Anyone who’d like a chance can go to Microsoft’s sign-up page to apply. Yes, I said apply. Though the software is free and available to everyone, this new beta will be limited to select testers. You’ll need to have a Microsoft Live account to apply, and you’ll also need to provide information such as your full name, though I suppose there’s nothing to keep you from lying.

The number of beta testers will be limited, at least at first.  No official figures have been given on how many will be selected, nor has Microsoft said when the beta will be available for download. However, the company has stated that a public version should be out by year-end, so the closed beta must be starting soon.

What are the improvements that need review? According to Microsoft’s blog, a new “automatic malware remediation” has been added to axe malware infections without any user interaction. The remaining updates include better performance, a simplified UI and improved protection.

Source: ZDNet

Ubuntu Friendly is a new, beta website allowing users to find out whether Ubuntu will run properly on their computer. All of the information is provided by end-user tests; the software for the test is built into every Ubuntu system. It’s a simple way for everyone using Ubuntu to give back to the project, without the need to code.

Even better though, this is a very useful way for would-be Ubuntu users to find out whether their computer will work without having to actually install the system.

Checking The Database

If you want to know if your computer can run Ubuntu, head over to the site to find out.

Of course, not every computer is in this database yet. That’s where users running their own tests come in.

Running The Tests

Looking for the system tests? Just open up the Unity dashboard and type “Testing“. You’ll see the “System Testing” option come up quickly. Fire that program up and you’ll be ready to start.

The first thing you will see is a selection of tests. Scroll through them and uncheck anything that doesn’t apply to your system. For example, if you don’t have Bluetooth on your computer, feel free to turn off the Bluetooth test.

Once you continue, it will be onto the tests. Don’t worry, it’s not complicated. In all cases you will be asked to do something, then click “Yes” or “No“. It will be the easiest multiple choice test you’ve ever taken!

For example: the test on your graphics card asks you whether or not you can see some colored bars and static:

If you see them, click “Yes” and continue. If not, click “No“. If you think a particular question doesn’t apply to your system, click “skip this test” to continue without corrupting the test’s results.

Another example is testing whether the volume buttons on your computer work:

Working through all of these tests took me about 20 minutes, but your experience may vary. Once you’re done you can send your information out to the world, though you will need a Launchpad account to do so:

Sign up for Launchpad before running your tests and you won’t need to bother at the end.

Conclusion

This is a great way for non-programers to contribute to Ubuntu. It’s not a huge effort, but anything you can to to help spread Ubuntu is helpful. There may well be someone with your exact computer who ends up using Ubuntu because of your tests. Or if something isn’t working, the Ubuntu team might well find a fix. So running these tests is something every Ubuntu user should consider doing.

I ran a test on my EEE 900a and saw the results go live almost immediately. It’s a rewarding feeling, one every Ubuntu user should feel. Run the tests and submit the results; then come back here to let us know how your system did in the comments below.

Oh, and be sure to check out 11.10, the latest version of Ubuntu, if you haven’t yet. It’s a great one.

The good, the bad, and the unscientific test

I’m just an ordinary Mac user and not a certified software tester, so don’t expect to find scientific result here. All I did was take this incomplete Mac version of Chrome for a ride, doing the things that I usually do everyday with a browser.

But first, I downloaded from here and installed it.

Opening, closing and re-opening the browser

As silly as they sound, there are reason why I do this: first is to know how fast the browser starts, and closes; second is to glance at the look; and third is to know whether Chrome saves the previously opened tabs upon restarting.

The results:

Chrome opens pretty fast. Actually, pretty darn fast. That is a good sign.

Google search functionality is embedded directly in the address bar. So, you may just enter your search queries into the field, hit Enter and boom, you’re redirected to Google’s search results page.

Chrome actually saves passwords using Keychain Manager and allows you to add bookmarks. There isn’t a bookmark manager as yet, unfortunately. So don’t go adding bookmarks unnecessarily, there’s no way to delete them!

Unlike what Damien said regarding the Linux version, Mac’s Chrome alpha does have support for complex tab management i.e. you can pull individual tabs out of their current window and shift them around.

Flaws:

There is no Flash support yet. This means that everything that depends on Flash like YouTube or flash games won’t work.

Generally, I think the appearance is OK for a Mac app, but that is personal preference. But just like with Safari 4 beta, I disliked the way Chrome arranges the tabs above the address bar because the page title would be partially missing when many tabs are open.

I found a few minor bugs, though — such as the absence of favicons and the also the absence of green button to maximize the window. Another bug is the missing titles from some opened tabs as shown below.

After restarting, Chrome did not re-open the previous tabs automatically. Although, this setting is easily enabled in the Preferences. They do inform you which tabs were recently closed, that’s a nice touch.

Read Emails in GMail

I’ve been a GMail fan since its first appearance. And because Chrome also comes from Google, I think it would be logical to try to open GMail from Chrome.

