Google Tuesday released a Chrome browser update with a video decoding enhancement that the company claims will help users save battery life.
The feature, available for Chrome on Windows, cuts power consumption by executing video decoding on graphics processing units instead of on computers’ CPUs, Google said in a blog post. This is because dedicated graphics chips require much less power than computers’ CPUs, resulting in a 25 percent increase in battery life in Google tests.
“Now Chrome users on Windows will experience longer battery life so they don’t get cut off while watching their favorite YouTube video on repeat,” wrote Ami Fischman, a Google software engineer.
Google has rolled out a stable updated for its flagship browser that supports GPU-accelerated video decoding for Chrome on Windows.
As Google engineer Amy Fischman points out, dedicated graphics chips draw far less power than a computer’s CPU. As such, using GPU-accelerated video decoding while watching videos can increase HP 484170-001 Battery life significantly.
“In our tests, the battery lasted 25% longer when GPU-accelerated video decoding was enabled,” Fischman explained.
“Now Chrome users on Windows will experience longer battery life so they don’t get cut off while watching their favorite YouTube video on repeat.”
According to Fischman, Chrome users will now find it much easier to view and control any website’s permissions for capabilities such as geolocation, pop-ups, and camera/microphone access.
“This saves you from having to dig through settings pages to find these permissions. Now, simply click on the page/lock icon next to a website’s address in the omnibox to see a list of permissions and tweak them as you wish,” she added.
The latest stable release of Chrome for Windows also includes an option to send a “do not track” request to websites and web services. The effectiveness of such requests are obviously contingent upon on how websites and services respond, so Mountain View is currently working with others on a common way to respond to these requests in the future.
Google Chrome gets another update, you can now Skype with your Live Messenger contacts, Apple’s Lightning-to-micro USB adapter goes on sale, and Send to Kindle comes to Firefox.
- Longer battery life and easier website permissions Google Chrome’s latest stable release (Version 23) brings GPU-accelerated video decoding to Windows users, allowing for better Asus a42-u36 battery life. Also notable is the addition of “do not track” requests and better management of website permissions. As usual, Chrome auto-updates, so all these features will be in place when you next boot up Chrome.
- Talk to your Messenger Contacts on Skype Windows Live Messenger’s Skype integration continues. All current Live Messengers can now now login to Skype and use it with all of their Live Messenger contacts. If you already use both services, you can now merge the two into your Microsoft account.
Google Chrome can best be described as a freeware web browser built around the WebKit layout engine. Chrome hit beta for Windows on September 2, 2008, with a stable public release going live on December 11, 2008.
Google Chrome is currently believed to boast a 34% worldwide usage share – making it the most widely used web browser.
