Google Chrome making a simple change in “backspace” function in the browser

The change is that the “backspace” key was causing your browser to the previous displayed screen. My response was when I read this was, “It does that?”. Which points to the reason that Google is making the change. Hardly anyone used it and it is a confusing function for those of us who primarily do data entry and not just simple browser “browsing”.

I read about this in an article in Naked Security, that went into a light rant about losing that function in the browser. What is the issue?

The problem with [Backspace] is that it has traditionally had two meanings, and two quite different behaviours, in your browser:

• Go back and delete the previous character when you are filling in a field in a form.
• Go back to the previous page if you aren’t filling in a field, even if you’re in a form.

Think how many web warnings you’ve seen in your life saying, DO NOT PRESS YOUR BROWSER’S BACK BUTTON IN CASE YOU ACCIDENTALLY PAY FOR THIS ITEM TWICE, or words to that effect.

I’m not sure this is really a security issue but change always takes us awhile to get used to.

Office Online will shortly be available as a chrome app…

I question the need for this but it could possibly be useful for some of you. While Office Online apps already work in Chrome they will shortly be available as a Chrome Application. I just tried using it on my Nexus 7 with no luck, all I was able to access was my mail, calendar and contacts. However, on a computer it came up just fine in Chrome. The Office Web Apps seem to be getting better and better with each iteration.

Since the Nexus screen is only 7 inches I’m not sure that it is a big loss not having it there but I would still like the option.

To access Office Online right now go to www.office.com and sign in with your account information. If you don’t have an online account you can sign up here.

Let me know what you think of this…

Toshiba Chromebook

Now Toshiba is getting into the Chromebook market with a 13.3” Haswell system. Proposed price is $279 and will sport a dual-core Celeron, 2GB of RAM, dual-band 802.11n WiFi, (2) USB 3.0, (1) HDMI, (1) card reader port and 16GB SSD which puts its specs on the same level as most of the Haswell Chomebooks on the market at the moment. Some other models have up to 4GB of RAM but since Chrome is not a memory intensive operating system having a little less probably won’t matter. Rated at 9 hours of battery life will make this a very useful during a hardworking day.

Toshiba is hoping to differentiate itself from their competitors by offering a 13.3 inch screen as compared to most of the other units at 11 inches. The display resolution will be about the same, 1366x768, a larger screen will probably help with productivity. You know, as we get older, the bigger the characters the better. Weight is in between 11 inch and 14 inch systems being just over 3 pounds. If you are looking at purchasing a Chromebook this might be a good option. Should become available around February 16th.

Amazon launches ‘Send to Kindle’ feature for Google Chrome

Amazon has created an extension for Chrome that allows web content to be sent to any device that has the Kindle App installed. It provides a single click process that will send blog posts, stories and other Google Chrome displayed pages to be sent to your favorite e-reader device. Amazon’s Whispersync technology synchronizes between devices so that you can start reading the content on one reader and seamlessly pick up where you left off on another device.

The extension, "Send to Kindle for Google Chrome," allows users to send the entire webpage or just selected text to the device.

To get the extension for yourself, head on over to Amazon's Send To Kindle download page. Confirm the download on the Google Chrome Web store and sign in with your Amazon account. When you click the button, the content is formatted for the Kindle and then sent to your device a few minutes later. Amazon has said FireFox and Safari will get support "soon" but there was no mention of Internet Explorer.

Google–Free 100GB Cloud Storage for new Chromebook Purchasers

This is not official but you may have incentive to buy a new Chromebook or Chromebox here shortly. According to reports from several sources there is code in the Chromium open source operating system hinting at this.

Reported by:

Google+ user François Beaufort spotted the promo within the Chromium Code review site. Looking at the code, you’ll notice several mentions of an “alternative GDrive promo” and, within one JavaScript file there is welcome text that says “Get 100 GB free with Google Drive.”

The Chromium code may tell the tale.

100GB on Google’s online storage service would normally cost $4.99 per month, so it’s a savings of about $60 a year for Chromebook and Chromebox owners.

This may not be much of an incentive for some people give the small difference in cost between a Chromebook pc and an entry level Windows based notebook.

Now Google is drawing a line in the sand!

Apple was the first on the video playback fight by denying video playback of flash based graphics. Now our friends at Google Have decided to pull support of H.264 encoded videos from their Chrome browser.

H.264 is used on Blue-ray discs and in many consumer based video products but has some issues that must be considered. Many Web standards advocates oppose using it because it is based on a patented video compression format that licenser's have to pay a royalty fee in able to use it. This closes the open format discussion that Apple is using as one of its arguments against Adobe Flash content.

Google is trying to push its own WebM Format to replace H.264. The technology behind the WebM project originated with On2 a company that Google purchased in August 2009. The VP8 codec doesn't have the patent and royalty issues and still provides comparable video quality in respect with H.264.

As this battle continues to heat up to be the winner of the codec war, the loser in reality is us!

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