Better bookmark manager coming to Google Chrome

Several updates have been made to the Chromium source code which will bring a better bookmark manager to the browser.

The new 'tabbed bookmark manager' currently looks like what you see in the screenshot. Rather than opening a new application window as Google Chrome does, the new version opens alongside your current set of tabs (like the new tab page). Items can be dragged and dropped and you can create new folders and items via the tools menu. You can also sort and search your bookmarks.

The manager can also be accessed by typing chrome://bookmarks in your Omnibar.

Coming soon to Google Chrome: Use your Extensions in Incognito mode!

Google Chrome's Incognito mode is a handy way to browse without leaving unwanted traces of your activity behind.

It comes with some minor sacrifices, of course -- your theme doesn't display and your extensions don't work. At least your extensions don't work for now.

Soon enough you'll have the ability to specify which extensions you want Google Chrome to allow while you browse Incognito. The change has landed in recent Chromium builds, and I have no doubt that we'll see this make the jump to Chrome's developer and beta channels fairly soon.

I haven't experienced any (additional) instability or crashing due to enabling a few extensions in Incognito mode.

Windows 7 SP1 details outed !!

There's been talk floating around for quite some time about the coming of Windows 7 SP1.

The short version: Windows 7 SP1 will pretty much just be a rollup of updates that have been previously released.

The slightly longer version: there will be other 'minor' updates, including support for remote desktop client (using RemoteFX) and Dynamic Memory support. Both of those are Windows Server technologies, so they're not of much interest to anyone running Windows 7 at home.

If you were waiting for something exciting, you should probably check out Windows Blog.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to watch more blocky videos...

Microsoft announces Windows 7 SP1

But doesn't set release schedule or say when it will ship beta

Microsoft announced service packs for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, but declined to set a release date or a schedule for getting a beta in users' hands.

According to a company spokesman, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) will primarily contain "minor updates," including patches and hotfixes that will have been delivered earlier via the Windows Update service, rather than new features. One of the latter: an updated Remote Desktop client designed to work with RemoteFX, the new remote-access platform set to debut in SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2.

Microsoft did not spell out a timetable for the service packs, saying only that it would provide more information as release milestones approach.

Internet Explorer 9!! HTML5 Video, Faster than Chrome, and much more…

Microsoft showed off hardware-accelerated HTML5 at the MIX10 keynote, and it's  impressive. Main points:

• Full-screen, HD-encoded video on netbooks -- The keynote highlighted the dropped frames in Chrome, while IE9 rendered it fine -- made possible by the hardware decoder on the netbook.
• Multiple HTML5 videos on one page? -- Then they scroll the page down... and there are two HTML5 videos playing full-screen, on the same document! Using only half the CPU (while Chrome used 100%). Can't see a reason you'd have two full-screen videos on the same page, but it leads into...
• A richer, more animated Web -- the demo showed off a video carousel. Rather than the four icons at the top of the Download Squad page, you might see a carousel that rotates. Done entirely in HTML5; no Flash or Silverlight required.

The IE9 keynote has finished. Microsoft says they will be releasing a new Developer Preview in every 8 weeks.