Google Chrome made its debut in September 2008 and just two years later, it is the third most widely used browser with around 7.5% of the market. Only Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox remain ahead of it and these two have been around for considerably longer. However, with Google Chrome’s current momentum, the situation may not remain so for very long
It has certainly come a long way in those two years and to celebrate these achievements and Google Chrome’s second anniversary, the stable version of Google Chrome 6 was released on September 2, 2010. Rolling out a new version of Chrome to mark such an occasion should mean that the new version includes significant improvements. So, what is new on Google Chrome 6?
Speedier
The new Google Chrome 6 is certainly faster than its predecessors and it is still the fastest browser available. Speed on Chrome 6 was ramped up by fixing a bug which affected the display of some Scalable Vector Graphics. Background image re-sampling which utilizes the power of multi-core processors to speed up page display when resizing images has also been introduced.
Autofill
Autofill is now on Google Chrome starting with version 6. Users can now save data including credit card information which they can use to automatically fill in web forms instead of typing. When using autofill, textboxes which have been completed using this feature are highlighted in yellow to let the user differentiate them.
Improved Syncing
Chrome 6 features better synchronization which now allows a user to synchronize browser extensions and web browsing history across different computers. This is in addition to being able to sync preferences, bookmarks and themes.
Google Chrome users can also sync their autofill information across different computers but this excludes credit card information.
Interface Modification
Obvious changes were made to Google Chrome 6’s user interface which gives a very different and simpler look from older Chrome versions. These include:
Single Menu Button: The two menu buttons - the page and wrench icons - on the right-hand side of the address bar have been merged into one button: the wrench icon. The icon now faces in the opposite direction from other Chrome versions. The menu options have also been increased with the addition of Edit buttons which include Cut, Copy and Paste and there are also Zoom buttons.
New Position for the Bookmark Button: The bookmark button (the star icon) has been moved from the beginning of the address bar to the end. The button now resides inside the address bar and is not demarcated by a line as on previous versions.
Address Bar/Omnibox Changes: The length of the address bar has increased due to the merging of the menu buttons. At the spot where the bookmark button used to be, Chrome 6 now displays an icon which changes depending on what term is typed into the address bar. These include a globe icon when a URL is typed in and a magnifying glass icon for a search term.
The Go button (the arrow icon) at the end of the address bar has been removed and the Reload button has also been detached from the address bar.
Home Page: On the home page which shows your most visited websites, Chrome 6 now includes a number of links at the bottom of the page for easier navigation. These include links for History, Downloads and Help.
Google Chrome 6 certainly includes changes which will only serve to further increase Chrome’s appeal. Also according to Google, there are many more improvements that were not ready in time to be included in this version and will be added to next one.
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