The Geeks Are Sexy post showed how users could find passwords that are saved to for websites that require a log-in in the "Manage Passwords Section" of the "Personal Stuff" tab under " Preferences" in Chrome. The passwords initially appear to be blocked out but can be revealed by clicking on the account and then clicking a "Show" button.

Lin said developers had debated some sort of added layer of password protection but ultimately decided that doing so may make users complacent when it comes to protecting their passwords.

"Now please, people, calm down. I only posted this to point out a 'possible' security problem to those who were not aware of it," Geeks Are Sexy reported at the time. "Now let's all take a deep breath and see this post for what it is: a simple warning."

Lin went one step better.

"If someone gets access to your device, it's going to be easy for them to gain access to your passwords....we tell our users if this concerns them they just have to select 'never save passwords' and they will never have to worry about it," said Lin who, for the record, doesn't let Chrome store her passwords and logins.

Chrome currently syncs bookmarks, extensions, passwords and other personalized settings to the user's Google account. Signing into Chrome from anywhere, on any computer, will bring up the user's browser, just like at home. But the current stable release only allows one account. Today's beta makes it possible to use multiple Chrome accounts on any copy of the browser.

The Chrome team's blog post makes sync itself sound like a new feature, which it isn't exactly. Chrome added syncing of different pieces of the browser at different times over the last two years. But multiple account syncing is a new way of thinking about it, which is why the Chrome team reintroduced the feature today.

Google engineer Miranda Callahan told us "it's the same sync feature; multiple accounts is the new part. The real new thing is that multiple accounts makes syncing easier, because you can now sync to separate accounts, rather than being restricted to one set of browser preferences."

Convenience Versus Security

Google notes that this feature is built as a convenience, and that it "isn't intended to secure your data against other people using your computer." Since "all it takes is a couple of clicks to switch between users," that's just fewer steps someone would have to take to access your data. It's a trade-off between security and convenience, but having all one's browsing data available with just a login sure is convenient.

Which browser(s) do you use, and why do you use them? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Google has announced this morning that upcoming versions of its browser, Google Chrome, will only support "completely open codec technologies". As Chrome continues to grab a larger and larger share of the browser market, it will have more influence on developers and Google says that it hopes this move will help to push things in the direction of a continually more open Web.

Others, however, disagree that this will push the Web in a more open direction and argue it will simply complicate the already muddled switchover to HTML5.

We expect even more rapid innovation in the web media platform in the coming year and are focusing our investments in those technologies that are developed and licensed based on open web principles. To that end, we are changing Chrome's HTML5 <video> support to make it consistent with the codecs already supported by the open Chromium project. Specifically, we are supporting the WebM (VP8) and Theora video codecs, and will consider adding support for other high-quality open codecs in the future. Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.

Daring Fireball's John Gruber is quick to point out, however, that "If Google is dropping support for H.264 because their 'goal is to enable open innovation', why don't they also drop support for closed plugins like Flash Player?"

So far, the move looks controversial by the tone of the commenters on the Google announcement. One commenter writes "this just looks like a lame duck attempt by Google to promote their own Video Codec." Another commenter asks how this makes sense, writing "Don't see how supporting an inferior codec (even if it is open-source) helps at all since the licensing restrictions on h.264 are gone."

How do you see this impacting the transition to HTML5 standards? Is Google supporting the Open Web or is this another case where users will be justified in asking that Google "Don't Be Evil"?

The first one I tried? My trusty Twitter client Tweetdeck. I've said for years that Twitter pays my rent as a journalist, but when I say that - these days that means TweetDeck too. So how does the new TweetDeck for Chrome look? It looks great. It feels great. It is great, if you've got casual Twitter needs. I'll be sticking with the desktop version, myself, but hopefully only for a few more days, as the TweetDeck crew adds features to the Chrome version.

• The HTML5 of it all moves so smooth, it's really attractive and responsive. That responsiveness is thanks in large part to the underlying code that all web apps like this will share.


• Re-ordering your columns is finally possible with drag and drop; sometimes it's the little things.


