Everybody’s talking (and translating) with Chrome

Today, we’re excited to make a nifty feature widely available in today’s new Chrome stable release: speech input through HTML.

Curious about how speech input can be used in real life? Here’s one example: Using Chrome, you can now translate what you say into other languages with Google Translate. If you’re translating from English, just click on the microphone on the bottom right of the input box, speak your text, and choose the language you want to translate to. In fact, you can even click on the “Listen” feature to hear the translated words spoken back to you!



Speech input through HTML is one of many new web technologies in the browser that help make innovative and useful web applications like Google Translate’s speech feature possible. If you’d like to check out more examples of applications built using the latest and greatest web technologies in the browser, you can check out more than 200 submissions by web developers on chromeexperiments.com. If you’re not already using Chrome, don’t forget to first download Chrome at google.com/chrome.

Posted by Josh Estelle, Software Engineer

Improving finger dexterity for faster web browsing

Three weeks ago, we released a new stable build of Chrome which featured our biggest speed improvements to date—a 66 percent lift in JavaScript performance on the V8 benchmark suite.

However, the Chrome browser can only process data as quickly as users can tell it how to do so—i.e., type. In 1946, Stella Pajunas-Garnand set a world record by typing at a blistering 216 words per minute. Once we learned that the average Internet user ambles in at 33 words per minute—just 15.2778 percent of the existing milestone—we decided to conduct our own research into the state of finger speed and performance.

Browsing the web involves two key finger movements: the up-and-down motion of a finger pressing a key and the back-and-forth movement of a finger scrolling the wheel of a mouse. To reach a standard measurement for speed and performance, we combined eight key metrics from both movements to produce the Finger Dexterity Index (FDI), which we’ve mapped below against the V8 Benchmark:



As you can see, there have been relatively few advances in finger dexterity since Chrome’s launch, which is why we’re excited to bring you Chromercise, a new exercise regimen for your hands and fingers. Some existing finger exercise programs focus on upgrading your digits’ cardiovascular strength and musculature; others focus on dexterity. Chromercise’s unique blend of aerobic motion and rhythmic accompaniment covers all of the above while simultaneously tightening and toning your fingers’ actual appearance.



A few words of caution: be sure to stretch before and after your Chromercise workout, and only attempt the complex moves at the end of the workout video after mastering the core movements from the first half. In fact, we strongly encourage finger sweatbands throughout your workout for your comfort and the safety of those around you. And as with any fitness program, don’t forget to consult your physician before committing to a rigorous Chromercise regimen.

To learn more visit Chromercise.com today.



Posted by Chris Wright, certified Chromercise Instructor

Google Cloud Print Ready printers now available

Imagine printing an important email from your Chrome notebook on your train ride to work, then finding the completed printout in the printer tray when you reach the office. Or printing your airline boarding pass from your smartphone to your home printer, so you can grab the printout on your way out the door. Today, we are one big step closer to this vision.

Last year, we launched Google Cloud Print, a service that enables users to print from any device, operating system, or browser to any printer without the need for drivers or a PC connection. The service can be used with any printer, but the most seamless experience is offered by Google Cloud Print Ready devices, a new generation of web-connected printers that don’t need to be attached to a computer. Today, HP has announced that all of its ePrint-enabled printers are Google Cloud Print Ready, in most cases right out of the box. With a Google Cloud Print Ready printer, you can print emails, documents and web pages from supported apps without having to hunt for drivers or printer cables.

You can already use Google Cloud Print on Chrome notebooks and in the mobile versions of Gmail and Google Docs. Many more supported apps are on the way. There are also a third-party Android app, Chrome extension and Firefox add-on to help you use Google Cloud Print in more places.

We’re also continuing to release enhancements to the Google Cloud Print service. We’ve released a Mac version of the Google Cloud Print connector for non-cloud printers in the Chrome beta channel. And over the next few days we’ll be enabling printer sharing for current Google Cloud Print users, so your family, friends and colleagues can print their documents from anywhere to anywhere.

Happy printing!

Posted by Abhijit Kalamkar, Software Engineer

Talking to your computer (with HTML!)

Today, we’re updating the Chrome beta channel with a couple of new capabilities, especially for web developers. Fresh from the work that we’ve been doing with the HTML Speech Incubator Group, we’ve added support for the HTML speech input API. With this API, developers can give web apps the ability to transcribe your voice to text. When a web page uses this feature, you simply click on an icon and then speak into your computer’s microphone. The recorded audio is sent to speech servers for transcription, after which the text is typed out for you. Try it out yourself in this little demo. Today’s beta release also offers a sneak peek of GPU-accelerated 3D CSS, which allows developers to apply slick 3D effects to web page content using CSS.