I don’t have high hopes because several early reviews of Mac Chrome stated that GMail was not rendered perfectly. Yet, I didn’t encounter any problems. Another good sign.

Open a whole bunch of tabs

I think the concept of tabs is one of the best things that have ever happened in the browser world. The Windows version of Chrome takes it further by separating each tab into an individual entity. The idea is, if one tab crashes, the others will not be affected.

To see whether the same concept was also applied to the Mac alpha version, I tried to open as many tabs as possible at once (more than 20 before I lost count), and hoped that one of them would crash.

I was unlucky. Everything went fine. But I found that opening lots of tabs consumes a lot of processing power, and there was a lag for a few milliseconds for a page to appear when switching between tabs.

Just for your information, Chrome uses the same key combination as Firefox to switch between tabs: Command + Option + Left/Right Arrow.

Downloading

Beside emailing, chatting and browsing, downloading is another main activity of the netizen.

By default, Chrome handles the download by itself. But to monitor the process, you have to open the download tab by going to the Window –> Downloads menu. No complains here either.

Editor’s note: By default, Chrome stores downloads to the Downloads folder but the settings to change the download location is bricked.

Blogging

Last but not the least, I tried to blog using Chrome.

Maybe it was my connection or maybe it was Chrome, but I felt that logging in to one of my WordPress blogs took quite a while. Uploading pictures and saving post were not as snappy compared to Safari 4, and there were also several unsuccessful login attempts to other WordPress blogs.

In Conclusion

This is just a short test drive of the Mac alpha version of Chrome, but I already like it – a lot. And after experiencing it first hand, I have to say that I can not wait for the final release. I must admit that it may be a tad more refined than its Linux counterpart. Read Damien’s article to see how it performed on Ubuntu

Have you tried it yet? What do you think? Does it give you hope for the final release? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

For those Linux users who have been waiting hard and long for the release of Google Chrome Linux Alpha, there are both a good and bad news for you. The bad news is, Google Chrome for Linux is still not available yet. The good news however, the alpha build is now available for testing, which could be a joy for some Linux geeks.

Last week, Google released the first alpha build (build 3.0.183.1) of Google Chrome for Linux (and Mac). I have tested the Linux version on my Ubuntu machine and compared how it fares against Firefox. It is apparent that there are plenty of features missing, but it also comes with some juice that proved to be a surprise for many.

Warning

On the Chromium developer’s blog, they have stressed that the alpha build is not meant for mainstream public use and should be used only by developers. Being a public user, you are still free to download/install the software, but do bear in mind that many of the features are still missing.

Next step, installation.

Installation

Installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu is very easy. Download the deb file from the Chromium Early Release Channel to your desktop. Double click on the downloaded file to initiate the installation.

When the installation is complete, a warning window regarding the instability of this software will pop up. In the window, you can also opt to help the development of Google Chrome for Linux by sending in the crash reports to Google.

First impression

The very first impression of running Google Chrome Linux on my Ubuntu is that it is very fast.

Whenever I click on the Firefox launcher, I always have to wait for several seconds (at least 10 seconds) for it to load in the background before I get to see the home page. The more extensions I installed, the slower it got.

For Google Chrome, the moment I click on the launcher, the browser loads instantly, almost without any delay. One could argue that Google Chrome doesn’t support any extensions now and most of its features are not available, so it is logical that it loads faster. That could be true, but still, the difference in the speed is enormous.

Other than the boot speed, the speed that it loads a web page, performs a search, accesses URL history, suggests the URL as you type is also much faster than Firefox. And also more intelligent, in my opinion.

We have already covered plenty of Google Chrome features, including the tips and tricks, so I shall not delve into that. Overall, what is working in this alpha build is basic browsing, new tabs, simple tab dragging, search from URL bar, incognito mode and full page zoom.

What is lacking for now?

In short, it is still lacking a whole great list of things. There is no flash support, means you won’t be able to watch any videos on Youtube, no printing, no complex text support, no complex tab dragging (pulling the tab out of the browser window), you can’t change the homepage, little or almost no configuration options in the Options page and many other features that are only partially implemented.

One thing that I also noticed is that the font rendering in Google Chrome is still not up to par with Firefox. In addition, the UI still needs some polishing to make full of the GTK+ theme.

Should you install?

Google has make it clear that this is still an alpha release and should be installed by developers only. I am not a developer, but I am already enjoying the benefits of its speed. For basic browsing (checking mail, reading articles, performing searches in search engines), Google Chrome can do its job well, but for anything that is more complex, you will have to fall back to your native browser. There is no harm in installing it and trying it out for yourselves, I am already using it as my default browser. For complex stuff, I guess I’ll have to stick with Firefox.

