Filed under: Internet, OS Updates
New Go integrates with Chrome and Chrome OS. Native, high-speed add-ons and web apps here we come!
A basic definition of 'Native' would be 'closer to the core of your computer'. Add-ons at the moment are executed at a great distance from your computer's processor. This is for security concerns mostly -- if the code is executed in the browser, it can't get at your core files. You're safe. But it's also slow. That's where Native Client steps in.
Google's Native Client software is special in that it runs at much higher speeds than your usual Firefox or Chrome add-ons. It runs much more like another application on your computer, rather than 'a web app' in the browser. It has security built-in that won't allow developers to program dangerous applications.
But it's not actually new. It's been around for months. What is new is that Go, Google's new language, will integrate fully with Native Client!
This means two very important things: a) web apps will be propelled to a new level of speed and complexity when coded in Go with Native Client and b) you are now looking at how applications in Chrome OS will be developed and run.
When you run programs in Chrome OS they will simply be Native Client web applications. There won't be a difference between Photoshop or Gmail, World of Warcraft or FarmVille -- they'll all be tabs in Chrome.
Everything will be a tab in Chrome.
One Google to rule them all. One browser to find them. One tab to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
[via CNET]
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
zmnatz said 2:39PM on 11-12-2009
Anyone else foresee native Google Docs in the future?
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Sebastian Anthony said 3:05PM on 11-12-2009
'Google Word', surely...
tapper said 6:28PM on 11-12-2009
Surely that would be 'The Word of Google'?
Reply
Sebastian Anthony said 6:28PM on 11-12-2009
Ooh, I see what you did there.
James said 11:59PM on 11-12-2009
Here's the thing -- there's already a language that runs in your browser at "native" speeds; it's called Java. No, it's not as fast as C or assembler, but last benchmark I saw it's still faster than Go. What does Go get us except a big ol' Google logo on the manual pages? I love the big G as much as anybody but I have yet to see what this offers.
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Sebastian Anthony said 9:03AM on 11-13-2009
Fair point :)
Would be interesting to see Java used as add-ons rather than in the 'grey box' virtual machine. Wonder if that's allowed, with the right security settings.
gzmask said 11:21AM on 11-23-2009
Native means binary codes. Yea java is faster, but loading the JavaVM is a pain in the ass.