The new update schedule cuts the previous release schedule in half, allowing users to get finished features sooner.

“We have new features coming out all the time and do not want users to have to wait months before they can use them” wrote Chrome Project Manager Anthony Laforge.

This also doesn’t mean the end of stability. “While pace is important to us, we are all committed to maintaining high quality releases — if a feature is not ready, it will not ship in a stable release” continued Laforge.

Laforge also notes that while version numbers will begin to increase at a faster pace, differentiation between versions will not be as drastic as have been in the past.

End users may not notice the difference however, with updates being pushed out silently.

Full details on these security issues can be read on the Google Chrome Releases blog.

Current Chrome users will receive the update automatically in the coming days, or alternatively new users can download the browser from the Google Chrome website.

As a result of this fix, the integrated Flash player is now enabled by default.

Full details on the security vulnerabilities can be read in the Google Chrome Releases blog.

The update will be pushed out to current Stable Channel Chrome users, or new users can download the browser directly from the Google Chrome website.

The comes on the back of an integrated Flash player, which has seen improved performance and stability within the browser.

“Millions of web users rely on PDF files every day to consume a wide variety of text and media content. The traditional browser plug-in model, though powerful, presents challenges in compatibility, performance, and security. To overcome this, we’ve been working with the web community to help define a next generation browser plug-in API” wrote Marc Pawliger, Chrome Engineering Director.

Chrome Dev Channel release 6.0.437.3 now includes built in PDF support. Users can get this version by following the instructions on the Chromium website.

Desktop notifications are available as of Chrome 5, and Google’s own Gmail Notifier is one of the first browser extensions to support the new notifications.

“When notifications are used from an extension, there are no permission prompts or infobar warnings. The experience is seamless – it just works” wrote Chrome Software Engineer, Aaron Boodman.

Full details for developers on how to add desktop notifications to their extensions can be found in the documentation. More desktop notification enabled plugins are sure to pop-up in the coming days and weeks.

Watch and enjoy!

They base this data on their Google Analytic data that is collected from their website, with users of the site being described as early adopters.

ReadWriteWeb data shows a big drop in Firefox users over the last 12 months, from 54% to 39%, while Chrome has enjoyed a jump from 7% to 18%, all while Internet Explorer usage has stayed constant at around 25%. These statistics make this theory sound plausible.

We can’t vouch for these figures in our own statistics, but it is interesting none the less. Market Share data from Net Applications shows that Firefox is still gaining share slowly, while Chrome is also growing, and Internet Explorer is on a one way slop down.

This would suggest that Firefox may be taking users away from Internet Explorer, but that older and more experienced Firefox users are taking the plunge to Google’s Chrome browser.

Either way, the entrance of Chrome into the market has surely stirred things up. Statistics over the next few months will be very interesting, with yesterdays release of Chrome for Mac and Linux.

This means Chrome 5 is now feature complete, and will continue to make its way from the Beta Channel to the stable release.

Not much has changed so far, with a list of changes available in the Google Chrome Releases blog. There is however one known issue with this build; hitting enter in some form fields does not submit the form. This bug is expected to be fixed in the next Dev Channel update.

Current Chrome Dev Channel users will automatically receive the new update, while new ‘daring’ users can get details on how to get this latest build from the Chromium website.

Google has pushed out a new version of Chrome 5 to beta testers which is between 30% and 35% faster than previous beta releases in the V8 and SunSpider benchmark tests.

Early results suggest that Google Chrome 5 beta is now faster than Opera 10.5x, taking back the fastest browser crown.

Other new features in Google Chrome 5.0.375.29 include HTML5 Features; Geolocation, App Cache, web sockets, file drag-and-drop along with Integrated Flash Player Plugin and Preferences synchronisation.

Along with the release, the Chrome team have created a video to show you just how fast the browser is, in a very creative and entertaining way.

Google Chrome 5 beta can be downloaded for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A video of the showing the making of the Google Chrome Speed Test video can be seen after the break.

The update includes two bug fixes, one of which solves a bug that causes slow JavaScript performance.

Three security holes have also been closed, all of which were rated as high.

A more detailed description of each of these issues can be found in the change log.

Windows users will automatically receive the update, while new users can download Chrome from the Google Chrome website.