Google Chrome races ahead in Windows, lags behind on Mac and Linux

Google introduced its Chrome web browser around a year ago, so it's worth taking a quick look at what is happening with the browser. It hasn't been as successful as Google probably hoped and its share of the web browser market has only just risen above 2% according to sources like Wikipedia. The logs for this web site actually put it slightly under 2%, but the figures are so small it's hardly worth arguing about. It's pretty poor for such a giant of a company with the resources that Google has.

Chrome was very fast at executing JavaScript, which is important these days because it's so frequently used, but otherwise had a poor feature set when it was launched. It is steadily improving though and maybe this time next year it will be an OK web browser. It certainly needs more features and not just extra speed.

The latest beta version was released on 5th August and it is claimed to be 30% faster than the current stable release. Fortunately, the improvements aren't all about the speed and some new features have been added and old ones tweaked too. It's not worth listing them all here, but to find out what's new in the latest beta of Chrome you should read the Google Chrome Blog.

So development of the Windows version of Chrome is racing ahead, but the linux and Apple Mac versions haven't even been released yet. It seems like development is taking place at a snail's pace. Why? Is it really so difficult to write software for the Mac and linux?

For those that are interested though, you can get betas of the linux and Apple Mac OS X versions here. (Most Google stuff is beta, but these are even more unfinished/unstable than usual.)

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Sign up for special offers

We are all struggling financially in the current economic climate and we have to watch our money and spend it wisely. That doesn't mean that you have to cut back on your puchases though. You can easily get software at half price or even up to 90% off the RRP. How? Just sign up for email notifications.

Many shareware programs and trial versions of commercial software either prompt you to enter your email address before you can download the software or when you install it. It's not always compulsory and sometimes it is optional. You might decline to enter your email address because you're afraid of getting junk mail, but actually this rarely happens. What you do get though are cut price offers in your inbox.

What you do is download and install a shareware program or trial version. Make sure you register for newsletters and update notifications either at the website or in the software. The program will work for 30 days and then will time out and stop working. Not long after this you will get an email offering the software at a substantial discount, saving you lots of money. Sometimes it pays not to respond to the first offer and if you ognore it you might get a second one with even lower prices!

This doesn't always work and it does take time to get the offers in. Sometimes you want or need a program right now and can't afford to wait, but if you can, you'll get some fantastic discounts, like £30 programs for £10 or even £3 and so on.

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Apple tablet and netbook speculation

The web is awash with rumours and speculation about something Apple may or may not be working on - a netbook/tablet/multimedia gadget. This device is said to have a 10in touch screen, will sync with iTunes, have Wi-Fi and will enable you to play music and movies.

Rumours about what Apple will do next or often completely wrong and it sometimes doesn't launch products that were expected. It certainly hasn't come up with anything radically new for some time and most new products are just enhancements and tweaks of existing ones, like the recent iPhone 3G S.

What should Apple do next? Well, if it was up to me I would produce an iPod Touch with a 10in screen. Just think about it. An iPod Touch/iPhone is actually a powerful computer that has a zillion apps for it, can play music and movies, has Wi-Fi, web browsing, email, and more. A 10in iPod would make a unique and radically different netbook. By using the same OS as the iPod Touch/iPhone, it would be backwardly compatible with all existing apps in the iTunes app store, and the larger screen would enable a new generation of more powerful and feature-rich applications to be created.

An iPod/iPhone turns on instantly, so there's no waiting for your netbook to start its operating system before you can check your emails. It's exactly what netbook owners want. A keyboard isn't necessary because the iPod/iPhone's onscreen keyboard works just fine, and with a 10in screen it'll be even easier to use. You'll be able to view full web pages because a 10in screen will give you at least an 800 x 600 resolution or better. It makes a lot of sense.

Anyone remember the UMPC? The Ultra Mobile PC concept was created by Microsoft (see Origami) and Intel and it fell flat on its face. Hardware manufacturers were unable to come up with a workable design that anyone wanted and Windows was an unsuitable operating system for a small hand-held device. An iPod with a 10in screen is exactly what a UMPC should be - small, portable, internet enabled, touch sensitive screen, able to access your email and the web, play music, movies, games, and run cool apps.

Apple could create a whole new market with the device and there aren't any competitors. After all, no-one wants a UMPC.

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Should Palm have access to iTunes?

When the Palm Pre was launched it instantly became a competitor to the iPhone with its clever design and impressive software. It could even access your iTunes music library and transfer your favourite tracks to the device so that you can listen on the move.

Apple clearly didn't want a competitor using its iTunes software and it recently updated it so that it no longer worked with unauthorised non-Apple devices - the Palm Pre specifically. Palm has updated its software and users once again have access to iTunes on their mobile. It would not be surprising if Apple changed iTunes again and for Palm to respond with another update. An irritating side effect of this is that you will be nagged into updating iTunes with an 80Mb download or whatever it is these days every time Apple changes it. It's bad enough when it adds features for the iPhone when you don't even have one and you're bugged to update without this Palm vs Apple battle.

