Google previews Chrome app launcher for Macs

Google added an App Launcher preview to Chrome on OS X that lets Mac owners run the company's new packaged apps from the Dock.

Users of Chrome 31 on OS X, currently in the "Dev" channel, the least-polished version of the browser, can access the souped-up Web apps from the launcher, which is automatically placed in the OS X Dock with the installation of any packaged app.

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Packaged apps are ber-Web apps that are much closer to "native" software -- the kind written for a specific operating system, such as Windows or OS X -- that can run without a live Internet connection and call on several Google APIs (application programming interfaces) and services barred to Web apps.

Written in HTML5, JavaScript and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), packaged apps run in a stripped-down frame minus any browser "chrome" -- the address bar, toolbar, menus -- so that they look more like a native application on Windows, OS X or Linux.

Packaged apps can be set to run offline by default, take advantage of Google's synchronization architecture, and call APIs to access device hardware and peripherals.

On Thursday, Google refreshed the Windows version of Chrome 29 -- the "Stable" channel build -- to give users full access to packaged apps. Development of support for packaged apps on OS X and Linux has lagged behind Windows. Google only said it would add full support to the stable build of Chrome on the Mac "soon."

The App Launcher has been available on Windows since February.

"The launcher provides an easy way to find and launch your Chrome Apps, while at the same time integrating closely with the operating system so that your Chrome Apps behave and feel just like regular native ones," wrote Joe Marini, a Chrome developer advocate, in a Thursday blog.

Chrome apps can also be found using OS X's Spotlight search tool, Marini said. Many Mac users rely on Spotlight as an alternative to the Dock to quickly locate and launch applications.

Google has been pushing the packaged app strategy since its I/O developer conference in June of last year. Analysts have viewed the move as an attempt to subvert the underlying operating system on any connected device by using the popular Chrome browser as a Trojan horse.

"Browsers are already platforms within platforms," said IDC analyst Al Hilwa in a July interview. "By making it easy for Web applications to take advantage of these APIs, Google creates a larger ecosystem for Chrome as a browser and also as a native platform for Chrome OS devices."

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Google seeks to marry desktop and cloud with new Chrome apps

Google has wheeled out a new type of application for its Chrome browser that according to the company combines the best of desktop and cloud software.

Equating them to tablet- and smartphone-like apps for desktops and laptops, Google said on Thursday that they mix "the speed, security, and flexibility" of the Web with the "functionality" of software installed on devices.

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"These apps are more powerful than before and can help you get work done, play games in full-screen and create cool content all from the Web," wrote Google engineering director Erik Kay in a blog post.

An initial set of this new type of app is live now in the Chrome Web Store for Chrome OS and Windows computers. They'll be available for MacOS and Linux "soon."

Google first announced this type of "packaged app" several months ago, and some have been available to people using the Chrome browser in its "developer" version. Now they're available for the first time for people who use the browser's "stable" version.

Key characteristics of this new type of app, which Google refers to as "packaged apps," include their ability to be used and store data offline, their limited display of extraneous browser elements like buttons and tabs, and their capacity to tap into the cloud to access and save documents and other content in Google Drive and other similar cloud storage services.

Google also highlights their ability to "play nice" with peripherals linked to devices via USB, Bluetooth and other connections and to display desktop notifications for users.

Other features include background "silent" updates and syncing with various devices so people can continue their tasks when they switch devices.

Also new is the Chrome App Launcher for Windows, which will show up on people's computers when the install one of these apps.

"It lives in your taskbar and launches your apps into their own windows, outside of Chrome, just like your desktop apps," Kay wrote.

The biggest beneficiaries here will be owners of Chrome OS computers, said Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder, referring to the Chromebook laptops and Chromebox desktops made by Google, Samsung, Acer, and other PC makers.

"For Chrome OS to succeed, Google had to beef up its offline capabilities and let the OS interface with the hardware at a deeper level," he said.

With this improvement for Chrome browser apps, Chrome OS becomes a more viable alternative to mainstream OSes like Windows and Mac OS, according to Gownder.

