Chrome has been updated even more since this post was written. To look at just how awesome Chrome for Linux now is, check out this post.
The current testing builds of Google’s Open-Source Chromium browser (I.e Google Chrome) hit a very welcome update today.
Chromium now sports clickable tabs, new ‘tab’ button, the ‘speed dial’ page, a basic bookmarks bar, incognito browsing mode, better font rendering, ‘find’ bar and feels far more stable.
Tab Bar
The tab bar has been fully over-hauled from the last few builds, and now is pretty much as functional as it should be. You can click, close and open new tabs with your mouse! Oh progress! Tab text/site titles now fits inside the tab instead of spilling over, and favicons are shown. You can also order the tabs by dragging them around.
Speed Dial
The Speed Dial-esque page has now been implemented, giving you quick access to your favourite sites.
New Tab, New Window, Incognito Mode
All the menu commands for ‘new tab’ , ‘new window’ and ‘go incognito’ now work.
Search And Find
The ‘ctrl+f’ command opens up a search field in the same place as the Windows version. Both the ‘up’ and ‘down’ arrows work. In the Windows version the ‘search box’ is in a smaller, rounded bar.
Bookmarks
A basic ‘bookmarks’ bar has been included though it lacks favicons, the ability to order bookmarks or drag them on to the bar. It currently only shows whatever pages you ‘star’.
This update shows just how quickly work is progressing on the Chromium build, the expected release date of June really does seem feasible after playing around with the latest iteration! Sure there are bugs and stability issues, features yet to implement and the small issue of GTK integration. Aside from those hurdles, it’s holding up very well and crashes were less frequent.