Chrome 18 Arrives, Expands Hardware Acceleration And WebGL Support [Updates]

That's right – it's time for another Chrome update! This time around, Google has placed a focus on hardware accelerated graphics by expanding support for two separate standards. One of these is Canvas 2D, an element of HTML5 that (as you might expect, considering the name) is used to render 2D graphics. Providing GPU acceleration for this API offers an improvement to overall performance by freeing up the CPU to handle other tasks. Though previously enabled in beta versions, it is now considered ready for full release. The other enhancement relates to WebGL , a JavaScript API that makes it possible for games and web apps to include advanced 3D graphics. Chrome now includes a software rasterizer called SwiftShader that makes it possible for systems without a GPU to load WebGL content. Performance takes a hit, but the expanded support should help popularize the API. New features aren't the only updates. As with any new release, there's been a host of bug fixes that will improve stability and security. Google's blog lists 9 specific fixes , but there are probably more under the hood. Google's release of GPU accelerated Canvas 2D support has timed itself well with Firefox's recent tech demo BrowserQuest , a game coded entirely HTML5. Is it set to become the next big thing in web gaming? Tell us what you think. Source: Ars Technica

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