A lot of you read online using Google Chrome — which means a good percentage of you should be interested in the news that Chrome will soon have plug-and-play gamepad support added. It’ll work on any computer (or Chromebook) running the Chrome browser, and according to Google, will be a seamless experience.
That means in theory you should be able to plug in a joystick or gamepad and start controlling the browser straight away, without having to install software. Alongside gamepads, webcams and microphones will have similar plug-and-play support, which will open up the door for some nice HTML5 web apps fun.
The update is expected to land early next year, according to Google’s Paul Kinlan, who made the announcement at the Develop conference in England yesterday. [Hexus via Gizmodo UK]
chumly
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 9:33 AMIt could also mean a firmware update could bring chrome to the PS3, something it sorely needs to be the true multimedia machine it claims to be.
Andrew
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 11:07 AMDoes the name Geohot mean anything to you? Short version: Sony do not like other OSs on their equipment.
BTW.. enabling hardware periferals via web technologies is a Windows 8 thing.. I expect MS already have the technique patented up the wahoo. I find it a bit strange that the tech blogs don’t remember that little nugget, but Build 2011 was a very info dense event, much got passed over in favor of discussions about UI.
Steve
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 5:41 PMWhat’s with the elitist ‘hackerz’ attitude? Why does it have anything to do with the OS, Chrome is a browser and can be added via firmware update the same way Nintendo consoles run Opera browser.
‘periferals’ (sic) ahahaha. Spelling issues aside, no-one has staked out peripherals for web-based use. You can’t just call dibs on this sort of thing. If Microsoft hasn’t done it and Chrome is well on the way, that’s that.
TSH
Monday, November 28, 2011 at 9:50 AMWhy on earth would you choose to control a browser with a gamepad? Seriously?
Now, having gamepad controls for in-browser applications is fine. But various plug-ins have been able to access microphone and webcam for yeaaars now. Old news.