• An integrated inbox and replies section. You've got multiple accounts? Now see replies to all of them in one column. Thank you, TweetDeck! That will really help me cultivate conversations with multiple audiences, from multiple accounts. (Like @rwwgeo, the account I publish geotech Tweets from, but rarely remember to check replies to!)


• The Foursquare column now appears to display check-ins only from your actual Foursquare friends, instead of from all of your Twitter contacts. That makes it a very different experience, and much more to my liking.

The Bad News

I cannot use TweetDeck Chrome myself, and here is why:

• No pop-up notifications. I follow almost 8,000 people on Twitter, but there are 100 of them that live in a high-priority column in TweetDeck desktop. That column is set to pop-up in the corner of my screen, no matter what application I'm focused on. If I don't have that feature, then I don't use a Twitter client. It's an absolute deal breaker. My mortgage must be paid - and being handsome is not enough to do the job. I need TweetDeck pop-ups. This is possible - there is a Chrome API for desktop notifications, hopefully TweetDeck will integrate it soon. Good news - I just had a conversation with TweetDeck HQ and they said that column-by-column pop-up notifications will be added in the next few days! Wonderful!


• No old TweetDeck Groups, just Twitter lists you've built online. That's a shame.


• There are some little bugs that will need to be fixed, like the way it handles publishing to multiple accounts. It gets confused sometimes.


• It's not streaming, it's much slower than my desktop install. Maybe that's because I've changed the API call rate on my desktop version, but there are all kinds of things you can't do on this much simpler Chrome App. Like use a custom Bit.ly URL shortener.

The final verdict? If you're a casual Twitter user, you'll probably like TweetDeck Chrome a lot. If you're a speed-addicted power user, you'll want to stick to the desktop Adobe AIR version. For the next few days. Then we'll be free from the memory inefficiencies of AIR and hopefully have an even better TweetDeck experience in Chrome.

MOG has announced a beta release of its music player for the Chrome Web store and we have to admit, we're excited to see one of our favorite cloud-based music players hit the shelves.

"HTML5 is the future of browser-based technology, and users will love the experience that our new simplified and slick player offers," said David Hyman, founder and CEO of MOG in the company's release. ""Users will continue to enjoy the same unlimited access to all the music they want with the added bonus of blazing fast delivery, and an integrated discovery and playback experience vs. a separate pop-out MOG player."

Of course, the app isn't only for Chrome notebooks. If you're using the Chrome browser, you can give the new MOG app a try, and here's how:

1.     Download the developer channel of Google Chrome at http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html?extra=devchannel

2.     Go to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/jgljcanfdcmdnncaneopdlcgjlkgpenj
3.     Click the Install button

The app is open to both new and existing subscribers. User feedback on this 1.0 release is highly encouraged as MOG continues to update and make improvements to the app.

We don't know about you, but we're going to give it a shot right now.

The feature is not yet available but was spotted in developer documentation and first reported on by the watchdog blog Google Operating System. While this might seem like a simple matter of convenience, it also represents the convergence of a number of other trends in online computing.

Above, a mock-up of how the Mac version of Chrome might display which account is running in a particular window. New browser windows will use the same account that the last active window was using, and all browser extensions will be common across all windows regardless of account.

Incidentally, speaking from one ad-supported company to another, it's hard not to notice that there's Ad Block Plus running in the mock-up screenshot of this browser. Thanks, Google.

What it All Means

Computing in the cloud. The browser as a key to identity. Personalization of the computing experience. Those are the kinds of things we see here and in many other developments on the web, to put this news in context.

It would be great to see different browser window identities entirely partitioned off from each other, with different sets of cookies, so that you could run different accounts on Twitter, Facebook and other services at the same time too.

Consider this in conjunction with Chrome's plan to experiment with predictive background tab preloading for "wicked fast navigation" and I think you'll agree - the world of the browser looks to be very different in the future.

What's Google's economic incentive to develop features like this? The nicer it is to browse, the more you'll do it, and the more you browse - the more ads you'll see. That's not the whole story, but it is the part that pays the bills.

This news is the latest in a line of launch delays for the Web store, reports Kafka. In August, Techradar announced a planned October launch for the app store alongside the launch of Chrome OS, the new Web-based operating system from Google where all apps run in its Chrome browser. The following month, TechCrunch confirmed this earlier news, saying the store "seems to be fully functional" and that we should look for it to launch "in the next few weeks."

