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Google Chrome goes Native in 4.0.220.1

By Sean Michael Kerner on October 5, 2009 9:44 AM

From the "ActiveX Look-alike' files:

Google is now out with Chrome dev-channel version 4.0.220.1 which is notable for one primary reason -- Native Client.

The 4.0.220.1 version is the first Chrome release to include Native Client as a built-in client for Windows. Native Client is a technology that will enable the browser to run code over the web (not just JavaScript or Java) but regular software.

The implications for Google are huge as it could enable a new generation of speedier, feature-rich Google Apps (and eventually other apps from other vendors).

Google first announced that they were moving Native Client out of research mode and into production in June and here we are four months later with the first Windows build.

Native Client is not without it's challenges from a number of perspectives.

The most obvious challenge are the inherent security issues that native client brings to the table. Sure, Google has this nice process isolation for Chrome, but with applications, will that same isolation hold out against the myriad of app threats that exist today?

The other challenge is to get over the notion (right or wrong) that Native Client is simply Google's attempt to replicate Microsoft's ActiveX.

That's right, ActiveX originally held the same promise that Google is now making, a decade later for Native Client. ActiveX over the last decade has been hammered by all kinds of security issues, which has forced Micrsoft to patch and modify ActiveX, IE and Windows.

Google will have the benefit of learning from ActiveX's flaws, but many of the same challenges remain.

The final issue in my view that Google will have to deal with is the idea that Native Client is a Google-only technology.

ActiveX became successful because of Microsoft's massive partner ecosystem that adopted the technology widely. IE also had a dominant market share. Google for all its power and wealth doesn't have the same kind of third party ecosystem and Chrome does not enjoy the same market position as IE.

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