Earlier this morning, Google released a new stable version of Chrome, the company’s increasingly popular browser. This new release for Windows, Mac and Linux is the first stable version of Chrome to be distributed with a built-in version of Adobe’s widely used Flash Player. Just two days ago, Google enabled the built-in version of Flash in the beta channel versions of Chrome, where it had already been available earlier this year, though Google then disabled this feature after a while. Sponsor Even though Google is a strong backer of the open HTML5 and CSS3 standard, which can replicate a lot of Flash features, the company is also acutely aware that a lot of users and web developers still rely on Flash. When we talked to Bran Rakowski, Google’s product manager and director for Chrome, last month, he noted that Google thinks that by coupling Flash to the browser, Google can ensure that users will run a very recent and secure version of Flash. Don’t Like Flash in Chrome? Just Disable It. If you don’t want to use Flash in Chrome, you can just type ” about:plugins ” in the address bar in Chrome and disable the plugin. Google’s update mechanism ensures that the browser stays up to date, without any intervention from the user. In addition to this, Google can also test the specific version of Flash it distributes with the browser and ensure that it is stable. With its new crash protection feature in Firefox, Mozilla is also working hard to ensure that crashing Flash content can’t take the whole browser down and Apple and Opera offer a similar feature in their browsers. As CNET’s Stephen Shankland rightly notes , Adobe is also working hard to keep Flash relevant and with the latest version of the Flash Player (10.1), Adobe is also trying to gain a foothold on mobile devices. Google’s own Android operating system is one of the first to support mobile Flash. Discuss

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Google’s upcoming Chrome operating system, a new OS that will, according to the search giant, arrive on netbook computers sometime later this year, is also going to offer a feature Google engineers have dubbed, unofficially, “Chromoting.” What’s chromoting, you ask? It’s remotely accessing your PC applications via the browser. Or, in other words, it’s a remote desktop app for your new cloud computer. Sponsor Chromoting: Remoting In via Chrome Initially uncovered by U.K. tech news site The Register earlier this week, the news comes directly from a Google engineer Gary Kačmarčík who posted the following on the Chromium Google Group , an online message board for discussing the open-source project project behind the Chrome browser and Chrome operating system: We’re adding new capabilities all the time. With this functionality (unofficially named “chromoting”), Chrome OS will not only be [a] great platform for running modern web apps, but will also enable you to access legacy PC applications right within the browser. When pressed for more details, Kačmarčík also confirmed that the functionality would indeed be “something like” Remote Desktop Connection , a Windows technology that allows you to connect to a remote computer from the computer you’re currently using. One of the more popular uses for this technology in the past has been to access files and other network resources when away from the office. Why? For Legacy App Access (Those Not on the Web) But in Google’s case, the technology would be used to run so-called “legacy” applications that Chrome OS does not support. By “legacy,” Google means any application that doesn’t run in a Web browser like Google Chrome, which serves as the basis of the new Internet-only OS, also called Chrome. What sort of things would this include then? The Adobe Creative Suite, perhaps, whose flagship program Photoshop is top among designers. Or maybe the full Microsoft Office suite, whose desktop programs are still more feature rich than Google’s online Docs service or Microsoft’s own newly launched Office Web Apps . Video editing software and other processor-intensive applications also come to mind. But none of these are the types of applications you would typically think a netbook user would have need of, which makes the Chrome “remote desktop” feature even more intriguing. Could “chromoting”’s inclusion hint at grander plans for Chrome OS? Perhaps as a new competitor to desktop and notebook computer operating systems like Microsoft Windows and Apple’s OSX instead of just a netbook alternative? After all, a netbook user is only interested in lightweight computing – a little email, some Facebook maybe, a bit of Web surfing. That’s why they bought a netbook in the first place – for casual activity, not full-on desktop-grade computing. Right? Cloud Nearly Ready, Remote Desktop Stopgap Only Then again, the world is turning to lightweight computing. So much can be done online these days. As Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently said at D8 conference, we’re entering a “post-PC” era , referring to the eventual phase out of the personal computer in favor of lighter, more thin client-esque platforms like, of course, Apple’s new iPad tablet computer. But where Jobs’ vision differs from Google’s is how the transition should occur. In the iPad’s case, for example, Apple simply stopped supporting the Flash plugin, referring to it as an outdated technology that had run its course. The more modern technology, HTML5, is supported on the iPad instead, explained Jobs in a recent memo . But Google, on the other hand, partnered with Adobe, makers of the Flash plugin, and have now integrated it into its Chrome browser. Simply cutting off users from the ability to view Flash content on the Web isn’t the answer, in Google’s mind. It would rather slowly transition everyone to plugin-free standards like HTML5 while still supporting technology that people use today. You can see the same mindset here at play with this remote desktop feature. Like HTML5, the cloud is almost ready to support this new computing paradigm. But until then, Google will provide access to the legacy applications, the PC-based holdouts of the soon-to-be-bygone era. Discuss