Those few weeks have now come and gone, of course, and the Web store has still not made its debut.

App Stores Exploding

In the time since, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced an alternative to Google's Web apps - "Mac apps." The company is launching its own "Mac App Store," based on the same successful business model of its iTunes App Store. The store will be pre-installed in the next version of the Mac operating system, code-named "Lion," but will arrive earlier than that to current Mac OS X users on "Snow Leopard." Users will see the store within 90 days, Jobs said on October 20th.

Mozilla countered both Google and Apple's strategy with the launch of its "Open Web App Store" prototype, around the same time. Mozilla's value proposition is that its Web App Store will be open and decentralized. However, Google's pending Web App Store will allow the entry of any Web apps built using modern Web standards - apps that work on any browser supporting those standards, including Firefox. This has led to some confusion about just how different (i.e. "more open") Mozilla's effort will be.

As it turns out, what may be the biggest difference between Mozilla and Google's initiatives is the amount of money floating around. According to Kafta's sources, Google has been offering not just "substantial technical resources" to entice developers to build apps for its store, but also money. "I know that some small developers have received cash, as well-one developer I talked to cashed a $15,000 check-to persuade them to build apps," he said.

Mozilla, a non-profit organization, doesn't have billions at its disposal like Google does, which will give Google an edge in this game.

It's Not Mozilla vs. Google, It's Apple vs. Google

However, the real battle between desktop app stores may not end up being between Mozilla and Google, though, but between Apple and Google.

The two companies went from being allies against shared enemy Microsoft (Google CEO Eric Schmidt even sat on Apple's board until August, 2009), to competitors as Google entered a number of markets where Apple competed, including mobile (with Google Android) and operating systems (with Chrome OS).

Now each will try to sell end users on their own take regarding the future of desktop computing: will you search and purchase applications for your Mac from Apple's store or will you forgo desktop apps in favor of those from Google that run in the browser?

Consumers won't have to make any "all-or-nothing" decisions just yet - you can easily do both for now, and likely for many months going forward. For years, even. But as Apple lightens the load on its MacBook computers by switching over to small amounts of flash memory in place of traditional hard disks or solid state drives such as it did in its newest MacBook Airs, it's clear even Apple is sold on the idea that heavy, high-capacity hard drives are becoming a thing of the past. Hard drives where you download, install and run apps from, that is.

The experiment is the work of writer and director Chris Milk and social media-savvy band Arcade Fire, and it shows off the interactive, artistic and technical capabilities of open-Web tools like HTML5 and Google products like Chrome, Maps and Street View.

The experiment begins by asking you for "the address of the home where you grew up"and you quickly begin seeing images pulled directly from Google Street View and birds-eye-view satellite imagery from Google Maps of your childhood neighborhood.

Google Creative Lab tech lead and co-creator of the project Aaron Koblin told Wired magazine that they were "excited about breaking out of the traditional 4:3 or 16:9 video box, and thinking about how we could take over the whole browser experience." Koblin also noted the importance of "incorporating data-feeds on the fly, and tailoring the experience to the individual."

According to Chris Milk, HTML5 is still in its "infancy" but he sees the browser as the next artistic medium, because of its ability to allow for interaction between the art and the user. The entire experiment showcases a number of HTML5 features, such as the ability to choreograph windows and synchronize music and video between them, use HTML5 for 3D rendering, rotating and zooming of Google Maps satellite imagery and even inserting animated sprites directly over satellite imagery.

Beyond the neat tech involved, the experiment is quite the experience and we encourage you to take a look. Google advises (of course) that you use its own browser, Google Chrome, and close down windows and other programs before beginning, as it can be quite processor intensive. And after you take a look, tell us what you think - how long will it be before HTML5 eats Flash's lunch?

Give it a Try

To try Chrome's built-in GPU acceleration, you need to run a cutting edge version of Chrome (even more cutting edge than the canary builds). You can find recent build of Chromium - the open source project behind Chrome - here. You can easily install Chromium parallel to Chrome and the two installs generally don't interfere with each other.

By installing Chromium, you will also get a chance to test Google Chrome Labs. You can find more information about this feature here.

