Google Chrome was made available for download, by the public, from here, during a press conference & webcast at Google HQ (which I was lucky enough to view), which detailed the features of the new browser.

A few things I noticed during the conference, was a lot of direct comparison between Internet Explorer and Google Chrome - intentional of course as it is the most popular browser, but interesting how Firefox, Opera or Safari weren’t mentioned at all. The tests were impressive however, with rendering times much quicker, and a basic Java benchmark literally making IE look like a Penny Farthing in the middle of a Grand Prix. Another thing that was mentioned quite a lot was the open-source nature of Chrome - another side-swipe in Microsoft’s direction I thought.

Next up, the “Omni-bar” as it’s called was demoed quite a bit - showing the power of search in your browser. For instance, not only will the Omni-bar intelligently learn your browsing habits, but it will also make a note of search engines within websites when you use them. So if you search on Amazon a lot, Google Chrome will remember your preference and give you the option to search amazon straight from the bar. The other options you’re likely to see pop up when you start typing are pages you’ve historically been to, stuff in your favourites, and google suggestions (where I think their ads are really going to make an impact). Also, if Chrome thinks you’re generally interested in finding things with your search engine, the results will be the search results page you would normally see. All very similar to Firefox’s Awesome Bar, as it’s been called, but I think a bit better.

Another really nice feature that was showed off was the ability to take a web page and turn it into an “Application Shortcut” - blurring the distinction between Desktop and Cloud. For instance, if you’re the sort of person always with a Gmail tab open in your browser, you can create an Application Shortcut to it, which will be placed on your desktop. When you double click the shortcut, it loads the webpage in Chrome, but without all the web buttons and address bars and things - stuff you don’t need if you just want a window to check your email in.

During the conference, the browser was made available for download, so I nipped over to the download link I posted earlier, and grabbed a copy for testing.

After the initial quick download and install, the initial thing that hits you is the speed. The speed of the browser is a lot quicker than Internet Explorer, and is a little quicker than Firefox. The other thing that hits you is the clean feel to the browser. No unwanted buttons or gizmos, just the normal forward, back & refresh buttons, plus a page button (for creating new pages or adjusting how the current one is rendered) and a config button, for changing the browser options.

When starting up it imports browser settings from anything else it finds on your system, and then you’re pretty much in. As you use the browser it learns your favourite places - with the pages you like the most displayed, by default, on your homepage.

I think it will take a few weeks to fully test the browser and to notice any problems arising or bugs appearing, but in the meantime I can say I am happy with the overall feel to the browser - and it renders techsnake.com perfectly too! In fact, it renders it so well, this post is being written with Chrome right now.

To download the browser either visit here or here. To visit the newly opened code project “chromium” go here. Remember folks it’s still Beta, so treat it as such!

Here is the link to download Google Chrome - Please bare in mind that it isn’t active until the Google HQ wakes up - at the moment it resolves to Google’s homepage.

Download Google Chrome

Google - the world’s favourite search engine, has decided to step up and compete in the browser market.

Competing with, more obviously, Internet Explorer, but also the likes of Firefox, Opera & Safari, Google’s Open Source “Chrome” browser (to be launched today in Beta) seems like a bold, but very logical step.

It makes perfect sense to me that Google should bring out a browser. Not only can you (hopefully) have all of your online apps in one, integrated place (I for one use lots of Google’s online products) but it means the perfect place for them to target their ads to it’s users as well. The only other integrated browser is Flock. Flock, based on Mozilla code, integrates into the social networks very well. However, as there is a huge list of online apps available from Google it would be nice to have some of that functionality at your fingertips. Maybe combined with Flock-like social networking tools, it could be the next killer browser?

Of course, all of these features are a great idea, and to be honest, would greatly improve anyone’s online experience. However, what really matters is the rendering engine, and also how closely Google’s new browser will follow the web standards. Hopefully these points will not be lost when Google release to the waiting public.

For up to date news on the release of the browser, keep posted!

Video Games Live, a show that tours America, is a full sized Orchestra that plays some of the classic arcade game music of the past and present - in front of a big screen showing the game in action. Hearing some of these old classics, expertly re-created is a real treat for the gaming geek!

This project, named “Ringo” has been developed by Ivan Tihienko, of the Bezalel Academy of Arts, in Israel. The concept works with a ring-like interface being projected in front of you while you walk. I think it’s a great idea for controlling your information on the go.

I thought the idea of GPS and the MP3 player being built into the interface is amazing. RSS being a good addition also. However, things like email, that can contain private data, I don’t think would be such a great idea, and could raise privacy concerns by people who only want the recipient to read the email. Apart from that minor gripe, I am just hoping and praying that in the future we can all geek ourselves out with our built-in Ringo interfaces.

Intel have announced their new chip which is going to enter the market late next year. Code named “Larrabee”, the chip will be in addition to their on-board graphics offering they produce at the moment.

With another entrant into the graphics card market, which is dominated by the giants of NVIDIA and AMD (ATi), it should be good for consumers with Intel entering the race. Increased competition which should hopefully drive down prices, but at the very least, push the technology envelope for gamers.

