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Filed under: Google, Beta, Browsers

Google Chrome beta adds new features to location bar, new tab page

Google Chrome omnibox
The beta version of Google Chrome always has a few experimental features that are absent from the stable release of the browser. But one thing I really didn't love about Google Chrome Beta when I decided to give it a try a few weeks ago was the updated new tab page. Instead of simply showing a few thumbnails for your most frequently visited pages, Google added a "recent activities section," which can be useful, but which also makes the fresh tab page a bit more visually cluttered.

Fortunately, you can customize which items appear on the new tab page, and as of today you can also remove and reorganize bookmarks on the new tab page in Google Chrome Beta simply by dragging and dropping thumbnails. You can also pin thumbnails so they don't disappear even if you don't use them very often.

Google has also added icons to the drop-down list in the Omnibox (location bar) that help you see at a glance what type of results Chrome is recommending as you start typing. For instance, you'll see a magnifying glass next to searches, a star for bookmarks, and a globe for web sites.

Google says the latest beta also features speed enhancements and a 30% improvement in the V8 and SunSpider benchmarks.

Filed under: Google, Open Source, Beta, Browsers

Chrome's Tips and Suggestions goes active on new tab page


A while back, Google introduced several new features to Chrome's new tab page. However, only one of the two new boxes added to the bottom of the page - recent activities - was active. The tips and suggestions area only contained a note: "What will we put here?"

Well, I'm no expert, but tips and suggestions of things to browse seem like a good thing to put in a box like that.

As luck (and common sense) would have it, that's exactly what Google has done. After installing the latest Chromium nightly build the box is now populated with five recommended links. Based on my reading habits, I was offered pieces from sites like Lifehacker, Mashable, Techcrunch, and FFFFOUND!

Unfortunately, right now the tips don't change if you click through and read an item. That's something I'd like to see changed now that the feature has been implemented. I'd also like to be able to refresh the new tab page and load a whole new set of suggestions.

We'll have to wait and see what other changes appear in upcoming builds. As before, you might need to add the --new-new-tab-page switch to your shortcut to see the new version.

Filed under: Google, Freeware, Open Source, Beta, Browsers

Chromium nightly debuts a new 'New Tab' concept for Google Chrome (video)

While it's not active in Chrome yet, Google is playing with a new concept for the browser's new tab page in the latest builds of Chromium.

The number of thumbnails on the page has been reduced to eight and two optional elements have been added. They are the recent activities list, which displays your last three visited pages and downloaded files and suggestions. While it currently reads "What Will We Put Here?" it's safe to assume that this would include recommendations Google makes based on your browsing history.

What's missing? The column that contained recent bookmarks, history search, and recently closed tabs/windows.

Rearranging your thumbnails has also been simplified. You no longer have to enter editing mode, just drag, pin, and remove items to your heart's content. Accidentally delete something? You'll be prompted to undo removals just in case. You can also switch from thumbnail to a two-column list / favicon view.

To try the new page out, you'll need to download the buildbot's latest version of Chromium. Once you've got it installed, add --new-new-tab-page to the target in your shortcut properties. The same switch in the Chrome dev channel build yields a different (and much less pleasant) result: two rows of four thumbnails and a lengthy history list below.

Video after the break!

[via Google OS]

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