What remains to be seen is whether Google will be able to entice a critical mass of developers to build these packaged apps for Chrome.

It will be key for the development tools to be easy to use, because developers already have their hands full writing code for a variety of desktop, tablet and smartphone OSes, he said.

Meanwhile, Al Hilwa, an IDC analyst, said Chrome OS apps are strategic for Google because the company wants to make the Web platform viable for the most complex and sophisticated apps.

"The key challenge for the Web ecosystem is the maturity of tools and developer skills in the area," Hilwa said via email.

Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.

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Google Chrome for Business

Pros Provides centralized deployment and configuration of the Chrome browser. Free. Integrates well with Windows Server's Group Policy.

Cons Policy-installed Chrome browser doesn't remove cleanly from Windows registry after manual uninstall. Bottom Line IT teams needing to install Google's Chrome browser to a significant number of users on a network, will find no more efficient way to deploy and manage the job than with Chrome for Business.

By Samara Lynn

Google Chrome for Business (Free) was first launched in 2010 to provide IT administrators a way to centrally deploy pre-configured Chrome browsers throughout an organization. Chrome for Business was updated in April 2013, and Google added a number of new policies to configure Chrome (there are now 100), implement legacy browser support, and use cloud-based IT admin tools for organizations using Google Apps.

The update makes configuring and pushing out Chrome to clients in a Windows domain quite easy because it integrates with Group Policy (GP), although Google's instructive documentation is rather pitiful. However, if you want and need Chrome deployed to a significant number of users on a network, there is no more efficient way to deploy and manage it than with Chrome for Business.

How to Get Google Chrome for Business
You can download Google Chrome for Business from the Chrome for Business site. Google's documentation instructs you to download the Windows Installer package—the .MSI file for installing the Chrome browser and placing it in a network share, accessible to users.

The instructions then outline how to import Google templates into Group Policy, but leave out an important step: you must download the Chrome .ADM or .ADMX templates files. The instructions also don't tell you where to download them from, but a quick Google search points you to the right location.

The Install and Deployment Process
I installed Chrome for Business on two Windows domains: one a Server 2008 R2-level domain, the other a Windows Server 2012-level domain.

I placed the downloaded .MSI file in a network share within each domain; the share accessible to authenticated domain users. I then downloaded the Chrome .ADMX template files (in a zipped folder) to use with Group Policy. Of course, if you are not working within a Windows domain and are using Google Apps, you will want to use the cloud-based IT tools supported in Google Apps environments and not Group Policy.

Once I downloaded the templates, I went into Group Policy Management and created a Group Policy Object which I named "Chrome." I linked that object to my domain. I edited the new object and under "Software Settings" defined the UNC path to the .MSI file. You must use the UNC path in this scenario, a drive-letter path will not work.

Google instructs to then use the Add/Remove templates feature in Group Policy to browse to the .ADMX files for setting up the Chrome policies you want to push to clients. If you follow Google's documentation for doing so to the letter, you may end up frustrated. The documentation is sloppy and shows adding the templates just to a local machine, and not the entire domain.

When working with GP templates, I prefer dropping them into %systemroot%\PolicyDefintions folder. The Chrome .ADMX files when unzipped, reveal a language pack folder (en-US for US English). When copying ADMX files into the PolicyDefinition you will want to create that en-US folder as a sub-folder under PolicyDefinitions and drop in the accompanying .ADML file that is part of the zipped package.

Once you've finished setup, you then go into Group Policy Edit. Under Administrative Templates you will now see a Google object. This is where you set myriad configuration options and policies for Chrome client installs.

Some of the policy settings include setting a default home page; preventing the New Tab window from opening; specifying how Google Frame handles various content; managing extensions; configuring Password Manager; and much more.

I specified a default home page and to not allow a new tab to open when the user launches Chrome, and also enabled Password Manager for users. First, I checked to ensure each client automatically received the Chrome browser upon restart. I tested on a physical Windows 7 client in the Server 2008 R2 domain and a virtual Windows 8 guest running on Hyper-V R2 in the Server 2012 domain. Everything worked as expected. Both clients received the Chrome browser and the appropriate settings.

