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Chrome Dev 9 released

03 November 2010, Nick Peers

The development version of Google’s Chrome web browser has just jumped another version number – this time to 9 (or, to be more precise, version 9.0.570.0). Despite the rapid jump through version numbers, though, the browser doesn’t yet have a number of standout new features to showcase, although the list of changes is numerous and hint at major developments to follow over the coming weeks and months.

These changes include tweaks to the browser’s hardware acceleration features. Although still switched off by default, these should help Chrome close the gap – if not surpass – the performance gains found in Internet Explorer 9, itself still in beta. Another feature yet to go live, but the beneficiary of recent changes, is Google’s Cloud Print service, which will allow users to print over the internet without first having to install printer drivers for the target printer.

Other new features include an internal DNS resolver, which allows you to set specific DNS servers instead of using your system defaults, plus the addition of passwords to the sync function, which already handles bookmarks, extensions, themes and preferences among other things. The ability to encrypt this sync feature  – a welcome security boost – is due to appear later. Finally, integration with Google Instant – whereby Google starts showing search results as you type – has been further tweaked, along with a host of other minor fixes and enhancements.

Speculation is rife as to why Google Chrome Beta hasn’t yet been updated to version 8 – one possible theory mooted is that the developers are waiting for a Flash Player update (Flash Player is now integrated into Chrome), which is due tomorrow. If this is true, expect Google Chrome Beta to move to version 8 by the weekend, with the stable version to follow by the end of this month. See our previous news story on version 8 for a guide as to what to expect from this version.

Google Chrome Dev is the latest bleeding edge version of Chrome, and is not recommended for normal users, for whom we recommend sticking with the stable release or – if you’re willing to sacrifice some stability – the beta version.

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