Apple by the KDE project and which helps power OS X's Safari on the Mac and the iPhone. Webkit is actively being used by Nokia, Torch Mobile, and the KDE project, since it provides a rendering system that has been ported to a variety of operating systems and hardware platforms.
Although Apple remains a major WebKit player, Google is an active participant in helping grow the project.
Chrome surprised many people by outcompeting other browsers in the recent pwn2own competition at CanSecWest. In the first day of the competition, Chrome remained the only browser to fend off security exploits.
So when will Chrome OS X debut? "We're working as fast as possible and progressing as fast as we can without compromising security," Karen Grünberg told . Although Google will not specify a target date, they assured us that they would be "very surprised" and "very unhappy" if fall came and went without a public beta. In the meantime, Google welcomes contributions to their open source project.
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