When uninstalling Chrome from a client, I discovered that performing an uninstall prevents Chrome from being automatically installed again when the client is rebooted. I had to go into the client's Registry and delete any keys related to the Chrome deployment policy. Once I did, Chrome was pushed out again to the clients. This may be fine in some cases where Chrome is no longer wanted on the client, but it's kind of a pain, in case an admin has to uninstall and reinstall Chrome for troubleshooting purposes. I would prefer that the uninstall removed Chrome cleanly from the Windows registry.

Chrome at Work
There are obviously other ways to automate an install in a Windows domain—using scripting and batch files are typical methods. However the ability to push out an install and pre-configure some very granular Chrome settings including managing updates (the quick update cycle of Chrome can sometimes frustrate IT managers) is invaluable with Chrome for Business. By all means, if Chrome is in heavy use in an organization, give Chrome for Business a try. One plus is that it works wonderfully with Windows domains. Google Chrome for Business gets four out of five stars for IT management software.

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Google gives Chrome mulligan button

Computerworld - Google on Tuesday shipped Chrome 29, patching 25 vulnerabilities and rolling out under-the-hood changes the company said would offer more relevant suggestions when users typed in URLs or search strings.

The upgrade also sported a new option that restores the browser to near-factory defaults -- think of it as a take-a-mulligan button -- which can come in handy when mystery problems persist.

As usual, Google highlighted only a few changes in the newest Chrome.

The technology behind the "Omnibox," as Google insists on calling the combined search-address field, has been improved, the company said in a blog, and should result in "more timely and contextually relevant suggestions" appearing when users type in URLs or conduct a Web search or previously viewed sites.

Chrome 29's other trumpeted change was the reset option, found on the Settings screen.

"For those nostalgic for the new car smell -- maybe you, too, got overzealous with fun extensions -- we've added a new option to the Chrome settings page to let you restore it back to its original state," said Mark Pearson, a Chrome engineer, in the brief blog post.

Pearson added that some elements will not be affected by a reset, most importantly saved bookmarks, but also Web apps and custom visual themes that have been installed and applied.

Chrome was late to the reset party: Mozilla added the same option more than a year ago to Firefox 13. Like Chrome's, Firefox's reset retains some information, ranging from bookmarks to passwords.

Google also followed up on a previous promise and added its notification service to Chrome on OS X. The service lets developers of Chrome apps and add-ons display messages and alerts outside the browser window. Notifications debuted on Windows in Chrome 28 in early July. The Linux version remains without the feature, however.

On a Mac, Chrome notifications are not integrated with OS X Mountain Lion's Notification Center, but instead show up in a separate window.

Along with the new features and a slew of bug and stability fixes, Chrome 29 patched 25 security vulnerabilities.

Until July 30, Google had not revealed the number of patched flaws in each Chrome update. Prior to May, the company published what appeared to be a complete list -- although minus an official count -- but from late May though late July, it disclosed a subset of quashed bugs, those deemed "particularly interesting," or which called out researchers who reported issues or who had been awarded bounties.

Starting three weeks ago, Google began naming the number of fixed flaws, though it continued to provide information tidbits about only a handful.

Tuesday, for example, it listed just seven of the 25 patched vulnerabilities in its advisory. Five of those were rated "high," Google's second-most-serious threat ranking, and included the usual "use-after-free" vulnerabilities, a type of memory management bug.

Google paid four researchers a total of $5,174 in bounties, with more than half -- $3,000 -- going to one bug finder, identified only as "cloudfuzzer."

So far this year, the Mountain View, Calif., company has awarded about $256,000 in bounties or hacking contest prizes.

Users can download Chrome 29 for Windows, OS X and Linux from Google's website. Active users can simply let the automatic updater retrieve the new version.

This article, Google gives Chrome mulligan button, was originally published at Computerworld.com.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His email address is gkeizer@computerworld.com.

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