Don’t forget that this is only the Linux version. My colleague, Jeffry, will be reviewing its Mac counterpart. Watch out for his article. Will it be better or worse? Find out soon.

What do you think about this alpha release? Did Google do the right thing by releasing such a raw version of their browser? Are you satisfied with it? Let it all out in the comments!

In the past, beta’s and release candidates would normally be released to IT professionals who had an extra computer kicking around to test things like this on. Yet, what if you just have the one computer at home and really want to test Win7RC, what do you do?

Here’s the answer and it’s not as scary as you might think. Install a virtual machine (VM). What in blue blazes is a virtual machine you ask? Think of it as a computer within a computer. Then you can install whatever you want to test on it, without fear of losing your main operating system and the files on it.

I’m going to outline the installation of Sun’s VirtualBox. There are quite a few VM’s out there, I just chose Sun’s since it was recommended to me by a friend who is vastly more knowledgeable about computers than me. Yes, it’s true. Someone knows more than me. Okay, most people know more than me.

Step 1 – Download Sun VirtualBox

Head on over to Sun’s VirtualBox Download page where you can download the version that’s right for you. You can use VirtualBox on Windows x86, Mac OSX (Intel Based), Linux, and of course, Solaris.

I’m a PC, so I’ll go for the Windows version. It’s 63 MB, so if your connection is slow this is a good time to call your neighbour and say hi.

Step 2 – Start the Install

Find the VirtualBox install file on your desktop and double-click on it. The install will begin. During the install you’ll come across two or three Windows Logo Warnings. Go ahead and click continue if they make sense to you.

The next window you will see will as kyou what options you want. I’ve left it as it was and installed the options. I’d like my test of the Win7RC to be as full-functioning as possible.

At this point, you may receive a warning about VirtualBox disabling your network card for a bit. That’s okay. Just click Yes.

At the end of the install, you’ll be asked if you’d like to start the VirtualBox after the end of the install. Sure, why not?

Step 3 – Register

It seems there is no way around the registration. I don’t like to register software, just because I hate spam. They do give you the opt-out option, so go ahead and use that.

I found it peculiar that they felt the need to thank me for “finding the time to fill out the registration form”. I felt that the tone of that ‘thank you’ was a little snotty. Whatever. Maybe I’m just insecure. The software is good.

Step 4 – Start VirtualBox

Now VirtualBox is ready to get going! Once it’s fully installed you’ll be presented with the following window.

Just because VirtualBox is running, doesn’t mean you have a virtual machine just yet. To do that you need to create a new virtual machine. Which is a nice segue into Step 5.

Step 5 – Create a New Virtual Machine

Simply start by clicking on the blue sun-looking icon that reads New. This gets things started. From here on in you just have to follow the prompts. But I’ll give you a few pointers anyway.

This is what makes Sun VirtualBox perfect for testing out Windows 7. It already has provisions for that version. How cool is that? Okay, so it’s only moderately cool compared to monkey knife fights and ninjas.

So name your Virtual Machine and select the right Operating System and Version. Click Next.

The set-up suggests 512 MB yet Microsoft says Win7RC requires a minimum of 1 GB or 1024MB of RAM. So that’s what you should go for. If your computer has less than 2GB of RAM, you may want to reconsider installing Win7RC on a virtual machine. It just won’t work well enough to give it an honest evaluation.

The default configuration here is just fine. What you do on the next screen however, makes a big difference.

There are choices here and one may be better than the other. Microsoft suggests having a minimum of 20GB for an install of Win7RC. So you could select fixed-size storage and set it for 20GB. I’m playing it on the wild-side and using the Dynamically expanding storage option. This is likely to affect the performance of the virtual machine and Win7RC. I’m okay with that for my installation since I’ve only got about 20GB of free space on my computer and don’t want to use it all if possible.

On this screen you select the location for your Virtual Machine to run in on your computer. It’s best to name it something meaningful and relevant to your situation. Here, you also allocate how much disk space that the Guest OS will think it has for a hard drive. I chose 10 GB. You’re probably better to choose 20GB if you have the space.

There are just two screens that follow this one. Both of them tell you information about your new virtual disk. The information isn’t that important, but allows you to confirm if the set-up is the way that you want it. If the information makes sense, go ahead and click Next. If it doesn’t, click the Back button and change your choices where necessary.

Even if you finish the creation of the virtual machine, you can change the parameters later on. No worries! That’s part of what makes Sun’s VirtualBox such a good test bed for software and operating systems. It’s flexible. Semper Gumby for my Marine friends out there.

In Part Deux of this article, I’ll be covering the install of Windows 7 RC on my newly created Sun VirtualBox virtual machine. Stay tuned and don’t touch that remote. Now for intermission…Let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lobbeeeeeeeeee, and get ourselves a treat!

Continue Reading: Test Windows 7 RC on a Virtual Machine [Part 2]