Google creating its own browser based on WebKit

Google is developing a new web browser built from the ground up and based on WebKit, the same rendering engine that Safari uses.

The browser, called Chrome, is open-source software built with security, compatibility and speed in mind. Each tab in the browser will be its own separate running process. For example, if JavaScript hangs in one tab, the other tabs will remain unaffected. The approach is similar to the way Mac OS X isolates applications in their own private areas to prevent one crash from taking down the whole system.

Google picked an interesting way of announcing the project: They commissioned illustrator Scott McCloud to draw a 38-page comic book about the project, and distribute it under a Creative Commons license. The result is a very readable, fascinating way to learn about the new browser.

For web developers, Chrome will include strong Gears integration, and a JavaScript virtual machine that generates super-fast machine code out of JavaScript instructions. For end users, it will include a new start page that lists the last several pages and search terms you’ve used. It also includes a private browsing mode.

Google is planning on formally launching the project on Wednesday, but the Chrome website isn’t visible to the public yet. Update: Google is releasing a version for Windows tomorrow, with Mac and Linux versions coming soon, once Chrome is “faster and more robust.” (Thanks, Bryan!)

[Via Macworld]

Popularity: 11% [?]

Apple seeds developers with Safari 4.0

Apple has seeded developers with a copy of the new Safari 4, which adds some new features and is based on a newer version of WebKit. Apple is also rumored to be using the SquirrelFish JavaScript engine which allows for faster Javascript processing.

New to this version of Safari is the ability to save webpages as “Web Applications.” This new feature allows Safari to save pages similar to the way Fluid does. You also have the ability to choose how new windows will open (i.e. with your favorite bookmark, blank page, etc.).

One of the biggest “features” is the fact that Safari 4 (along with the new version of WebKit) scored a perfect 100/100 on the Acid3 test. If you are inclined to see what the new version looks like, World of Apple has placed some screen grabs on their blog for your viewing pleasure. Read

Popularity: 16% [?]

Flickr Find: WebKit references Mac OS X 10.6

WebKit, the open source foundation that many Mac apps use to draw HTML, seems to be preparing for some kind of operating system update in the near future.

Intrepid Flickr user factoryjoe posted an image of a screenshot showing a recent WebKit nightly build. In the Frameworks folder inside the application package, there’s an alias named “10.6.” The alias points to the “10.5″ folder immediately above it.

What could this mean? Most likely, there’s a new release of the operating system on the horizon, and WebKit developers are ready to get cracking on it. The fact that the file is a symbolic link and not an actual folder could suggest that development is either very early on at this point, or web services for the next Mac OS X are very similar to Leopard’s.

Thanks, Chris!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Microsoft compatibility problems, iPhone charging, Mail bouncing, syncing, and more

In this riveting episode of Ask TUAW we’re catching up a bit on the backlog, so we’ll be looking at a couple of problems generated by Microsoft products (Hotmail and Photo Story), charging an iPhone from a sleeping Mac, syncing personal data between two user accounts, using a Mac mini as a backup server, and more.

As always your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you’re running and which version of OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we’ll assume you’re running Leopard if you don’t specify). And now, on to the questions!

Andrew asks

I’m running the current version of Leopard on a PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz with 1.25GB memory). I was wondering if there is a way to shut the lid on my laptop while still keeping power to the USB ports. I would like to be able to put my computer to sleep and keep it charging my iPhone..

Unfortunately, no; this is a hardware issue. In fact, Apple recently added this feature to the iMac line. However, according to this thread and this hint the FireWire port is still powered while the computer is asleep. While you can’t sync your iPhone over FireWire, you can possibly use that to charge it with a FireWire to Dock connector cable and if indeed if you use this double headed cable ($19) you don’t even have to switch (i.e. plug in both at the same time).

pjones asks

When using iChat, I love that the icon bounces in the dock when I receive a new message. Is there a way to assign this same icon “bounce” behavior to the Mail.app dock icon, so that it bounces when I get new mail?

As another reader pointed out this is easily accomplished with a Mail.app rule. Just configure a rule in the Mail.app preferences as follows:

Kyle asks

I have recently switched to a mac mini 1.83Ghz running leopard and now use a .mac e-mail address. Previously I used a windows live hotmail account as my primary e-mail and I am wondering if there is any way to have e-mails to the hotmail account delivered to the “mail” application on my mac?

I have a very short-term solution for you: the Mac OS X HTTP Mail Plugin will allow you to download Hotmail into Mail.app. However, the developer has a note saying that “Microsoft is closing us down” as of June 30, 2008 because they’re replacing WebDAV access with a new proprietary (and undocumented) technology called “DeltaSync.” Now if you’re willing to pay you can get POP3 access with a Hotmail Plus account. Finally, there’s also a third-party service called IzyMail that will supposedly allow you to access Hotmail with an IMAP mail client, however I have never used it and cannot comment on its reliability.

My wife had this problem when switching and I finally just switched her over to Gmail. If I were you, I would go ahead and just pull the band aid off switch away from Hotmail. Microsoft’s mail service is just not competitive anymore and it’s a bear to deal with as you’re finding out.

