Google Chrome Dev Summit: Keynote

by November 20, 2013

In his opening keynote at the Google Chrome Dev Summit in Mountain View CA, Linus Upson walked through how Google Chrome is working to address the gaps between native apps and the Web. Here are my notes from his talk:

  • What's made the Web successful? Linkable: everything is a link that can be shared and followed. Ephemeral: there is no risk to clicking on link, we can freely explore it. Indexable: allows pages to searched. Composable: sites can be mashed together and composed form disparate components. Safe: it needs to be ok to click on links.
  • Mobile devices changed the game. People now expect interfaces to have rock solid, 60fps interfaces and work even in flaky network environments. Apps gained access to GPU and other device capabilities, which allowed developers to build new kinds of applications.
  • We need to close the gap between native applications and the Web. That's what the Chrome team is focused on.
  • Performance is a key for Chrome: rendering, Javascript (50% improved on mobile in last year), garbage collection, etc.
  • Mobile data compression proxies in Chrome can save 50% in data costs. It converts JPGS to WebP images (25% savings).
  • ServiceWorker is an attempt to redeem AppCache -which is hard to program and not reliable.
  • Hardware & software APIs are coming to provide more access to device capabilities: WebRTC, WebAudio, WebGL, and more.
  • Request AutoComplete allows browsers to remember information like payment details then send it over to a Web site. This enables really simple checkout flows.
  • Polymer allows you to write HTMl tags in terms of other HTML tags. This provide first class components and structured programming to the Web.
  • In the latest version of Chrome, you can take a Web page and easily add to home screen of browser.
  • Src-set and src-n is going to help developers manage images across multiple screens.
  • Developer productivity: Chrome is investing heavily in new developer tools and allowing you to develop using the tools you are comfortable with.
  • Google has invested in Cordova/Phone Gap to help developers leverage the same technology to deploy on multiple platforms.