Chrome XII Released

If you're not too busy playing around with Google's tribute to Les Paul's 96th birthday.. ..you may have time to check out some of Chrome 12's new features. Chrome's never been big on fluff, and most users upgrading to the version 12 release are going to have to look carefully to see anything new. Part of this is due to the very speedy release cycle that Chrome adheres to. Some of the changes include:

• Proactive alerts on malware detection to avoid downloads
• Full flash integration with local shared object management
• Hardware support for accelerated 3D CSS transforms
• Small tweaks like the new default favicon:

H.264 is still in place even though many speculated that the next release would be dropping H.264 to pave the way for more open standards with HTML5 like WebM and Theora. The flash integration gives access to cookie management and more: Release 12 wouldn't be a new version without some issues, and much like the recent performances by the Canucks this latest version has a few failings:

• Proxy support is broken. If you need to use a proxy, there is a fix. Check here for updates.
• The version jump has enraged numerologists around the globe to the point where I couldn't resist busting out the Roman numerals. Version 20 next week?
• Native HTML5 Netflix support is still not working for everyone

So while it could have had a bit more time on the ironing board, it's here now and we can try it out. If you wanted to see the 3D CSS transform upgrades try viewing this HTML5 video demo before and after you upgrade.