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Google will release its Chrome OS – initially to just laptop users – in Q4 InfoWorld reported today. This announcement comes on the heels of rumors that Google is ditching Windows internally. Some are speculating that Google is making room for Chrome OS in its workplace, and may be aiming to compete with Windows in the enterprise. Sponsor The Financial Times reported yesterday – citing unnamed Google employees – that Google is offering new employees the choice of using Macintosh or Linux computers, but not Windows. It quoted an employee who said that getting a Windows computer now requires CIO approval. The employee cited security concerns following the cyber attack on Google last year . Microsoft responded to the The Financial Times story via its Windows team blog , citing many the company’s many security improvements in recent years. The Financial Times also quoted an employee who suggests the move is an attempt to make room for internal use of the forthcoming Chrome OS. InfoWorld ran a story consulting several security experts who believe security is not the motivator for Google’s move away from Windows. In a follow-up, InfoWorld quotes Andrew Storms, the director of security operations at nCircle Security , as suggests that Google’s move away from Windows is a PR stunt. Storms points out that as Google continues its move to the cloud – Google uses Google Docs and Microsoft Office internally – it doesn’t need a traditional desktop operating system and the associated costs: licensing, virus protection, etc. Global CIO blogger Bob Evans recently drew attention to the fact that 5,000 IBM workers use Macs, and to IBM CIO Pat Toole’s position that enterprises should move away from standardized computing in favor of letting individual users pick what works best for them. As enterprises rely more and more on browser-based services, the underlying operating system matters less and less. Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie recently reiterated that services will play a growing role in the company’s future, so even if enterprises ditch Windows for Chrome or other OSes, Microsoft will likely remain a player. Microsoft has its own minimal, browser-based operating system called Gazelle in the works. Chrome screenshot via Wikipedia . Discuss

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Google Chrome has had a big impact on the browser market since its release in September 2008. The latest report from NetMarketShare puts Chrome at 6.73% market share, ahead of Safari on 4.72% and behind only IE (59.95%) and Firefox (24.59%). What’s more interesting about Chrome is the activity it’s enjoying from early adopters and geeks. Our own browser statistics at ReadWriteWeb show that Chrome was used by 17.89% of our readers in April, putting it behind only Firefox (38.95%) and IE (24.76%). Further, our figures show a very clear movement from Firefox to Chrome over the past year . Chrome has gained nearly 11% over the past year, whereas Firefox has lost over 15%. Sponsor IE has stayed stable on our site over the past year, registering no change from its 24% in April 2009. Take a look at our comparison stats, via Google Analytics: Source: ReadWriteWeb I can also tell you that many of ReadWriteWeb’s staff now use Chrome. I myself made the switch as soon as a (relatively) stable Mac version became available in 2009, primarily because I had been experiencing slowness and crashes in Firefox for months prior. I’ve never looked back – sorry Mozilla. Chrome is fast, hardly ever crashes and can handle multiple tabs with ease. It does the job. The only thing I still use Firefox for is, ironically, offline Gmail! That’s because on a Mac, Google Gears is only available on Firefox and Safari – not Chrome. Before I get assailed by Firefox fans in the comments, granted the much larger NetMarketShare stats show a couple of percentage points of growth for Firefox over the past year. They also show IE losing over 8% share and Chrome gaining over 4%. Source: NetMarketShare However, even NetMarketShare’s stats show that Firefox’s real battle is not with Microsoft’s IE anymore (whose downward slide is inevitable and long overdue), but with Google’s Chrome. It’s not just on the statistics and performance fronts either. Google is now directly attacking Firefox’s main strength from a developer point of view: its ecosystem of add-ons. At the Google I/O event earlier this month, Google announced an application store to help with discovery and sales of Web applications. Some startups have already moved focus from the add-on model to a web site or app (e.g. GetGlue ), so Google’s App Store will only accelerate this. Yesterday we reported that the beta tag for Google’s Chrome browser has been removed for the Mac and Linux versions . Is that also a sign that the gloves are now off too? Chrome is now a ’serious’ browser, no beta tags and all OS’s covered with stable versions. Overall I can’t help but think that Chrome is really hitting at the heart of Firefox nowadays. The early adopter and geeky readership of ReadWriteWeb – bless you all – is often a forerunner of future mainstream trends. And our stats clearly show our readers are moving away from Firefox and largely onto Chrome. How long before the mainstream follows? Discuss

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Extension.fm , a Chrome browser extension we first wrote about in February , has launched to the public and announced that it’s received funding from a group of high-profile investors, including Spark Capital, Betaworks, Founder Collective (Caterina Fake, Chris Dixon and others) and Dave Morgan (founder of Tacoda and Real Media). Extension sits in your browser and automatically grabs the links to any music files you see around the web, rendering them easy to play later through a special interface. Based in New York, the company is lead by Dan Kantor, the creator of AOL-acquired Streampad and the feature in Yahoo’s Delicious that renders links to MP3 files playable. Sponsor With that kind of background and backing, it’s hard to imagine there’s not a whole lot more in the company’s plans than a Chrome extension. That said, the Chrome extension is very impressive and Chrome is the best browser on the desktop. Extension is most appropriately described as a music discovery service. It’s not for listening to bands you already know and love – once you get access to Spotify , there’s no other game in town for that, except perhaps Mog . But if you’re a person who likes to peruse blog posts and other pages where new music is linked to, the Extension makes listening to those songs systematic and very enjoyable. It lets you capture and listen later to all the new music you stumble on while zipping around the web. Separating media from its initial place of discovery, temporal displacement for more conscious media consumption, is probably something that video files could benefit from as well. Time will tell if Extension gets into that business. With the investment, Spark Capital’s Bijan Sabet will join the Extension Entertainment Board of Directors. Sabet lead Spark’s previous investments in Twitter, Tumblr, Boxee and more. Discuss

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