Google Chrome Rolls Out Version 14 Update, Highlights Support for NaCl Apps

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Google rolls out its major Chrome updates quietly, and with the browser updating itself automatically, users are often surprised to find new features when they run Chrome. The latest Chrome update — version 14 — brings about mostly technical improvements aimed at developers.

Google has been planning to redesign Chrome from ground up, and while this particular release has not actually departed from Chrome’s WebKit underpinnings, Google has already activated Native Client support, which was previously an option turned off by default. Native Client — or NaCl — is Chrome’s new platform for running web apps written in C/C++ code, and running in their own secure, sandboxed environment. This way, the computer system is protected from any potential attacks, since software is effectively restricted to their own memory space. Further, NaCl scrutinizes code at low-level, so that any potentially malicious process can be nipped from the bud.

Chrome 14 also comes with an improved Mac OS X version, which is particularly noticeable on OS X Lion. Chrome now has scrollbars that better integrate with Lion’s UI, as well as a new full-screen feature, likewise aimed at Lion users. Other updates include support for a new audio standard being proposed by Google — the Web Audio API, which will enable web apps and web content to playback audio with room simulation and spatialization.

The latest update comes with 32 security fixes, 15 of which are critical. Some of these are products of the ongoing Chrome hacking contests, and Google reportedly paid up bounties of up to $14,337 for this release. Chrome should automatically roll out to users on the stable channel, although users are still advised to check their “About Chrome” option to confirm versions.