12 January 2009

Is Google Running Short of Hackers?

How hard can it be porting Chrome to GNU/Linux? Hard, apparently:


The 2.0 version of the browser was released to developers and includes a number of new features including the begins of an extension strategy for the browser.

Senior Google staffers said, however, that Linux and Mac versions of the browser would only be made available later this year. CNet quotes Brian Rakowski, Chrome’s product manager, who said that the Mac and Linux versions of the browser were now at the “test shell” stage which meant that they could show web pages but are still in a very raw format.

Rakowski said that versions of Chrome for Linux and Mac would likely be made available by the middle of 2009.

Things getting a bit tough in the Googleplex, chaps?

6 comments:

Leslie P. Polzer said...

Google is desperate for hackers but not desperate enough, it seems:

They still want everyone to show up in person -- no remote hacking for their employees.

Quite 20th century if you ask me.

Glyn Moody said...

Do they? How quaint?

Leslie P. Polzer said...

I have specifically asked about this when they wanted to know whether I'd be interested in working for them.

The position in question was in the core team, though. They might handle it differently in more peripheral sections -- but I seriously doubt it.

Glyn Moody said...

Interesting - do they say why?

Leslie P. Polzer said...

I didn't ask for the reason of it.

This stance is quite popular here in Germany, and the usual reasons are that the employer wants to keep watch on the workers, count their hours, have them ready for personal meetings and so on...

Why don't you ask them about it?

Glyn Moody said...

Because they would give some weaselly PR answer; that's why I was interested in what they would say to the engineers.