The developers of the Google Chrome web browser seem to be in a hurry to raise the versions of the web browser as quickly as possible. The Google Browser, which was introduced less than a year ago, has quickly moved to a stable version 2 release, a code freeze on version 3 of the Internet browser and version 4 as the new major development version. That’s right, the Chrome developers have already hit version 4 and it seems that they might be able to beat Firefox in the release rate.
Some even think that Google Chrome might catch up to Internet Explorer and even Opera in a year’s time. A recent post by technical program manager Anthony Laforge sheds light on the decision to start working on Google Chrome 4.
We’ve officially bumped Chromium to 4.0.x to reflect our code freeze point for 3.0. There is still a bit of work that needs to be done for 3.0 in terms of stability and fixes, and to that end we will be pulling changes into the 195 branch (what will become the stable release). Keep your eyes out for future updates on the beta channel.
The latest buildbot releases are all released as version 4 of the Google browser. Interested users can check out the new versions at the buildbot directory.
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But why?
Why 4.0 and not 3.1? Or 3.5? I don’t get it.
Okay. This is ridiculous… A couple new features DOES NOT give you the permission to bump Major Versions. Google is trying too hard, and is failing miserably. They are cheating out the other browsers, and trying to look reputable. I still use Firefox, and no version bumping will ever stop me from using Firefox.
Im not so excited about google chrome and it’s new versions. I just think firefox is much better and has a lot more extendability.
Personally Google Chrome has become my browser of choice. Its speed is incredible, and I’m glad that it’s improving so rapidly. As a former firefox user, I can say that while the extensibility is excellent, the overall performance is lackluster.
I have been using firefox from the time it was at verion 0.2 and still using the 3.5 version. What i felt from google chrome is that even though its very fast browser other than K-meleon, still it doesnot have my favorite extensions what i have for firefox, hence i still prefer firefox and K-Meleon over other browsers.
This is ridiculous. It’s v4 now and Chrome doesn’t even have smooth scrolling or RSS support, let alone a strong extension platform or serious Mac and Linux support.
I want features, Google, I don’t care if using the new version of Chrome my favourite sites load 0.01 seconds faster. That why I use Firefox 3.5 and IE8.
And those people who care so much about these little speed improvements are either paranoids or Google fanboys and should get a life. Seriously.
u guys take this to seriously, i like firefox for it;s extensions
…but for some reason i find myself using chrome more..and i’m not a “fan-boy” but for older computers chrome is unbeatable, it’s light as a feather :)
To prove my point about the speed nonsense, I did some tests using www.numion.com/stopwatch comparing Chrome 3 (latest beta with no extensions enabled), Firefox 3.5 (with 12 extensions enabled) and IE8 (with 2 extensions enabled). I know the tests are not fair (I should have disabled the addons of IE and Firefox, but I wanted to test a real life situation). The tests are not statistically relevant either, but so are the artificial Javascript tests. I cleared the cache of the browsers before starting the tests:
Website – IE – Chrome – Firefox
www.neowin.net 15.937s 15.634s 7.366s
www.apple.com 5.152s 3.622s 5.622s
www.digg.com 9.432s 10.328s 7.771s
www.lifehacker.com 16.778s 12.586s 15.200s
http://maps.google.com 2.461s 3.702s 4.790s
www.ghacks.net 11.841s 13.85s 3.934s
Both Firefox 3.5 and IE8 were faster than Chrome 3 in 50% of the cases, and Firefox had 12 heavy extensions enabled (adblock, wot, firebug, videodownloadhelper, stumbleupon, greasemonkey, etc)
The point of a different browser is not to have the same feature set of an existing browser – just use the one that does what you want.
I agree that the version number seems to have jumped for no apparent reason & a freeze for 3.0.* should bump it to 3.1.*
I personally mainly use chrome & find that when i try websites in firefox/opera/safari the tabs feel clunky & hard to move, close in multiples & de-group/re-group – mostly it’s how the browser feels rather than just this one aspect, but that’s the one that stands out the most to me …
Its incredible and also frightening has quickly Chrome has evolved. The version numbers no long matter – except maybe in the order of magnitude faster than IE. Unfortunately, as a developer, I cannot switch entirely to Chrome until they release an equivalent of Firebug.
Chrome is a lot faster than IE8 or firefox for sure but its not reliable yet. I used to use opera at first but then i start using firefox 3.5 . Its a great one and i still think Firefox is the best considering every perspectives.
hi………..my fav is google chrome , and working in chrome 3 but i have all mozilla 3.5 and IE 8 ……….i m waiting for chrome 4 ………can you show me Download link for chrome 4……..please post in ur next blog…..thanks
You are a bunch of tools. Numbers are irrelevant. How in the world would it even matter if the version is 3.0.0.1.2 or 4. Jesus. Whining pansies!
the numbers are the version number with each update they make.for example i am running Google Chrome 11.0 Beta.and it is a stable version that will be updated once again to help speed and security.google is doing rather more impressive than most.for example.the network is constant with updates.in case IE should be on 25beta not 9beta.google is keeping up with the updates made daily.IE is now mocking google in there IE9 with the about IE.and the features.google has stepped the game of best browser,search engine,and more.FireFox is based on google.with many apps for google.chrome is by google so in turn is faster easier and comes with developer tools in what you can adjust in ect..IE also mocked this feature.