And pushing the envelope is what this new project is all about. Rather than creating faster and faster GPUs, Intel are going to approach it from the multi-core angle: Squeeze as many cores onto a die as possible and let them do the math of a quick GPU. But that isn’t the only consideration for Intel - they are also expecting the technology to kick-start the computing world, preparing everyone for the 100’s or even 1000’s of cores we can expect in tomorrow’s CPUs and GPUs.

The Larrabee platform will initially work alongside DirectX and OpenGL - which hopefully means a good support for other OS’s like Linux in the future - a support that is clearly lacking with the current two big graphics cards manufacturers.

If you’ve been surfing around you might have seen the news of Battlefield Heroes being delayed till later in the year. Well for the next 4 weeks the site will be posting a new article twice a week offering Beta keys, the first 20 comments on these will receive one. Also over those weekends the lucky few will have the chance to win more keys for a friend. Now that’s not too shabby and should hopefully keep us all going until the game hits the shelves, umm nope, Web sorry.

Need I say anymore? I think XKCD has said it all!.. Users eh?

That’s right, it’s that time of year again. That time when all the System Administrators around the world will be showered with gifts, praised upon and otherwise treated like binary Gods amongst their peers. Tomorrow, on Friday, it will be Sys Admin Appreciation Day!

To find out how you can treat that special geek in your life, visit the official site to get some suggestions. All I can say is that I just can’t wait for the cake tomorrow!.. What do you mean the cake is a lie?

In an experiment to find out the popularity of different operating systems with illegal file sharers, I thought I would query isohunt.com to give me the answer..

There are two numbers associated with every download. Firstly you have the number of seeds. These people have a complete copy of the files, and are purely uploading them to share with others. Secondly you have the leechers. These second type of people are both downloading and uploading - although they don’t have complete copies of the files. So seeds are the people allowing others to get access to the files, and are an indication of interpreted demand (how much they themselves think people might want the OS), and also past demand, while the leechers are an indication of the current demand. Or at least, that’s how I see it. So how did the different OS’s fair?

Windows Vista

Vista is, surprisingly after all the bad press, one of the most sought after OS’s in my test! With 1142 people actively trying to get hold of this particular version, the demand is higher than any other. Interestingly there are only 303 seeds. This (rightly or wrongly) says to me that not many people are hanging onto it once they get it!

Windows XP

In a not-so-surprising twist - Windows XP has the largest number of seeds for any OS. At 656, a lot of people are hanging on to this. Is it because they’ve read the news and think people will want it more? Or are they just lazy? Equally as interesting in the number of leechers, at 152, it appears not many people actually want it. Now you could argue it’s because most of us have a copy now, of one description or another..

OSX Leopard

Apple’s latest OS is looking strong amongst the Windows contenders. A lot stronger than recent years, which probably shows a move away from Microsoft for the home user towards something a little more intuitive. I’m sure all you Mac users out there will have smug faces on now..

Windows 98

Wow - now this is pretty cool. 10 years after it’s official launch, Windows 98 is still going strong with a lot of interest. 202 people have the OS available, although demand is a little low with a meagre 58 leechers.

Windows 2000

Demand is pretty low for this OS - a lot lower than I thought it would be. I was expecting half to a third that of Windows XP. I thought Windows 2000 was a solid OS and I’ve still got it running on a few PCs at work - and it never gives me any problems.

OSX Tiger

Incompatibility problems with PC architecture probably are the reasons this OS is so far down the list. Not a bad OS, and not particularly old, I think it’s just the superior Leopard that’s always more likely to be a hit with intel-based PC pirates looking for a change.

Windows 95

20 Seeds? Who are these people? Sure Windows 95 was groundbreaking, but only for a couple of years until Windows 98 came along! And that lonely leecher, downloading it in the hope it will work on the old 486 he found in his dad’s garage. I have one piece of advice for you my friend - Linux. It’s a question, and answer and a solution all in one word.

Windows 3.1

I was half expecting a “no show” for 3.1. How surprised I was to find, although demand is 0, there are still people that have a copy of the OS on their systems for anyone that might be passing - and only 5 less than Windows 95! I can’t think of a use for this OS nowadays of course, the hardware it was destined to run on has probably rotted away by now at the bottom of some garbage heap somewhere.

Windows ME

No graphics for this one. Why? I couldn’t find it! Please don’t think I want a link to it, I made sure I did the most basic search, hopefully copying what a normal pirate would type into the search box. I guess you could try different search terms, but why would you repeatedly try to find this OS? Is this the biggest OS mistake Microsoft ever made? Or is that happening now?

So what does this all mean?

Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure.. On the face of it, the demand for Vista is strong. Windows XP has a strong perceived demand, by the seeds that are keeping it available for other potential downloaders. Windows 98 is still “downloadble” now, 10 years later, and Windows 95 is just a poor cousin of Windows 98, as we’ve always thought. Windows 3.1 is available for the hardcore elite, and Windows ME will always be the mutated-dog-from-the-fly-2 we love to look in disgust at.

Finally, I thought this wouldn’t be a balanced test, without the most talked-about OS amongst geeks - although it is also worth noting that this is a free OS - read into that what you will with the figures, but I presume it’s because people have 0 hangups about downloading a free OS, where they may have moral issues with pirating software.. Anyway, ladies and gentleman, I give you:

Ubuntu 7.10

How many seeds????