Chrome 26 exits beta

Google is continuing to advance its Chrome web browser with today's release of version 26 to the stable channel. That means that the beta channel, which I use, will soon be getting an update to version 27. Chrome 26 brings along a number of new features, but one is more prominent than the rest.

The Spell Checker tool is the big improvement here. All of the supported dictionaries have been refreshed and Korean, Tamil and Albanian support has also been added to the mix. Even better, those of us who use the Chrome Sync feature to move tabs, bookmarks, passwords and logins around between computers get a bonus in this update. The Sync feature now supports the words added to the spell check dictionary, so those will now also follow you from PC to PC.

Spell Check also builds on the "Ask Google for suggestions" feature by adding grammar and other checks, including context-sensitive spell-checking, to this update.

Beyond the major Spell Check improvements, Chrome 26 also adds a Windows feature that allows users to now save desktop shortcuts for individual user profiles on the desktop. This allows you to launch Chrome with your user settings already applied -- handy for a family PC with multiple users.

Finally, Chrome 26 also adds an asynchronous DNS resolver for the Mac and Linux platforms. This feature has been a part of the Windows version of Chrome for some time. This should speed up the browsing experience for users on those operating systems.

Of course, there is also the usual set of bug fixes, including two "critical" ones, and behind the scenes processes that are always included in these updates for all software, not just web browsers.

The beta channel generally updates within a day or two of the stable update, so I expect to receive Chrome 27 at any moment. That also means Chrome Canary will soon be moving to version 28.

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