Google Chrome for Mac Could Land this Fall

Google's Chrome Web browser has many people excited because of its capabilities, but so far it's only available for Windows. That could change this fall when Google releases a public beta of the browser for Mac OS X.

Ars Technica reported that Google is working hard to get a public beta of the Mac version up and running. "We're working as fast as possible and progressing as fast as we can without compromising security," Google's Karen Grünberg said.

While a public beta isn't available yet, intrepid users can get an early glimpse at what's in store by downloading the working files and compiling the browser themselves. You can also follow the Chrome Mac status page for news on updates and changes.

Chrome is expected to offer better security than other browsers thanks in part to its ability to "sandbox," or isolate, processes from the rest of the operating system.

"We had the luxury of designing for security from the very beginning. This let us build good defenses," Chrome engineering director Linus Upson said. "Normally it takes more than one bug to create an exploit. By sandboxing, we could limit the number of bugs possible in each view."

Google hasn't announced an official launch date for the Mac public beta of Chrome. This fall is the company's target window, so the beta could hit the Internet earlier or later depending on how the application's development progresses.