Saturday, January 7, 2012

Google Tweaks Chrome’s Interface, Adds Prediction Details


Google is reworking the Options menu of its Chrome browser. The most recent nightly builds include an experimental menu that eliminates the “Basics”, “Personal Stuff” and “Under the Hood” clutter at the top level. There is also a new feature that visualizes the suggestions provided by the Omnibox.


Google is busy reworking the Options menu of its browser and remove complexity from the user interface. A still hidden Options menu now combines all preferences in one menu and combines the options previously separated in “Basics”, “Personal Stuff” and “Under the Hood” into just one “Options” menu. The menu also shows a revised management console for Chrome extensions.

It’s probably a matter of taste for most users which interface is easier to use, but the big deal is that the more in-depth features that control privacy, and proxy settings and manage security certificates are now out of direct view. The new options menu can be accessed via chrome://chrome.

Those users who enjoy a look behind the scenes of the browser’s features, should check out a new internal URL that has been added recently: chrome://network-action-predictor/. Google now provides details about the Omnibox suggestions by the browser. The Network Action Predictor evaluates the ratio of “hits” and “misses’ when a result was promised and calculates a level of confidence, which determines whether a suggestion will be displayed or not.

Wolfgang Gruener in Products on January 06

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