Web browsers are typically on rapid release cycles so they can get features out frequently. The Web is changing on a constant basis to help it become an effective application platform, which is cross-compatible with competing implementations. A common complaint is that the cycle is to yield high version numbers for marketing, to give a false sense of maturity, but I'd expect that frequent, breaking changes are kind-of necessary to synchronize features between implementations. If Google lands a feature a month after Mozilla publishes a new version, should they really wait two years for their next one? Granted, they probably knew about it pre-release, but you get the idea. Also, even if the theory is true, artificially high version numbers is one of the most benign things a company could do.
Some versions introduce some fairly interesting features, though. This one, Google Chrome 48, deprecates RC4 encryption for HTTPS, which forces web servers to use newer cyphers or they will fail to load.
Another major one, and probably more interesting for our audience, is the introduction of VP9 to WebRTC. This video codec is Google's open competitor to H.265. At similar quality settings, VP9 will use about half of the bandwidth (or storage) as VP8. WebRTC is mostly used for video conferencing, but it's really an open platform for webcam, microphone, audio, video, and raw, peer-to-peer data connections. There are even examples of it being used to synchronize objects in multiplayer video games, which has nothing to do with video or audio streaming. I'm not sure what is possible with this support, but it might even lead to web applications that can edit video.
Google Chrome 48 is available today. Also, as a related note, Firefox 44 should release next week with its own features, like experimental rendering of WebGL images offscreen and multi-threaded. The full changelog for Google Chrome 48 from Git is about 42 MB large and, ironically, tends to crash Firefox.
Opera 12.17 opened the
Opera 12.17 opened the changelog without a hitch, Opera 12 for life!
…now if it could load youtube videos as quick as it used to…
+1 for that. Opera up to
+1 for that. Opera up to 12.17 best browser ever.
Not fan of YT in general, for 2-3 channels I visit on occasion using Free YT downloader because I can’t be bothered to watch anything live on-line.
Just another version Nvidia
Just another version Nvidia can break in their drivers
Caring is a leftover from the
Caring is a leftover from the “Bit” wars of the olden days, I remember, once upon a time in the long long ago, bragging how with the magic of a 2400baud modem I had the newest DOOM, 1.666, “How is it different?” “It’s better in every way!” and of cource the difference was all bug-fix. THEN i felt sad/pour when a kid with a prodigy acount got the 1.7 (or .8 or sumptin) upgrade because now I was inferior. it’s the way we were marketed too and it stuck.
Personally I’m glad that google does every thing in the background, I’ve been punching away on a qwerty for so long I just want shit to work, I’ve outgrown the fun of troubleshooting, and I have no idea what Chrome I’m using, it works, it updates itself, and it gives me access to countless hours of naked people doing naughty stuff. Nuff Said.
Does this mean we can expect
Does this mean we can expect a jump in quality from hangout calls?
Not sure. Google Hangouts
Not sure. Google Hangouts isn't the most conformant WebRTC implementation out there. Heh. If they update Hangouts to use it, if it needs an update, then yes.