Apple is clearly annoyed that Palm is using its iTunes software. After all, Apple spent a lot of time and effort developing iTunes for iPod owners (PC and Mac). If iTunes was specifically created for owners of Apple iPods/iPhones and was bundled with it and it didn't work if you didn't have one, it would be an understandable position, but Apple makes iTunes available for free for anyone that wants it. You don't have to own any Apple device or computer.

If a program is free for everyone and anyone to use in whatever way they want, as iTunes is, you can't then complain if people use it in ways that you don't like. Apple can't make iTunes free for everyone except Palm Pre owners. Instead of trying to block Palm devices it should enhance the features for iPod/iPhone users so they have a better experience.

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Windows 7 features that didn't make it

Windows 7 has been undergoing beta testing and Microsoft has made it available for download so that anyone can try it. It is interesting to look at Microsoft's new operating system, but none of the features that are in it are guaranteed to be in the final version and apparently it can still change.

There was an interesting feature in a beta last year called PC Safeguard. It could be enabled for any of the standard user accounts that were set up in Windows 7 and it prevented the user from making permanent changes to the computer. It didn't stop them making changes and they could do anything they liked, but when they logged off or shut down, Windows 7 undid all their actions and put everything back exactly as it was. It's a great idea when you have kids that mess around with the wallpaper, colour schemes, icons and other stuff.

A feature of PC Safeguard was the ability to lock a hard disk drive and prevent it from being written to by a user. It could be very useful for preventing youngsters from deleting important files that you had saved, whether they were work documents or simply digital camera photos.

In the next beta that followed Microsoft renamed the feature and called it Guest Mode, but surely this would confuse people because there is a Guest account that anyone can use to log into Windows 7.

In the latest beta - the release candidate - the feature has gone. You used to be able to access PC Safeguard or Guest Mode or whatever it was called by going to the Control Panel and opening User Accounts. Click Manage another account and then click the account. Click the Set up PC Safeguard or Guest Mode link and then select the option to turn it on.

Will this feature make a comeback in the final version of Windows 7 that ships? Who knows? It's easier to hide the link in the User Accounts window than to remove all the code, so maybe it's still there and it's just hidden. And maybe a registry hack will turn it back on!

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Windows 7 UK pricing

An email offer arrived in my inbox this morning and it's worth sharing...

"You've been using Windows® 7 for a while now, and we hope you've been enjoying a simpler PC. Because you've been a loyal customer, we're offering you Windows 7 at a great introductory price* - save up to 38% with Windows 7 Home Premium E, only £49.99 ERP, or save up to 47% with Windows 7 Professional E at £99.99 ERP. To take advantage of this deal, pre-order your copy while supplies last.

* Discount based on estimated initial retail price offer at launch of Windows 7 Professional E at £189.99. The offer is available through participating retailers and actual prices may vary. Each retailer will tell you how to get your copy when Windows 7 is released."

Wasn't Windows 7 supposed to be cheap? Firstly, it needs to convince everyone that shunned Vista that Windows 7 is different and is worth upgrading to, and Apple is virtually giving away its next version of OS X ($29 in the US, probably £29 in the UK). The discounted prices look fine, but if you aren't lucky enough to get one of these offers in your inbox, Windows 7 looks expensive. Upgrade versions are often half the price of the full install disc, so you won't have to pay £189.99 for Win 7 Pro if that's all you need.

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Windows 7's XP Mode - can your CPU handle it?

Whenever a new operating system is launched it is packed with great new features and it is a step forward in terms of technology. However, it is also inevitable that some old software won't work with it. It might only be a handful of programs that have problems with the new OS, but if there is one that you rely on then it can prevent you from upgrading.

In an effort to get around the problem of incompatible software when Windows 7 launches Microsoft will include Windows XP with it. (It won't be in all versions, so don't expect to see it in the most basic one. It might even be a download rather than on the DVD too.) This will not be a standard version of XP and instead it will be a virtual machine. Windows Virtual PC enables you to run other operating systems on your PC in a similar way to running emulators of retro computers like the Commodore 64 and Sinclair Spectrum. It doesn't affect your current operating system and you effectively run one inside the other. It sounds weird, but it works quite well.

The only snag is that Windows Virtual PC requires the processor to support hardware virtualisation. Some chips have it and some don't. Will you be able to run Windows XP in Windows 7? Here's how to find out.

Go and get the Intel Processor Identification Utility. Then go to the Intel Processor Spec Finder and select your processor. Suppose you have a Core 2 Quad. In the Supported Features list, select Intel Virtualisation Technology and then click the Filter On Selections button. The processors that are left are the ones that are OK. If your CPU isn't there then you can't run XP in 7, at least not using Windows Virtual PC.

If you have an AMD processor then go and download the AMD Virtualization Technology and Microsoft Hyper-V System Compatibility Check Utility.

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