Chrome Clone Alpha on Linux
Iron, a privacy clone of the Chrome Google browser, is now released in its first test version on Linux.
Iron is based on Chrome code, but unlike the Google browser, personal data is better protected. It won't create unique user IDs and doesn't send address lists to Google. The SRWare software firm first released the clone in September 2008 under BSD license, originally for Windows. The SRWare project download page now includes an alpha version for Linux.
The update notice in the SRWare forums says, "The download now contains Iron for Linux 3.0.197 and introduces some improvements like a nearly complete options dialog and Flash support. To enable Flash you have to start Iron for Linux with --enable-plugins as a parameter." Developers thoughtfully warn, however, that some instabilities still exist. The stable Windows version of 3.0.197, based on Chromium 3, was announced August 8.