Microsoft brings H.264 back to Chrome as Google adds WebGL to its stable branch
Earlier we reported how Microsoft had developed an add-on for Firefox to bring H.264 support to the browser. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has now unveiled a similar plug-in that will work with Google Chrome.
Google recently decided to remove support for the H.264 video format from Google Chrome in order to promote WebM, a new video format that Google had recently made royalty free released to open source.
[RELATED_ARTICLE]Microsoft will continue supporting H.264 in Internet Explorer 9 and users of Internet Explorer 9 will still be able to enable support for WebM in the browser by installing the requisite codec.
This news comes as Google Chrome begins with v11 in its canary branch and Google releases a number of great features in its stable channel, which is currently at v9.
The latest chrome stable update bring with it support for a standard that will define the future of the web, WebGL. WebGL adds a 3D context to the Canvas element allowing it to be used for constructing complex 3D scenes. With it applications will be able to render 3D content in the browser using JavaScript, and without requiring any plug-ins to be installed. This can have a big impact on web applications and browser-based gaming.
In addition Google has also made “Chrome Instant” available in the stable channel. Chrome Instant brings the power of Google Instant to Google Chrome. With this feature enabled, Chrome will automatically start loading the web address or the search page for whatever you enter in the omnibar. If you have a fast enough connection, this is make surfing the internet a much faster experience.