Once installed, you need to run the application with the --enable-accelerated-compositing flag. To do so, you can either run the program from the terminal and set this switch by hand, or - in Windows - check the properties for the executable and append the flag to the target in the properties dialog.

Chances are that you won't notice too much of a difference right now, though you will probably notice some speed-ups while viewing highly complex pages.

More Technical Details

If you are interested in the exact details of how Google's hardware acceleration in Chrome works, have a look at this design document Google also just published.

Tip of the hat to Conceivably Tech for spotting this new feature first.

So how can you access this new Labs section, which is still off-limits to users of the standard Chrome browser? We've got the details in our latest "weekend project."

For those that's don't know about Chromium, it's the open-source browser project which serves as the basis of what eventually ends up in the Google Chrome Web browser and the upcoming Google Chrome OS, an Internet-only operating system powered by Chrome.

Although Google recently released the (Windows-only) "Canary" build of its Chrome Web browser for early adopters who want to test drive the newest features before they go live in the more stable public builds of Chrome, there are some features, such as this, which are only available to those who run the latest build Chromium Web browser itself.

We heard of these latest additions thanks to the unofficial Google-watching blog, Google Operating System, a site known for keeping a close eye on the latest-and-greatest Google news. According to writer Alex Chitu, the Labs feature was turned on in one of the newest Chromium builds.

This build also includes a placeholder for the Chrome Web Store, an in-browser "App Store" for Web-based applications, due to arrive later this year.

Chitu also confirms something we were seeing as well: Labs doesn't currently work for those running a Chrome Developer build or even the Canary build: you must manually install the latest Chromium build instead. 

How to Enable Google Chrome Labs

So how do you enable Google Chrome Labs? Here are the steps:

1. Head over to this list of the latest Chromium builds.
2. Click on the folder for your operating system (Linux, Mac or the folder "XP" which supports various Windows operating systems, including Windows 7)
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page to locate the folder containing the most recent build.
4. It appears that this feature was implemented in build # 57635, but it should be available in later builds, too, unless it gets pulled for some reason. I was able to install build # 57672, for example, and access the feature.
5. Install the latest build using the provided installer or files for your given OS.
6. Launch Chromium and in the browser's address bar type about:labs (without spaces between the colon and the words)
7. If you're on Windows, you'll see an option to enable "Tabs on the Left." Mac users will see the expose-for-tabs feature. Sorry, Linux users, there aren't any Labs available for you just yet. However, this section is sure to grow soon.
8. To enable a Labs feature, just click the hyperlinked "Enable" option. Then click "Restart Now" to reload the browser.

Note: both features can also be enabled manually, by using command-line flags instead. Just edit your Chromium shortcut with -enable-vertical-tabs for the Windows side tabs feature and -enable-expose-for-tabs for the Mac expose-tabs feature.

Also, Windows users: to actually turn side tabs on, you'll need to right-click on a tab and then select "use side tabs" from the menu that appears. Do the same to turn them off again.

But this new feature isn't a copycat of competing browser Google Chrome's forthcoming Web app support and accompanying Chrome Web Store, sadly. It's a copycat of Chrome's simple "pin tab" option instead.

App Tabs are Just Pinned Tabs - No Web Apps Here

In Firefox, the ability to pin tabs - that is, make them into smaller tabs represented only by a favicon - has long been possible through the addition of a Firefox add-on. In Firefox 4 Beta 2, it's now a native feature. And while, yes, this is progress, it's also a somewhat disappointing reminder of how far Firefox has fallen behind Google Chrome, which has always had the "pin tab" feature in place, but shrank it down to favicon size back in October of 2009.

Google has long since moved on from basic pinned tabs and now plans for a built-in Chrome Web Store, which will feature apps like those from Google itself (Gmail, Calendar, Docs) as well as choice selections from across the Web, such as Twitter, Facebook, Dropbox, and others. The store is open to all developers and will feature both free and paid applications.

Where's the Firefox Web App Store?

While writing about Google Chrome's Web Store in the comments, one reader suggested that the store is just another "rework of speed dial and pin tabs." Another commenter pondered, "For the life of me, I cannot tell what the difference is between the 'web app' and the regular Gmail I've been using since before time."

