Skip to main content

Google Chrome Emerges From Beta

By any standards, three months is a pretty short time for something to be in beta before a full release. But a full release is exactly what Google is doing with its bright shiny Chrome browser, which just hit beta in September.

According to TechCrunch, Google VP Marissa Mayer announced the surprise move in an interview at Le Web 08.

Recommended Videos

So why is it happening so quickly, especially since Google doesn’t normally rush things out of beta – Gmail is still there four years after its first release. TechCrunch speculates that a number of OEMs want Chrome, and they can’t have it until it’s in full release. It’s likely to be bundled with Google Toolbar and Google Apps, and will probably be appearing pre-installed on a computer near you soon.

It’s also a daring move, since the browser isn’t yet available for Macs, and also because Chrome has experienced a number of bugs. Perhaps the company is hoping that the full roll out will bring its browser market share up from the 1% it currently has.

Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
Google strikes back with an answer to OpenAI’s Sora launch
Veo 2 on VideoFX

Google's DeepMind division unveiled its second generation Veo video generation model on Monday, which can create clips up to two minutes in length and at resolutions reaching 4K quality -- that's six times the length and four times the resolution of the 20-second/1080p resolution clips Sora can generate.

Of course, those are Veo 2's theoretical upper limits. The model is currently only available on VideoFX, Google's experimental video generation platform, and its clips are capped at eight seconds and 720p resolution. VideoFX is also waitlisted, so not just anyone can log on to try Veo 2, though the company announced that it will be expanding access in the coming weeks. A Google spokesperson also noted that Veo 2 will be made available on the Vertex AI platform once the company can sufficiently scale the model's capabilities.

Read more
A game-changing desktop chip may be coming from an unlikely company
AIO tubes on the HP Omen 45L.

Qualcomm planted its flag in the Windows laptop world this year with the Snapdragon X chips, powering some of the best laptops you can buy right now. But could the company do the same in the desktop world? It might sound absurd, but a new leak claims that a Snapdragon X Elite Gen 2 chip is being tested alongside some components that only belong in a tried-and-true gaming desktop.

The leak comes from Roland Quandt, who posted over on Bluesky about an upcoming Qualcomm development referred to internally as "Project Glymur."

Read more
I tried out Android XR, Google’s latest attempt to take on Meta and Apple
Someone using Circle to Search in mixed-reality.

Google Glass. Google Cardboard. Google Daydream.

The company has had its fair shot at VR and XR -- there's no doubt about that. Android XR is Google's latest attempt at getting back in the game, and this time, the vision is entirely different.

Read more