A little more than two years ago, engineers on the Chrome team began a very ambitious project. In coordination with Adobe, we started porting Flash from the aging NPAPI architecture to our sandboxed PPAPI platform. With
last week’s Chrome Stable release, we were finally able to ship PPAPI Flash to all Windows Chrome users, so they can now experience dramatically improved security and stability as well as improved performance down the line.
To appreciate just what a big step forward this is, it helps to understand a bit more about the history and architecture of
NPAPI plug-ins. At its core, NPAPI is a thin layer of glue between the web browser and a native application. In the early days of the Web this provided a tremendous advantage, because it allowed third-party plug-ins to evolve rapidly and implement new capabilities, moving the whole web forward.
Unfortunately, as the web evolved, the past benefits of NPAPI became liabilities. The thinness allowed legacy browser and OS behavior to bleed through and crystallize to the point that it hamstrung future improvements. As browsers add compelling features like sandboxing, GPU acceleration, and a multi-process architecture, the legacy of NPAPI severely impedes or outright prevents us from extending those improvements to any pages with plug-in content.
By porting Flash to PPAPI we’ve been able to achieve what was previously impossible with NPAPI for the
99.9% of Chrome users that rely on Flash. Windows Flash is now inside a sandbox that’s as strong as Chrome’s native sandbox, and dramatically more robust than anything else available. And for the first time ever, Windows XP users (specifically, over 100 million Chrome users) have a sandboxed Flash—which is critical given the absence of OS support for security features like
ASLR and
integrity levels.
Beyond the security benefits, PPAPI has allowed us to move plug-ins forward in numerous other ways. By eliminating the complexity and legacy code associated with NPAPI, we’ve reduced Flash crashes by about 20%. We can also composite Flash content on the GPU, allowing faster rendering and smooth scrolling (with more improvements to come). And because PPAPI doesn’t let the OS bleed through, it’s the only way to use all Flash features on any site in Windows 8 Metro mode.
Moving forward, we’re finishing off the PPAPI Flash port for Mac OS X and hope to ship it soon. And Linux users have already been benefiting from PPAPI Flash since Chrome 20, along with Chrome OS users who have been running it for almost a year. Soon all Chrome users will have access to the improved security, stability, and performance of PPAPI Flash.
When it comes to the ladies, it is said that they can never get enough of shoes and handbags, but how about us guys? We geeks love our devices, and here we are with a potentially interesting device – the $89.99 MondoHub 28 Port USB 2.0/3.0 Hub. After all, we are talking about plenty of USB devices here which are in your possession, so you need not worry about running out of USB ports. So what if you have 10 different USB flash drives? Not a problem, just plug them all in, and wait for your computer to go nuts, trying to uncover just what drive holds what content.
Sony has just announced the realization of a dream, so to speak, which is to bring Google TV to the masses, packaging it in a piece of hardware that will definitely stop you in your tracks when you take a closer look at it. Basically, this is Google TV presented in the form of the Sony NSZ-GS7, which was first introduced in Las Vegas at CES 2012 earlier this January, but we are pleased to know that Sony’s team has finally made it possible for the common man to place a pre-order for this device from June 25th onwards – that would be today. It will hit retailers around in the US when July 22nd rolls around the calendar, citing a $199 price point.
When it comes to the iPhone’s camera, it has long reigned as the undisputed champion of cameras found in smartphones, although new challengers such as the Galaxy S3 as well as the slightly older HTC One series are worth their salt as well, especially with the latter being able to capture stills while you are recording a video simultaneously. Well, what are some of the ways where you are able to extend the functionality of an iPhone camera? Why, throwing in its fair share of accessories, that’s what! With the
The Force is strong with this 
Have you ever watched James Cameron’s Titanic? At the beginning of the story, the dive expedition saw some members of the team check out a safe that was still stuck under tons of pressure per square inch, only to retrive it and find out a drawing of Rose by a particular Jack Dawson. Well, I suppose if the safe was the 
Sprint has decided to introduce a white colored version of the HTC EVO 4G LTE, where this stunning new device will be framed by its aluminum unibody, not to mention come alongside a matching silver kickstand alongside an aluminized back plate for a sleek and refined look. It has been available since yesterday, the white colored HTC EVO 4G LTE can be picked up as an exclusive in all Sprint-owned sales channels, ranging from websites to telesales channels for $199.99 a pop.
So you love going snorkeling, and while you are at it, why not snap some photos? After all, it makes perfect sense to capture the overall feeling of wonder whenever you are swimming a few feet below the sea’s surface, not to mention having that surreal environment which is a whole lot calmer (in most cases, unless you jump right into the middle of a feeding frenzy) than what we get up here on solid ground. For those who are wondering whether to purchase a waterproof case for your digital camera, you might want to consider an alternative – the iGills SE-35, where the name itself gives the game away.
“I say, mate, isn’t it time for a game of Tetris?” That would be a great line to say out loud, assuming your living room or office cubicle (during your lunch break, of course, otherwise I am quite sure those productivity-driven bosses and upper levels of management will not be too amused) carries this cute looking 
When it comes to the world of digital cameras, I would say that it can be quite safe to assume that many folks do lean more towards the Canon and Nikon persuasion when it comes to the masses. Obviously, there will also be others who would settle for nothing but the very best, and these are the people whom you will find use Leica systems – which some say is the Rolls Royce of the camera world. How about Samsung? Well, the South Korean company seems more suitable to cater to the entry level and prosumer crowd, and they do not disappoint in this aspect with their latest shooter, the Samsung NX1000 SMART compact system camera.
Our smartphones have evolved to such a level these days that you can safely say that they are the lifeblood for the corporate executive. Many of us do store our fair share of music and visual entertainment on our smartphones, and you know that these devices are not exactly the lightest around. How about making sure you can enjoy your most recently downloaded movie on a long trip without worrying about whether your hands are going to end up feeling cramped? This is where the 
What was originally voted to be Amazon’s Top Rated Computer Keyboard, the 
Summer is in full swing for those of us who live in temperate countries, and it makes perfect sense for you to enjoy your favorite drinks to cool you down in the sweltering heat. Ice cold drinks, to be more exact. While some of us are lucky enough to be able to have the kind of fortune which enables us to employ a butler, here we are with the 
I would assume that even Rovio themselves did not realize what a huge hit they have on their hands when they first released Angry Birds onto the market. Just like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, there is no stopping them at all once they have gone off the starting blocks. Angry Birds has certainly grown to be a powerful franchise du jour, although there is no telling whether Angry Birds will have the same kind of staying power as that of Nintendo’s Mario and Zelda which has transcended generations past.
A future that has self-driving cars inside are certainly not a daunting thought at all – in fact, I believe that many people who have to slug through traffic gridlocks each day as they head off to work will more than appreciate a self-driving car, especially when you do not need to engage the services of a human driver, letting you rest and relax in the vehicle’s cabin all by yourself. One of Google’s more successful side projects has been the self-driving car that you see above, and we are proud to say that this particular ride has clocked up more than 300,000 miles on its odometer, where its journey has seen the vehicle cover a huge range of traffic conditions, without a single accident happening under the guidance of its computer control.
Since those of us living in the northern hemisphere are in the full swing of summer at the moment, you might want to consider bringing your kids out to the great outdoors for some camping fun instead of being stuck at home, repeating the same old cycle of you asking them to get out and bask in the sun instead of remaining cooped up at home all day long in front of the video game console. Take the more proactive approach, and as part of your persuasive efforts, then the 
