Mac software undergoing slow evolution

Google is seeding a new developer channel build of Chrome for the Mac, v14.0.835.0. In the release the browser notably gains support for two-fingered gestures in Lion that respect system preferences. This means that two-fingered swipes left or right will go backwards or forwards through browsing history, while three-fingered swipes will obey Lion's normal configuration for switching between fullscreen apps.

Other changes include multi-profile interface enhancements, and a disabling of the native client for 64-bit kernels in Mac OS X dating back to v10.6.7 or earlier. Universal to all new dev channel builds, including ones for Windows and Linux, is broken PDF viewing.

The dev channel represents one of the earliest iterations of any Chrome release, with just a bare minimum of testing. Only Canary releases are more current, but carry the most risk due to no testing whatsoever. People are generally encouraged to stick with stable or beta channels.

Google has said it is "pushing hard" to make Chrome properly compatible with Lion. The software has for instance had problems with fullscreen mode, even prompting Google to temporarily remove the option. The browser should eventually get a native fullscreen interface in Lion.

by MacNN Staff