Chrome Tabs Get Noise Indicator; Android Version Updated

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Finally, there's a way to figure out which page is hiding those loud, annoying ads.

It should be against the law to auto-start video advertisements on web pages. Outside Flash updates that seemingly break everything in sight and renders a page unreadable, there's nothing more hateful than loading up a site and a blast of audio wakes up the sleeping neighbors. It's even worse when you can't locate the fiendishly hidden source.

Google may be out to combat those pesky, deceptive ads by offering a new feature in its Chrome browser. The Next Web reports that the company has introduced in the latest Chromium build a way to identify tabs that are currently playing or recording audio. Users will spot the offending page thanks to an animated audio "throbber" icon located next to the site's name in the tab.

Currently this feature has also made an appearance in the latest Canary build of Google's Chrome desktop browser, so there's a chance the animated icon may change before it goes public. The new audio detection feature also reportedly works with not only HTML5 media, but on sites flooded with Flash video, indicating that Google is actively working to support plugins.

Meanwhile, Chrome 25 for Android has arrived with the ability to play web-based music while the browser runs in the background, and automatic audio pausing for when the phone is in use. Also included in the update is improved scrolling performance, increased responsiveness to pinch-zooming on pages, expanded HTML5 features, and faster interactive pages thanks to the latest version of the V8 JavaScript engine.

"This update also picks up other important stability and performance fixes since the last release, along with some minor UI adjustments," said Jason Kersey from the Google Chrome team. "Interested in other release channels of Chrome for Android? A Beta channel is now available and can be run side by side with Stable."

Chrome 25.0.1364.123 is currently rolling out to Google Play.

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Kevin Parrish

Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then, he’s loved all things PC-related and cool gadgets ranging from the New Nintendo 3DS to Android tablets. He is currently a contributor at Digital Trends, writing about everything from computers to how-to content on Windows and Macs to reviews of the latest laptops from HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more. 

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13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Onus
    Hmmm, an "animated throbber??" Is that the word choice you wanted to use?
    Reply
  • john15v16
    It should be against the law to auto-start video advertisements on web pages...
    hmmm...really? If the user decides to goto the crappy website then....they should have to deal with the whole bag of crap that goes along with it. Don't like it? Stop going then. Browsers shouldn't be built to deter common sense rules...
    Reply
  • halcyon
    THG is the worst offender of ads that I know. :-/
    Reply
  • jhansonxi
    I like the idea. Adblock and Flashblock solve the problem on Firefox.
    Reply
  • thecolorblue
    the internet is AD FREE for people who take 2 minutes to install adblock and Flashblock... also try Ghostery... there's also a nice firefox "cookie burner" app that automatically kills attempts to install tracking cookies while browsing.

    take 2 minutes... it is well worth it
    adblock -----> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus/
    flashblock --> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashblock/
    ghostery ----> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ghostery/
    betterPrivacy --> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/
    doNotTrack --> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/donottrackplus/
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    thecolorbluethe internet is AD FREE for people who take 2 minutes to install adblock and Flashblock...If everyone does this, they'll have to find another way to shove ads in your face. Or else they'll just start charging you for access to everything.
    Reply
  • thecolorblue
    alextheblueIf everyone does this, they'll have to find another way to shove ads in your face. Or else they'll just start charging you for access to everything.paywalls aren't going to work, that's just silly talk.
    I'm doubtful a new computer language will be written just for serving up ads...
    Reply
  • halcyon
    thecolorbluethe internet is AD FREE for people who take 2 minutes to install adblock and Flashblock... also try Ghostery... there's also a nice firefox "cookie burner" app that automatically kills attempts to install tracking cookies while browsing.take 2 minutes... it is well worth itadblock -----> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fi lock-plus/flashblock --> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fi lashblock/ghostery ----> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fi /ghostery/betterPrivacy --> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fi erprivacy/doNotTrack --> https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/fi trackplus/
    I have no real problem with firefox except that it doesn't always render the page and I have to refresh to get the page to load. I've taken the 2 minutes and installed the addons you've linked to. It'll be interesting to see if Tom's is now, finally, add free. ...and if the functionality that I might want is any way impacted. Thanks...we shall see.
    Reply
  • d_kuhn
    Is there an app that lets you remove the locked favorites that Verizon forces on chrome? (ESPN Zone... REALLY?)... that crap annoys me enough that I'm using firefox on my phone.
    Reply
  • LePhuronn
    It should be against the law to auto-start video advertisements on web pages. Outside Flash updates that seemingly break everything in sight and renders a page unreadable, there's nothing more hateful than loading up a site and a blast of audio wakes up the sleeping neighbors. It's even worse when you can't locate the fiendishly hidden source.


    This made me laugh so hard! The delicious irony of a Tom's writer complaining about the very thing that has made Tom's next to impossible to enjoy any more!
    Reply