On Tuesday Google introduced Google Chrome Frame that is an open source plug-in that bring HTML5, and other open web technologies to Internet Explorer.

With Google Chrome Frame, developers can now take advantage of the latest open web technologies, even in Internet Explorer. From a faster Javascript engine, to support for current web technologies like HTML5’s offline capabilities and <canvas>, to modern CSS/Layout handling, Google Chrome Frame enables these features within IE with no additional coding or testing for different browser versions.

To start using Google Chrome Frame, all developers need to do is to add a single tag:

<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="chrome=1">

When Google Chrome Frame detects this tag it switches automatically to using Google Chrome’s speedy WebKit-based rendering engine. It’s that easy. For users, installing Google Chrome Frame will allow them to seamlessly enjoy modern web apps at blazing speeds, through the familiar interface of the version of IE that they are currently using.

For Wordpress users there is a plug-in that helps with Google Chrome Frame integration, which really isn’t necessary since it’s easy to simply add the tag above.

Herein lies the problem. Web site visitors are redirected from the web site homepage to a plug-in download page. Most people won’t have a clue what Google Chrome Frame is, so they’ll be unlikely to download and install something they know nothing about.

Even though the Google Chrome web browser is faster than Internet Explorer, most people continue to use the slower Internet Explorer because they are familiar with it. For most people easier is better.

If Google really wants to get people to adopt new technologies to improve the Internet, they’ll need to convince companies like Microsoft to move ahead at the speed of technology. Since Microsoft is so reluctant to do anything "open source" Google is having a tough time, so they are appealing to developers (documentation here), and Internet surfers to pressure Microsoft, or work around Microsoft by trying to get a grass roots ground swell of support from developers and Internet surfers.

Microsoft is also introducing their own header tags for developers to add to their websites to be able to continue to have Internet Explorer 8 render their web sites in Internet Explorer 7 mode.

We want to see push technology that makes web site development easier for developers, so their web sites will render properly in any web browser using web hooks in their web site.

It seems unlikely that a web site owner will risk alienating their readers by redirecting them to a plug-in install page that they must install to view the web site. While we think Google Chrome Frame is a great idea, how it is integrated into an Internet surfer’s life will decide if this project succeeds or fails.

A few versions ago Wordpress added two incredible features, a Wordpress Automatic Upgrade that integrated the functionality of a plugin used to upgrade Wordpress with the same name or WPAU for short, and automatic plugin upgrade. For those who were able to use these features without any problems they were incredible time savers, but for those who had problems it was a huge headache.

The reason for the upgrade failure, whether it is the Wordpress upgrade or a plugin upgrade, is a file and directory permission issue that can be easily resolved.

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Wordpress is a collection of PHP script files, so it only makes sense to increase the PHP memory limit when the Wordpress memory limit is increased.

Wordpress comes with a default memory limit of 32MB, but this may not be sufficient when you have a lot of plugins, and a lot of traffic to your blog.

To increase the default Wordpress memory add the following line to the wp-config.php file:

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Michael Yoshitaka Erlewine has just released a new plugin for Wordpress he calls HookPress, which extends Wordpress for the first time with Web Hooks. Hookpress now allows user-defined HTTP callbacks for push, pipes, and plugins.

HookPress now allows the built-in Wordpress action and filter hooks to trigger a script hosted on a remote server rather than on the local server. In addition, the remote script does not have to be written only in PHP, it can be written in Python, or just about any language.

The downside is that HookPress currently makes requests synchronously, so it can measurably degrade performance. To keep performance at its peak it is recommended to use a caching plugin like WP SuperCache.

The idea with HookPress is to use scripts that you can 100% trust, especially since using a script that works with a low level filter like the WP SQL queries could allow the remote script host to launch an XSS attack. Security can be maintained by using a trusted script source.

There are likely to be a lot of new services, and applications popup using HookPress to grab and use webhooks. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the developments.

Michael will be giving a talk on WordPress plugin development, covering HookPress basics as well, at the upcoming Boston WordPress meetup on September 28, 2009.

HookPress download

Web Hooks blog

The Jeff Lindsay slideshow on Web Hooks is below.

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Yoono, the browser plugin that acts as both a social network aggregator and a media hub, announced today that on November 7th it will begin to support Internet Explorer. The service is also announcing integration with imeem and MySpace. Additionally, they are unveiling a powerful new widget that will help the plugin monetize.

Yoono’s browser plug went through an overhaul last May. The plugin has become a featured Firefox 3 Recommended Download, and has an install base of around 1.8 million users.