Adam asks

Some time ago, in the not so distant past, I noticed that the .Mac sync icon started to appear on the top menu bar for me. I have a MBP running Leopard. I have never synced anything with .Mac, yet so much as subscribed so I have no clue how this appeared. Now I want to know how to make it disappear, the .Mac button in Settings does not help me out as far as I can tell.

The sync item will also run for the iPhone so that may be how it got there. Anyway you can remove in either of two ways. Just hold down the ⌘ key and drag it off the menubar. Or you’ll find the checkbox setting in the Sync tab of the .Mac Preference Pane.

joeyjoe serially asks

I use my MacBook at work and home, so I created two accounts on it. I did this primarily because I need easy access to different applications at work and at home and because I didn’t want anyone to accidently stumble onto my personal files at work. This setup, however, has not really worked because I would still like to keep my email, contact, calendar and applications in sync between the work and home accounts. The simple solution I suppose would be to use one account and set up two different docks and desktops, but this isn’t even possible with Spaces. What do you suggest?

You could try using one account and keeping all of your personal files in an encrypted FileVault created with Disk Utility. Alternately, you could continue using separate accounts and adopt some kind of syncing solution. The obvious one is .Mac, however, you might also consider using something like IMAP for email and something like Google for calendar and contact information. You can even sync Google’s services with iCal using BusySync ($25) or Spanning Sync ($25/year). Address Book syncing is now possible with Syncman ($15) though apparently Address Book syncing is coming to the others as well. Having lots of this kind of data online as other advantages as well, so that might be worth looking into.
I created a Windows Media File using Microsoft’s excellent slideshow program, Photo Story, however I cannot view it on my Mac. The WMV file that Photo Story creates cannot be played in anything before Windows Media Player 10, and as far as I can tell, the latest version of Flip for Mac only covers files created for Windows Media Player 7.0 and earlier. I can’t find anything to play this thing!

I found this site with some suggestions. Basically, it is a codec problem and so the suggested solutions are converting the file to a QuickTime MOV with the file conversion site Zamzar or (if you have access to Windows) convert the file to a Flip4Mac compatible version with the Windows Media Encoder.
computergeeksjw asks

I have a Rage 128 video card that came with my old iMac. I’ve looked and looked, but I can’t seem to find a driver anywhere. ATI’s website only has drivers for Windows. I wanted to set up Extended Desktops but my Mac won’t recognize it. Apple Technical Support @ 1-800-My-Apple said to get a driver, but I can’t find one:). Any solutions/suggestions?

Unfortunately, I do not think Extended Desktop is possible with the Rage 128. The hack to enable this on older machines is called Screen Spanning Doctor but the Rage 128 is explicitly not supported.

Jason asks

…. My utopian goals for the backup system are 1) to have an automatic system that takes the responsibility out of it as much as possible, 2) have an offsite - preferably, online - backup of my photos and music (because those are virtually irreplaceable - especially the photos), and 3) if possible, have online access to all my personal files for when I travel (a lot)…. Is it possible to use the Mini as a backup & Time Machine server (with a huge HDD attached via USB) without having to buy Leopard Server ($500) to expose the external disk?

Yes. Backup to an AFP-shared HFS+ disk mounted on any Leopard computer (Client or Server) is officially supported by Time Machine. What I would do is buy a large external FireWire drive and hook it to the Mac mini. Then, share that drive with AFP and use it with Time Machine and/or SuperDuper!.

Finally as far as accessing file from the road goes there are a number of ways to accomplish this from Back to My Mac and iChat Screen Sharing, to others like iGet ($49). You might also want to check out a little application we posted on before called FarFinder ($35).

Sam asks

If I have a 1st gen iPhone and want to get a 3G one, could I just buy a 3G phone and put my 1st gen sim card in?

You’ll probably have to unlock the new phone to get this to work. It’s obviously not known yet whether the unlocking tools with work on the 3G iPhone.

Joel asks

I am thinking of an application, but I can’t remember it’s name, and I can’t find it via searching for the life of me! It was talked about on TUAW, and what it does is, it allows you to make a bookmark of a website, and it treats the bookmark like an application that you can open separately, and keep on your dock and stuff.

I’m not 100% sure what application it is you’re referring to. I suppose you know that you can just drag a URL to the right side of your Dock (assuming it’s on the bottom) and add a spring icon to launch any website.

If what you want is a site-specific browser, you can check out Fluid or Prism — these custom builds of the Webkit and Firefox browser engines can create one-off apps that launch a specified website in a standalone window.

[Via TUAW]

Popularity: 50% [?]

Safari 3 allows styled form controls

This was included in WebKit builds beginning several years ago, apparently, but is something I recently stumbled upon. Historically, Safari has been pretty insistent on making sure web page form fields (like drop-down menus and buttons) retain the Aqua look-and-feel. Web designers, on the other hand, have gotten used to choosing colors and font sizes for those controls, so they fit in with their site’s design.Hopefully everyone can now be happy: Safari 3 allows web designers to style form controls with CSS. The results are pictured: instead of a glossy, Aqua-like control, Safari displays a matte-finish control in the color and size of your choosing. You can even apply background images to form controls. If you don’t apply styles to your controls, then Safari retains the Aqua look.

This shouldn’t require any changes to code that’s already written for other browsers: Safari 3 should pick right up on the formatting, and display it as the designer intended. It does, however, open up WebKit-specific CSS to your form controls.

Popularity: 9% [?]