Google Chrome in 64-bit shenanigans

Incoming!

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) has a 64-bit version on Windows now. Or, at least, in its bleeding-edge channels.

Faster, more stable, extra-secure browsing awaits. Or, perhaps, not.

In IT Blogwatch, bloggers do download the doings.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.

 
Mark Hachman counts his blessings bits:

A 64-bit version of Google’s Chrome browser is almost here. ... You can now download a 64-bit version of Chrome from either the Canary or the Dev [channels] for developers and early adopters…

Because of improved compilers and the way that the browser handles function parameters, users should notice a speedup of about 25 percent...running Web-based applications. ... If you’re the adventuresome type, there’s no reason not to download the 64-bit version.  

 Gregg Keizer is the king of headline puns:

Chrome on Windows champs at the 64-bit.

Google...promised that the browser is more stable and faster than its 32-bit sibling.

Apple's Safari has been 64-bit on OS X...since 2009. ... Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been available in 64-bit since 2006...while Opera Software, the Norwegian browser maker known for its same-named desktop flagship, also offers a 64-bit edition. ... But Google and Mozilla have been slower to adopt 64-bit. 

Szabolcs Péter answers this FAQ

It works on Windows Server 2008 R2 as well.   

But Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols opines, "When it comes to speed, it's not there yet":

To see how fast it was, I first ran benchmarks on the latest stable release. ... I then installed and ran the 64-bit developer version.

[It] ran 9 percent slower...on Sunspider; 12 percent slower on Peacemaker; and not quite 2 percent slower on Octane. Oddly enough...on was the Mozilla [Kraken] test...it ran 14 percent faster.

After the program has matured into a stable release, and the bug-checking code has been removed, it should be a different story. ... Google's claims may well be true someday; it's just not true in this first beta release.