What? You didn't see the cute floating icon?

OK, we jest... but we have to agree. Google Chrome Web apps are very much a newfangled combination of pinned tabs and speed-dial favorites. The genius is in the Store itself and the business model behind it.

Since Chrome is positioned as an iPad-alternative on netbooks and tablets, Google is betting on the Web for its app store. It's enticing developers to make Web apps instead of iTunes apps, since Chrome HTML5-enabled Web apps work anywhere Web standards are supported...including the iPad. While precise details on the cut Google plans on skimming off the top are still scarce (the latest news is that it will be "similar to existing app stores"), it wouldn't be surprising if that cut was considerably less than the one Apple takes now.

Meanwhile, the folks at Mozilla are still pondering what an "open" Web app store should look like - the implication being, of course, that Chrome's isn't as open as it could be. But while Mozilla drags its feet, Chrome's Web Store is nearly a go for launch. And it's open enough for most developers, considering how many have already embraced it.

On Apple mobile gadgets like the iPhone and iPod Touch, a combination of hardware-based motion sensors allow the device to know how you're holding it - up, down, sideways, etc. - and changes the orientation accordingly.  And in the iPhone 4, a new gyroscope allows for additional motion-sensing capabilities, too, like the ability to track orientation, velocity and rotation.

But Web browsers, like IE, Chrome, Safari and Firefox, haven't traditionally been able to detect which way is up. That may soon change for Google Chrome, the browser that forms the core of the upcoming operating system of the same name - it's getting orientation capabilities that will tell apps running in the browser which way the device is being held. 

According to a report from CNET, the orientation support now being added to Chrome would be "particularly useful" for mobile gaming. "For example, tilting a device can turn it into a steering wheel or a tabletop on which a marble rolls," writes CNET's Stephen Shankland describing the upcoming capabilities.

Already, developers are hard at work building applications for the Chrome operating system and its accompanying Chrome Web Store, which will function as Google's version of the "App Store" for Web-based applications. In test builds of the browser's open source bits, developers are running everything from simple card games to arcade-like casual games, including popular iTunes titles like "Plants vs. Zombies" and console favorite "Lego Star Wars."

The announcement of the Chrome Web App Store was one of the more exciting reveals from this spring's Google I/O Developer Conference, where the company explained how the Web App Store would function as a tool that makes application discovery easier for end users while making it easier for developers to list and sell their apps. 

Google Bets on Web Apps

Google is betting that the future of computing is the Web, not native applications. Analysts have been predicting this transition as well, citing cloud computing's soon-to-be disruptive force in the mobile industry, specifically - a segment of the market which would also include tablet computing. Mobile Web apps have the potential to reach more users, including those whose only access to the Web is via a basic "feature phone" with an integrated browser, for example. That alone should make Web apps appealing to developers looking to reach the broadest user base.

For now though, native applications are still extremely popular among end users because of the way they can be specifically customized to take advantage of a particular device's features and functionality.

But with the upcoming developments in orientation support, Chrome OS will be able to run apps and games that take advantage of some features that formerly only native applications had access to.

That said, there are still several other hurdles for Web apps to overcome before they're on par with their native application counterparts, including the need for improvements in speed and performance, access to all of device's sensors and hardware components, the ability to send push notifications and more.

However, a Web browser which knows which way is up is a good first step.

To enable extension sync in Chrome, you'll first need to install the current developer's build. Once installed, you'll then need to edit the Chrome shortcut's properties.

In Windows, you right-click on the shortcut, choose "Properties," and in the "Target" box, add -enable-sync-extenstions at the end of the command, to the right of the quotes. (Update: see the comments section for a tip on implementing this feature without the reported bugs).

Mac OS X users will need to use Terminal or this handy script that does the work for you (Pointed out to us courtesy of LifeHacker.)

Sync: For a Browser that Knows You

The great thing about Chrome's synchronization options is how it allows you to create a standardized experience no matter what computer you're using. Whether on the netbook in the living room, the desktop in the den or your notebook at the office, you can install Chrome and immediately have it set up with your personal preferences.

