Friday, July 15, 2011

Google Talk Launch App(?) and New Window Switcher on Chrome OS 14.0.751.0

Update:  Upon further discovery, it turns out the []]] button (next to the full-screen button) has been transformed from a window switcher (alt+tab) to a window maximizer (alt+spacebar+x on Windows).

Okay, as I've said, recently, I usually let these kind of posts go because someone's generally already covered them.  Maybe I've failed to see anything on this one (yet) because it's late on a Friday night . . .  Such is my geekdom.

When I saw on Jee Lee's blog feed that there was finally a new, 14.0 Chrome OS build, I had to try it out and test the waters.

Sure enough, I got what I wanted:  At least two new morsels.

1.  Google Talk Launch App(?)

A Second Google Talk App??
So far as I can tell, all this "new" app does is add another button, with the word "Launch," which does what the previous Talk app already did . . .  Someone want to let me in on the secret?

2.  New Window Switcher Icon and Functionality:  Multiple (Side-Side) Windows with New Keyboard Shortcuts, along with Extended Click for Window Switcher Icon

A new icon, double windows, and more clickable space, oh my!
That's right, folks, the Chrome team appears to have ditched the old window switcher icon in favor of what I consider a more svelte and attractive option.  To be candid, I just figured out it's functionality, so sit down for this one:  When the top-right icon has multiple windows, this means that clicking it will show me my other window(s), behind my current window.  Next, when the icon is solid, clicking it will maximize my current window, covering up the other one.

The Chrome team also (kind of) added some functionality I'd been hankering for, for a long time:  The ability to flick my mouse to the top-right of the screen, click, and have the window change back and forth.  What the Chrome team produced is actually different from what I was expecting -- the new icon switches between maximized and full-screen view, rather than flipping between windows.  I'm confident this new development will really please people who want to see multiple windows at once, and I can always use the alt+tab combo to get between various windows.  Something I'm a little bummed about is that if I want to just maximize a window, rather than making it totally full screen, I think I have to click the window switcher icon, which I dislike because it's a lot more time consuming to target than to simply flick my mouse to the corner or press alt+tab.  So, in other words, if I'm seeing things correctly, there is no keyboard shortcut to maximize a partially opened window.  :(  Ah, well.  I suppose I have a hard time getting everything I want in a new release . . .  ACTUALLY, upon snooping around a little, while Chrome decided if Blogger was going to crash or recover, I discovered a keyboard shortcut to re-size windows:  alt+. and alt+, Going all the way with alt+. is equivalent to maximizing the screen, although slower than one keystroke or single combination.  As I said, it can be hard to get everything we (geeks) want.  I do generally appreciate a friendly work-around, though, so thanks Chrome team.  :)

What else have you guys noticed in the 14.0 build?

P.S.  I seem to have my ctrl+(window switcher icon) screenshots showing up outside my screenshots folder in my File Shelf folder . . .

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