chrome

Google's Chromebook Pixel elevates Chrome OS ambitions

In an attempt to satisfy cloud-computing power users, Google today launched its Chromebook Pixel, a $1,299 laptop with a high-resolution touch screen that's now the flagship of the Chrome OS fleet.

"The goal was to push the boundary and build something premium," Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president of engineering in charge of Chrome and the Google Apps online services, said in an interview. Google engineers set out on the "labor of love" project two years ago, asking themselves, "What could we do if we really wanted to design the best computer possible … Read more

Google launches Chrome app launcher for Windows

Google's Chrome OS app launcher is now available to Windows users, the search giant announced today.

Available through the Chrome dev channel -- which means it's not a final build -- the application houses all of a user's Web-based apps in one space and allows the user to open them outside of the browser. The apps that work with Chrome's app launcher are written in HTML, JavaScript, and CSS but can be opened while a person is offline.

According to Google, the app launcher icon will show up on the Windows taskbar. However, in order to … Read more

Google said to release touch-screen laptop this year

As the divide between laptops and tablets continues to shrink, word is that Google has already developed its first Chrome-powered touchscreen laptop.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the tech giant's new device would come with cloud computing and could go on sale as soon as this year.

This endeavor would put Google in closer competition with Microsoft, which has already developed its own Windows touch-screen laptops. According to the Wall Street Journal, 25 percent of all Windows 8 laptops sold in the U.S. last month had touch screens.

Microsoft also has a major claim on the low-cost … Read more

Save to Dropbox from the Chrome right-click menu

Dropbox is one of the top cloud storage solutions for anyone who needs to share or collaborate on documents, audio or images. As long as you have Internet connectivity, you can access your files from anywhere, giving you peace of mind that a specific file won't be forgotten when you're away from the computer.

If you're often saving documents or images from the Web, you may notice that the process isn't very streamlined on its own. You either have to use the Dropbox software on your PC and choose that folder every time you want to … Read more

Why does your company force you to use IE?

It is nearly impossible to hear the acronym "IE" in a workplace setting without somebody appending to it the word "sucks." To be more genteel about it, older versions of Internet Explorer on corporate computers simply do not reflect the quality of modern browsers. So why does that massive corporation you work for make you use IE 8 or older in the first place?

A complicated problem Why you're forced to do at least some work in slow, standards noncompliant, security risk-prone legacy versions of Internet Explorer comes down to your employer's need to … Read more

Maker of Chromebook Pixel video: It's real. But is he?

The Chromebook Pixel is real, according to the man behind the promotional video that leaked last week -- and, he told CNET in an exclusive interview, "it's going to be fantastic."

But contrary to Victor Koch's claims on various social media profiles, Google says it is unaware of him ever working for the company, throwing new doubt on his story.

Koch, the 25-year-old co-founder and CEO of Slinky.me, denied that the video was part of a hoax and said the Pixel was a device worth waiting for.

"No fake, no hoax," he said … Read more

Set Tweetbot to open links in Chrome, 1Password

Apple's Safari browser on iOS isn't for everyone. If you prefer to use 1Password's built-in browser, or Google's Chrome browser on your iOS device and you just happen to also use Tweetbot, you'll be happy with the recent update.

The latest update to Tweetbot, version 2.7, now allows you to set your default browser when opening links in your timeline. You can select to open a link in Chrome, Safari, or 1Password.

To set your default browser, navigate to the Tweetbot settings page. Under the General section you'll see a Browser option; tap … Read more

How we test Web browsers

The Web browser is the most-used kind of software in the world, having become the de facto way that people access the Internet. Today, virtually all computing tasks can be completed in the browser.

Testing browsers can veer from incredibly complex to shockingly simple, depending on what you're looking for and why. At CNET, we prefer a holistic approach to browser benchmarking, looking at a combination of tests that benchmark general browser behavior, as well as several "real-world" tests that look at browser performance in common scenarios.

Note about mobile testing: We are still finalizing our standards … Read more

Get help choosing a movie on Netflix with a Chrome extension

Would you like to know what lazy looks like? It looks like me and my wife on a Friday night, worn out from a long week, lying on our respective couches in front of the TV after getting the kids in bed and cleaning up the kitchen, too tired to browse Netflix for something to watch. We are terrible at managing our queue, and many nights we don't fire up a movie on Netflix because of the browsing and agreeing process it requires. The following Chrome extension may not help you reach an accord with your significant other during … Read more