New Features for Google Chrome v16

Google Chrome was just updated and the newest version brings an option to print any webpage using Cloud Print and multiple profile support for users who are on one computer to maintain separate settings. These new additions will become available with version 16 for Windows, Mac and Linux users when it is released.

Launching back in January, Google Cloud Print allows you to print to your home or office printer from almost any web-enabled device, though it was restricted to webpages with special Cloud Print buttons and specific Google apps like Docs or desktop apps like Cloud Print for Mac. With the new update any user can use Google Chrome to print to a Cloud Print-ready printer or computer acting as a Cloud Print server.

Using Cloud Print is also very easy. All you have to do is select Print from Chrome's menu options under the wrench icon. This will take you to a print preview page where you can select "Print with Google Cloud Print" from the "Destination" dropdown menu on the left. Then select "Print" at the top of the print dialogue when you're good to go.

Another addition to the update is multiple profiles. Multiple profiles started appearing in Chrome's beta channel back in November as a way for multiple users to keep their bookmarks, Web apps and other settings separate. This can be particularly useful if you have more than one user trying to use the household computer but you can't be bothered to switch user profiles using the operating system of your computer.

In order to get started with Chrome's multiple profiles, click on Chrome's wrench icon and select "Preferences" to open the browser's settings page in a new tab. After that, click "Personal Stuff" on the left side of the screen. If that is too much work, you can always just type in "chrome://settings/personal" in an empty browser tab.

Once you do this, select "Users" and then "Add New User." A new browser tab will appear with a blank profile on it that has some generic name and one of Chrome's avatars. The active user's avatar will appear in the upper right corner of the Chrome browser for Mac users and the upper left corner for Windows users. In addition to that, you can edit each profile's username and avatar at "chrome://settings/personal".

Each user also has the ability to sign in separately to their Google account to sync Chrome settings stored online. This is useful if you want access to your Chrome settings on a PC that isn't yours. Just make sure you erase your profile on any computer that isn't yours because Chrome profiles are not secure and they don't have any password protection options so anyone using the same PC as you will have access to your browser settings.

Source: PC World - Google Chrome Adds Cloud Print Option, Multiple Profile Support

SMBnow.com is news of, for and by SMBs!
SMBnow.com... The Small & Medium Business Magazine!

Read More

Chrome 11 Hits Beta Form with Some Amazing Additions

The latest and greatest edition of Firefox, known as Firefox 4, was just released a few days ago in an official worldwide release. Upon looking at it for the first time, it appears to be a great update to the Mozilla Firefox browser containing immense speed improvements. And if there is anything a browser needs these days to stay in the game, it is fast, and I mean fast, speeds.

You can attribute that need to Google's shot at an internet browser with Google Chrome, which is one of the fastest growing internet browsers on the market. But just because Mozilla added faster speeds to Firefox 4 to combat Google Chrome does not mean Google Chrome is just sitting there taking it. On the exact same day that Mozilla launched Firefox 4, Google pushed out Chrome 11 in beta form. At first glance, Chrome 11's beta may appear to be no more than a reason to show off the new Google Chrome icon. However, if you dig deep, you will realize that there are a few amazing things to be seen, things you won't want to miss.

One new feature for Chrome 11 is added support for HTML5's speech input API. What this means is that you will have the ability to talk to your computer while Chrome 11 interprets it. For those of you tech savvy folks that have already gotten the hang of this via an Android device or other mobile platform, this is something you will definitely love. One thing to note is that this is an HTML5 spec so it is not Chrome 11 specific, any internet browser can use it. Though if you want to use it right now, you have to get the Chrome 11 beta.

According to reports about the talk to text feature, the program works quite well. You speak whatever you want to say and the browser is able to transcribe your speech into visible text on the screen. The best part is that you don't need to install any annoying Flash player or plug-in, it just works.

Another feature of the Chrome 11 beta is an initial take on GPU-accelerated 3D CSS, according to Google. This will allow website developers to create sites with 3D effects using CSS very soon which, like the talk to text thing, is very cool.

As version numbers of internet browsers have been rapidly increasing, Google says that it does not like bragging about new version bumps. However, this one is still pretty cool and should be in stable form very shortly.

Source: TechCrunch - On Firefox 4 Day, Chrome 11 Hits Beta With The Ability To Talk To Your Computer!

Read More