Encouraging progress with beta 29.0.1547.32 in ChromeOS

First, the update fixed a case of “extensionitis” that was preventing Hangouts from working on my main profile on my Chromebook. This was, I think, a case where one of the extensions I was using being slightly incompatible with the previous beta. Next, it’s enabled optional editing thru QuickOffice. You can now make modest changes in Word-formatted spreadsheets and documents, and that’s a big step forward with the platform. You have to enable this thru a flag on the Chrome://flags page. It also adds the ability to tweak display parameters, something that’s not an issue on a Chromebook (except with a secondary monitor) but is a big deal on a Chromebox. It has fixed bugs and improved stability, and it seems to me that it’s also dramatically improved memory usage (a big deal on a 2GB Chromebook). Here’s the list of release highlights from the ChromeOS blog:

  • Kernel 3.8 landed on Pixel and Samsung 550.
  • New “immersive” mode – hit the fullscreen button to hide the toolbar and shelf and until you hover at the top for a more immersive browsing experience
  • Pin apps to the shelf using Drag and Drop from the Launcher
  • Consumer Kiosk Mode allows you to build your own Chrome OS powered kiosk
  • Default wallpaper selection will sync across all your devices
  • Monitor Scaling allows you to scale the UI
  • Two-finger history navigation
  • App launcher Search just got cleverer

 

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