Lastly, as mentioned in yesterday's blogpost, those of you on the beta channel will start seeing the brand new shiny Chrome icon on your desktops.

Stay tuned as we make all these updates widely available in the stable channel soon!

Correction (March 23, 2011): This beta release's Speech API implementation is a prototype of Google’s proposal to the HTML Speech Incubator Group. The title of the blogpost has been changed to reflect this.

Posted by Satish Sampath, Software Engineer

A fresh take on an icon

Some of you on Chrome’s early release channels may have noticed our latest tweak to Chrome’s icon:



Since Chrome is all about making your web experience as easy and clutter-free as possible, we refreshed the Chrome icon to better represent these sentiments. A simpler icon embodies the Chrome spirit — to make the web quicker, lighter, and easier for all.

Even before this effort, the new version of the Chrome logo was already being conjured up by Googlers and Chrome fans. Numerous creative reinterpretations have organically moved the icon towards simplicity and abstraction, so it felt right to make the icon structure cleaner and easier to recreate.

The Modern Browser poster by Mike Lemanski, celebrating Chrome’s 2nd birthday

Chrome Magnets by Tyson Kartchner

Chrome Starts Fast video

Chrome Speed Tests video

Redesigning the icon was very much a group effort. Collectively, we explored many variations, tried the icon in several different contexts, and refined the details as we moved along. It was important to maintain consistency across all media, so we kept print, web, and other possible formats in mind. Once we arrived at a good place, we finished up the icon by resizing, pixel-pushing, and getting everything out the door.

For Chrome users, you’ll see this latest icon reflected in your browsers soon, as we bring the latest features and improvements to the beta and stable channels in the coming weeks!

Posted by Steve Rura, Designer

Preparing for basketball madness with the Chrome Web Store

For those of you who follow college basketball in the US, today is National Bracket Day where millions are frantically filling out their brackets and preparing to follow their favorite teams' bids to the national college basketball championship. Luckily, I can use apps from the Chrome Web Store to help me follow the tournament like a pro.

Whether you're a loyal fan of your alma mater or college basketball powerhouses, you can get the most current news, scores, videos and photos all in one place with apps like FanFeedr and LockerPulse.



If you're watching multiple games at once, don't miss an upset with Are You Watching This?! Sports. This app shows you a scoreboard of all games you care about happening right now. You can also create personalized TV channel lineups for local cable and satellite TV providers that are automatically adjusted to your time zone.



You can even relive some of the best plays of the tournament with photos delivered by the Sports Illustrated Snapshot and create your own channels around your favorite college basketball teams.

These are just a few apps to help you stay on top of your games and bracket. You can find these and more sports apps in the Chrome Web Store or learn how other Google products can enhance your game experience on www.google.com/collegebasketball2011.

Posted by Koh Kim, Associate Product Marketing Manager

Speedier, simpler and safer: Chrome’s basics get even better

cross-posted on the Official Google Blog

Just three weeks ago, we kicked off the Year of the Rabbit with a speedy Chrome beta. Today, we’re excited to bring these speed improvements and more to everyone using Chrome. With today’s stable release, even your most complex web apps will run more quickly and responsively in the browser. (For the curious, this boost corresponds to a 66% improvement in JavaScript performance on the V8 benchmark suite.)

We realize that speed isn’t just about pure brawn in the browser—it’s also about saving time with simple interfaces. Chrome’s new settings interface will help you get to the right settings quickly so you don’t have to dig endlessly to find a way to import your bookmarks or change your browser’s homepage. We’ve added a search box that shows you the settings you’re looking for, as you type. On top of that, you can also copy and paste a direct link into Chrome’s address bar to jump to a specific settings page. (No more long, frustrating phone conversations with your dad on where to find that specific setting in the browser!) Here’s the new settings interface in action:



For those of you who save your passwords in the browser, you can now quickly log on to the websites you frequent even when you switch computers, by simply synchronizing those passwords across your computers. You can also encrypt those passwords with your own secret passphrase for extra security. To enable sync on each of your computers, visit the “Personal Stuff” section in Chrome’s settings (or just type “sync” in the settings search box). You can also choose to sync bookmarks, extensions, preferences, themes and more.

Finally, you’ll be even safer as you speed around the web, as we’ve extended Chrome’s sandboxing technology to the integrated Flash Player in Chrome. So if you’re using Windows Vista or newer versions, you’ll benefit from the additional layer of protection against malicious webpages. To learn more about sandboxing, check out this animated video:



We hope that Chrome’s speed, simplicity and security will continue to make your daily life on the web more enjoyable. You can download the browser at google.com/chrome, or if you’re already using Chrome, you’ll be automatically updated to this new version soon!

Posted by Tim Steele, Software Engineer