For this former Firefox user, the addition of extension sync has been one of the more highly anticipated options, second only to bookmark sync. There was a time - not too long ago, mind you - when you had to make manual lists of your installed extensions or use some sort of third-party add-on to back them up every time Firefox released a new version. And believe me, that process was not as simple as it sounds.

With Chrome, though, the transition from version to version is seamless. There's no backup needed. Forget iterative Web apps, Chrome is the iterative Web browser.

Although the current version of extension sync is still in testing - and apparently a bit crash-prone reports CNET - it's only a matter of time before the feature is stabilized and ported to the beta channel, followed by the public release.

As for what's next for Chrome sync, could it be the ability to sync browser history, searches and cookies? Passwords? Auto-complete settings? We would imagine that it's all of the above...maybe not soon but definitely not never.

Initially uncovered by U.K. tech news site The Register earlier this week, the news comes directly from a Google engineer Gary Kačmarčík who posted the following on the Chromium Google Group, an online message board for discussing the open-source project behind the Chrome browser and Chrome operating system:

We're adding new capabilities all the time. With this functionality (unofficially named "chromoting"), Chrome OS will not only be [a] great platform for running modern web apps, but will also enable you to access legacy PC applications right within the browser.

When pressed for more details, Kačmarčík also confirmed that the functionality would indeed be "something like" Remote Desktop Connection, a Windows technology that allows you to connect to a remote computer from the computer you're currently using. One of the more popular uses for this technology in the past has been to access files and other network resources when away from the office.

Why? For Legacy App Access (Those Not on the Web)

But in Google's case, the technology would be used to run so-called legacy applications that Chrome OS does not support. By "legacy," Google means any application that doesn't run in a Web browser like Google Chrome, which serves as the basis of the new Internet-only OS, also called Chrome.

What sort of things would this include then? The Adobe Creative Suite, perhaps, whose flagship program Photoshop is top among designers. Or maybe the full Microsoft Office suite, whose desktop programs are still more feature-rich than Google's online Docs service or Microsoft's own newly launched Office Web Apps. Video editing software and other processor-intensive applications also come to mind. But none of these are the types of applications you would typically think a netbook user would have need of, which makes the Chrome remote desktop feature even more intriguing.

Could chromoting's inclusion hint at grander plans for Chrome OS? Perhaps as a new competitor to desktop and notebook computer operating systems like Microsoft Windows and Apple's OSX instead of just a netbook alternative? After all, a netbook user is only interested in lightweight computing - a little email, some Facebook maybe, a bit of Web surfing. That's why they bought a netbook in the first place - for casual activity, not full-on desktop-grade computing. Right?

Cloud Nearly Ready, Remote Desktop Stopgap Only

Then again, the world is turning to lightweight computing. So much can be done online these days. As Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently said at the D8 conference, we're entering a "post-PC" era, referring to the eventual phase out of the personal computer in favor of lighter, more thin client-esque platforms like, of course, Apple's new iPad tablet computer.

But where Jobs' vision differs from Google's is how the transition should occur. In the iPad's case, for example, Apple simply stopped supporting the Flash plugin, referring to it as an outdated technology that had run its course. The more modern technology, HTML5, is supported on the iPad instead, explained Jobs in a recent memo. But Google, on the other hand, partnered with Adobe, makers of the Flash plugin, and has now integrated it into its Chrome browser. Simply cutting off users from the ability to view Flash content on the Web isn't the answer, in Google's mind. It would rather slowly transition everyone to plugin-free standards like HTML5 while still supporting technology that people use today.

You can see the same mindset here at play with this remote desktop feature. Like HTML5, the cloud is almost ready to support this new computing paradigm. But until then, Google will provide access to the legacy applications, the PC-based holdouts of the soon-to-be-bygone era.

As for Google's response to this perhaps unintentional leak? A spokesperson will only reiterate, word-for-word, what Kačmarčík had already posted.

Some users will surely complain that OSX and Linux already have perfectly good system-wide notifications systems. This new notifications API, however, allows developers to create their extensions without having to think about the desktop platform and Google's own developers won't have to interface with multiple third-party desktop notifications platforms either. Chances are that we will see a variation of these desktop notifications in Google's Chrome OS as well.